Author: Christopher Paul Curtis
Page Number: 236
Excerpt from Back of Book:
It's 1936, in Flint, Michigan. Times may be hard, and ten-year-old Bud may be a motherless boy on the run, but Bud's got a few things going for him:
1.) He has his own suitcase full of special things.
2.) He's the author of Bud Caldwell's Rules and Things for Having a Funner Life and Making a Better Liar Out of Yourself.
3.) His momma never told him who his father was, but she left a clue: flyers advertising
Herman E. Calloway and his famous band, the Dusky Devastators of the Depression!!!!!!
Bud's got an idea that those flyers will lead him to his father. Once he decides to hit the road and find this mystery man, nothing can stop him- not hunger, not fear, not vampires, not even Herman E. Calloway himself.
My Review:
I love Bud. And if he heard me saying that, he definitely wouldn't like it at all, because he wouldn't want to be treated like he's some little kid.
First, I'm going to touch base on his name. Throughout the whole book, he talks about how he won't be called Buddy. His name is Bud, period. (Hence the title.) It shows us how mature he is. He won't let anyone act like he's a baby, he wants to know what the real world's like. And he's not afraid of it.
Sometimes in books I get so annoyed when the main character is an orphan (or thinks they are). I mean, c'mon! How many poor, scared, and adorable little children can you put into a story? But in Bud, Not Buddy, I never got irritated at the fact that he was in orphan. Instead of adding to the plot, that was the plot. (Read it, and that will make sense.)
Once thing I especially love about this book is its ability to make everything so, so real and it's like you're there. I never once think about how dangerous it is for Bud to be on the lam, mostly because Bud himself doesn't really think about it. I feel his emotions and think his thoughts.
I've also read two other books by Christopher Paul Curtis: The Mighty Miss Malone and The Watsons Go to Birmingham. They're both amazing books, which I highly recommend- along with Bud, Not Buddy, of course!
I award this book 5 stars, for sure!
Until next time!
-Olivia