Boy Bites Bug by Rebecca Petruck
Release: May 8th 2018
Format: Ebook
Publisher: Harry N. Abrams
Source: Netgalley
Boy Bites Bug Synopsis:
Will didn’t plan to eat a stinkbug. But when his friend Darryl called new kid Eloy Herrera a racial slur, Will did it as a diversion. Now Will is Bug Boy, and everyone is cracking up inventing insect meals for him, like French flies and maggot-aroni and fleas.
Turns out eating bugs for food is a real thing, called entomophagy. Deciding that means he can use a class project to feed everyone grasshoppers, Will bargains for Eloy’s help in exchange for helping him with wrestling, but their growing friendship only ticks off Darryl more.
Will may have bitten off more than he can chew as crickets, earthworm jerky—even a scorpion—end up on his plate, but insects are the least of his problems. When things with Darryl and Eloy heat up, Will wrestles with questions of loyalty, honor—and that maybe not all friendships are worth fighting for.
Review:
Many thanks to Netgalley in providing me an e-ARC of the book.
I enjoyed reading “Boy Bites Bug” for many reasons. Firstly, I really liked Will as the main protagonist. He makes impulsive decisions, but he learns from his mistakes, like when he accidentally says something offensive to Eloy. He learns to be brave by standing up for his friends and doing the right thing. In short, the author has portrayed Will as a realistic kid growing up. Eloy and his family were also good as support characters. However, Simon was my favorite character in the novel, as he was hilarious and silly. The author has touched on the issue of racism, and also brought something new to the table by introducing entomophagy.
I think it is a very interesting topic that has not been touched on middle grade genre before (or I have not come across it yet). Considering that our population is increasing and we have limited resources, entomophagy is a good way of exploring insects as a food alternative, and the author provides important information and resources at the end to learn more. Even though I still get queasy by the thought of eating bugs, after reading this book, I was curious to try it if I ever got the chance. The book also covers wrestling, which I thought was a great idea to encourage male readers to read this book.
Probably the only thing that could have been better was resolving Will and Darryl’s friendship. I did not feel like there was any closure to their arguments. Considering that they have been friends for so long, I felt that they would have worked out their differences. Even though I knew their friendship wouldn’t be as strong anymore, I was hoping there would be a conversation between them to try resolving it.
Overall, I enjoyed reading “Boy Bites Bug” and would give it a rating of 4/5 stars.
