Burger Wuss by M.T. Anderson

I just finished reading the book and I enjoyed reading it but I don't think it will make my list of favorites. The book started off very quirky, the writing style was diverse and I really liked the grammar vandals, they were great. Anthony's emotions and his romance with Diana was very real and sweet. There were so many details about their relationship and experiences that you could really understand why he was in love with her  and why he was so heartbroken. The fast food culture and the workplace were a perfect setting, just the right amount of shenanigans were introduced there.

But, I'm kind of disappointed in the Anthony character...I didn't feel like he was as funny/sarcastic/silly as was pointed out throughout the book. I found his type of humor very dry, or just not funny at all because it didn't seem like there was a joke there. Maybe I was disappointed because he really is a wuss? But, I don't think you can really blame Anthony for being a "wuss". Like he alluded to, he was caught between being gross and being a weenie (122). He just wasn't sure what to do because he didn't want to upset anyone. And I don't think that Diana left him because he couldn't make a move. Diana said near the end, "Tuner didn't steal me. I'm not a piece of furniture. I went to him...that was my choice" (183). Diana could also have made the choice to make a move on him like she did on Turner, but she didn't. Sometimes love just goes away, like in the case Rick and Jenn who were so in love but broke up over because they wanted to rent different movies.

I also feel bad for Anthony because he just couldn't win. I don't think anything ever really worked out for him, he just kept getting beat up or yelled at. Is this book trying to say that nice guys really do finish last? The post-prank scenes were so anti-climactic. He got beat up again(what else is new?), he felt really guilty for causing hurt(duh!), and he and Diana both called him an idiot(darn, that's it?). So, nice guys finish last, but so do jerks? I think that's fair. I think that it ends on a rather positive note though, despite the beatings, the final rejection from Diana, and the cold dismissal from work. Anthony purges himself of the situation and starts to feel better as he beings to think of the whole ordeal as in the past..."After all, there are other fish in the sea" (186)...

But wait, as the epilogue informs us, Anthony is still fitting into the nice guy stereotype. He and Rick talk about "the latest girl who'd told [him] she wanted to just be friends" (187). Hmmm...