ROBBY FIGHTS THE WORLD

This coming-of-age story, set in present-day Florida, may leave adult readers with a sad view of today’s teens but engage the younger crowd.

Robby Meyers is the youngest of his clan, and has always been the weakest as well, due to his premature birth. Now, at the beginning of high school, he’s experiencing puberty and is possibly more vulnerable than ever. His father is Robby’s cheerleader–he encourages him to keep up with his healthy, athletic older brothers, and Robby does his best, despite his mother’s concerns about his easily-injured body. When their father is killed in a motorcycle accident, the entire Meyers family’s world turns upside-down. When they later move to a new city, Robby experiences the pain of leaving his friends, teasing and other difficulties with new classmates, in addition to unsympathetic coaches. Still, he makes several new friends who’ll have a large impact on his life. Seemingly largely unsupervised by his mother or other adults, Robby partakes in some activities that demonstrate the questionable judgment that might be expected of a teen in turmoil, including smoking and drinking as well as obnoxious behavior to adults, including teachers. His friend Danny has coarse manners, a shockingly unsanitary home and a bad relationship with his uncle, but Robby doesn’t realize how dangerous the situation is until the climax of the story, in which Robby goes with him to a planned meeting in the dark of night. Readers learn from the epilogue whether Robby survives the ordeal, but the story ends abruptly and there is no demonstration that the other characters have learned important lessons. Appropriate for young readers who don’t mind rough language, Robby Fights the World is engaging and demonstrates making good decisions without moralizing, though it’s possible that as many bad lessons as good are included. Still, the book will likely feel authentic to teen readers.

A portrait of the realistic bravado of teens struggling to find their place in the world.