Fighting Ruben Wolfe is an award wining novel by the up and coming children’s author, Markus Zusak. A very interesting storyline follows the hard lives of two teenage brothers, Cameron and Ruben. With an everyday, upfront sort of language it’s suitable for older kids around the age 13-15.
The Wolfe family is having a tough time financially with the dad being out of employment for months. Rube cops heaps of abuse from a kid at school towards his family. Eventually he gives in to the temptation and pummels the guy like there’s no tomorrow. Perry Cole, the manager of an illegal boxing club, is told of Rube’s incident and offers him the chance to box for cash. He takes the opportunity, with Cam included, to potentially make some money for their almost bankrupt family. Will they succeed in this quest for stability or will they lose their stability in more ways than one?
Dad Wolfe has had a very low self esteem ever since his one job in the family, making the money, went down the drain. The fact that he took a pipe to the face and needed stiches before he went out seemed to make things worse. Mum Wolfe works double overtime around the house and tries her best 24-7 to keep the family going. Sarah is a risk taker who regularly party’s and drinks to the point of alcohol poisoning but she always apologises for her actions. Steve is the oldest and classified as the only ‘winner’ of the family. Finally the main characters are obviously Ruben and Cameron Wolfe. Cam is the younger of the two and he’s also the quieter, more personal one. On the other hand, Rube is quite the opposite considering he’s loud, upfront and always pushes things to the limit. Don’t be fooled though, they get along like two pees in a pod.
Zusak has used a very laid back, unusual style of writing. He often uses slang and shortens words to create the effect of a typical every day conversation. Certain parts are written vertically with only one word on each line. This puts emphasis on important,...