The Weirdo by Theodore Taylor

The Weirdo Reviews

• 
  Laurel Beedle

  This is not a very popular book but it's one of my favorites. Not only did I enjoy the mystery in the storyline but I also fell in love with the bears.
• 
  Suzanne

  I really enjoyed this story. In ways, it was like reading several books at once..a coming of age story about a disfigured young man, an environmental/wildlife story about the bears in the Powhatan Swamp of North Carolina and some mystery thrown in for good measure.
• 
  Virginia

  Eh. Didn't really like it. After about 40 pages, I just started skimming.
• 
  Keith

  Pretty good YA novel about swamp area in Virginia/NC border area and preserving bears.
• 
  Annie Burch

  A short and sweet tale about the NC swamp country. Some good themes of environmentalism, friendship, identity, and one’s own morals. A quick YA read with some good mystery and suspense.
• 
  Jodotha

  This was a really, really good read. I picked it up for sort of research purposes (the setting is a swamp, as is my own WIP) and was quite pleased at the premise. Naturally, it's a bit hard for me to distinguish exactly how much of my reverence for it is due to its similarities to my own project, and how much is due to it simply being a good book. Still, I CAN say with a good measure of assurance that this is a fine novel, and one I would have enjoyed even if I weren't writing what I'm writing.
  The story is, roughly, about two teens going against the odds in order to save endangered bears in the Powhatan Refuge, a swamp in the Carolinas. Chip is a seventeen year old boy who's been living within the swamp for four years, rarely venturing out because of a serious disfigurement. Samantha is a sixteen year old girl who dreams only of leaving the swamp entirely - and the memories of the dead body she found there in her youth. The characters were wonderful - three dimensional and sympathetic. The kind you don't want to leave, even after the book is done with.
  The environment was something I was paying special attention to, and I was quite pleased with how it was portrayed in the book. It really gave a feel for the place, and the odd sort of beauty it has. I wish at times there had been more of it, for my own benefit, but I think the author did well with balancing how much description there was with action.
  Overall the story was well paced and well researched, and the characters were very likable. My only complaint was the quick ending - I'm glad it was wrapped up clearly (because for awhile there I was a bit worried), but it felt too fast, too sudden. And then the book was over. Sort of like those movies that have the final battle and then go straight to rolling credits. That said, it didn't leave any real questions out, so I was still able to find satisfaction with the end.
  I would recommend this book quite willingly to anyone who likes character stories. The author passed away in 2006, but I will likely be seeking out one of his many other novels for future reading.
• 
  Zora

  This YA novel from 1991 has some beautiful nature writing in it. The plot is: two kids, one terribly disfigured from a plane crash, become friends while mounting a nature conservation action and solving a pair of murders.
• 
  Marti (Letstalkaboutbooksbaybee)

  Anyone remember Battle of the Books in elementary school? This was be only book I actually read for that lmao.
• 
  Alex

  The Weirdo is a solid YA rural swamp murder mystery. It features believable characters with an awkward teenage romance and adults that aren’t totally incompetent. The way hunters are depicted is also pertinent in 2018, as I felt I was reading about the current political divide in the US between NRA-supporting conservatives and animal rights-supporting liberals (not that only conservatives support the NRA and only liberals support animal rights).
  
  The book is a mix of third person narration and first person letters written by “the weirdo” Chip Clewt, an understandably-reclusive seventeen-year-old with post-accident burns and a fascination with the local bear population. Despite his moniker being on the front of the book, however, this is really Samantha Sanders’ story. Sam is sixteen years old and has the misfortune of finding a dead body at the start of the story. She eventually gets entangled in Chip’s world and learns that there’s more to the local outcast than what the rumours say.
  
  I bought this book around twenty-five years ago when I was in elementary school, and I see now why my thirteen-year-old brain was not ready for it: it jumps around between narration styles and around the story’s timeline. It’s all very brisk now, but I quickly saw why it just didn’t click with me as a young teen. I think sixteen-year-old me would have fared better, but it still somehow took me two decades to actually take it off my bookshelf. Despite it taking this long, I’m glad to have finally read it.
  
  There is interesting information about bears, swamps, and hunting. The story moves quickly. The rural dialogue feels authentic. And the relationship between Sam and Chip is sweet. There is a lot to like.
  
  In terms of criticisms, the way the murder is wrapped up is somewhat anti-climactic, but it makes sense given the age of the kids doing the investigating. The decision regarding the opening or suspension of bear hunting season was also a little quick, but given the 222-page length of the book, it was necessary for the sake of moving things forward.
  
  All in all, this is a solid book and was a nice change of pace for me after going through a couple of really long epic fantasy novels. Check it out if you want something a little different and educational in your YA fiction.
  
  3.5/5
• 
  Michael

  I hate to give this book such a bad rating, but I have to due to the fact that the book, both cover and description, are completely deceiving. At least the version I bought is. Both of them heavily imply that this is a horror YA novel, which is the sole reason I read the book, but, spoiler alert, it's actually about...a teenager fighting against bear hunting in a swamp. That's it. Absolutely nothing remotely scary even happens in this book, nothing is even implied to be out of the ordinary here. Just a kid going against hunters and poachers.
  
  Now I am a huge animal lover and advocate, so the actual story itself was heartwarming, but also quite boring. Despite being a short book it really drags, I think largely due to the fact that I was expecting a horror twist that never came.
• 
  Caroline Lammy

  Read this book mostly on the treadmill at the Y. I got it at a book sale outside a church last summer for $1. It sat on my shelf for a year when, lo and behold, I wanted an easy read for my walk today. I liked it! I’m giving it two stars for two reasons: one, I was disappointed in the lack of elaboration for the two main characters, and two, this book reads like a watered down version of Hoot by Carl Hiaasen. Maybe I’m biased- Hoot is a Florida Favorite of mine (as is Hiaasen) and a sentimental part of my childhood- but I felt like this story was a bit less engaging than I had hoped. I’m glad a read it and all, but I will probably forget about this book in a month or two. Onto the next!
• 
  Michelle G.

  We have a set of these books in the media center for classroom use. The front cover intrigued me so I took a copy home to read. I liked this book a lot! Any book with a character with a deformity I like to read. The fact that it's based in NC where I too live, is a plus!
• 
  Melvin Ingram

  Enjoyable Read
  
  As a reader, I mostly like non-fiction, but this book had a good enough dose of facts and reality to help me enjoy the fiction. I recommend this book especially if you enjoy science or the environment.
• 
  Jessica McDonough

  The characters in this book. The two main ones at least are at like this. Really cute age and they're both so lovable and finding themselves as new people coming into their own. I didn't really know what to think about this book and it really surprised me by how good it was. Fully enjoyed this.
• 
  Braelyn Mitchell

  Okay so the 1st 85% SUCKED. It was so boring and very hard to follow and stay invested. The last 15% was okay I guess… If I could give this book a 2.5, I would. I personally wouldn’t recommend reading though, unless you’re over the age of 30.
• 
  MoonLa Reads

  It was a thrilling adventure of overcoming challenges inside of you and out, and chasing a murderer down before he strikes again.
• 
  Michael Trinkler

  I was enjoying the book for the first 2/3rds, where the story was building. Then the last 1/3rd seems like a race and ties loose ends a little too abruptly
• 
  Makenzie Wall

  Cute Mystery book read it back in high school and still love it today (no Spice just one loney soul finding love)
• 
  Alora

  Cute
• 
  Rebecca Jungst Hoff

  I remember a teacher reading this to me when I was a kid. It was nice to take the trip down memory lane.
• 
  Ruth E. R.

  I had no expectations going into this book. I had been browsing audio books at the local North Carolina library - adult and young adult shelved together - pulled this one out due to the title, read the description, and felt intrigued. I had never heard of the author but the blurb from the Recorded Books series sounded as though he typically writes suspense for teens.
  
  As I began listening, I found the way he put together his words far more beautiful than I had expected. (Perhaps because it was published in the 1990s and I have grown somewhat accustomed to 21st century histrionics in young adult reading material.) We see the swamp through the eyes of those who love and appreciate it, so we go there with them. I felt as though I had gone outdoors to a quiet, restful place where I hoped to linger. That made the moments of tension all the more jarring.
  
  The cast of characters: Samantha the 16-year-old, Chip the disfigured young man, his alcoholic artist father, Tom the naturalist PhD candidate, Samantha's mother, Samantha's father, and even the other little roles (her aunt, uncle, their dog; the storekeeper; the bears!; and so forth). The various personalities all came together naturally, without seeming contrived. What a short book to have met so many individuals!
  
  The story contained a double murder mystery, and even a bit of "courtroom drama". However what really stands out to me is how a swamp can be a place of beauty and personal growth. At the beginning of the story, Samantha hates and fears the nearby Powahatan swamp, lumping it together with her rural life that she hopes to flee as soon as possible, and the distress of her childhood discovery of a murder victim there. She wants to find a place where she fits in and can live at peace.
  
  By the end of the story, she has discovered much beauty within the swamp (as we all do along with her) and becomes someone that she could never have imagined. She takes a few more steps toward maturity, while learning more about friendship and community. She increasingly values herself and others, whether they agree or disagree with her. She accepts being misunderstood as she takes the time to understand others.
  
  Though the author's portrayal of the hunters seemed slightly biased against them, as being brash and "unenlightened," he remained fair in his presentation of multi-dimensional personalities. For one thing, the gentle artist father was also alcoholic and distant for a while. Also, the aunt and uncle provided an illustration that there is a way to abuse an animal even while keeping it alive! I intend to track down a popular award-winning book by the same author, titled The Cay, now that I have discovered his work.
• 
  Edgar Guillen

  1)I just got done reading "The Weirdo"."The Weirdo" is a really well done book. The author manage to keep a suspens and mystery going through out the whole book. To start with he made the sitting in a lovely neighbor hood , but jet the neighbor hood had a swamp closedby. A girl named "Samantha" She was a typical girl a she had a pretty normal life,she went to school like every other person until she decided to go to the swamp one day, As she gets to closer to the swamp she incounters a dead body at the very edge of the swamp. She was nine years old when that happen since then she been scared to go by the swamp.Chip aka "The Weirdo" (the nickname given by the town people),has been living inside the swamp for ages. Now Samatha 16 years old and she wants to find out what lias behind the Powhatan swamp.While the Powhatan hunting is about to begin............
  2) The number one reason what made me love this books is, I loved how the author made the plot so interesting so suspenful. An some how he knew what i was craving for was suspens.
  3) For my mystery,scary.creepy,chills getting,suspensful loving freinds i recommend you to read this after 10 pages its going to leave you bitting your nails.
  4)"Though he was tired ,Chip stuggled with sleep. He tried to ster his mind away from times past and think only abouth tomorrow snd the future"(Taylor,Pg96)This quote made me remember the time were i wanted the day to end and i wanted tomarrow to come by and start fresh or even better everything would of been forgotten.