When Zachary Beaver Came to Town

When Zachary Beaver Came To Town is a good book and has good characters. This story is about a kid who tries to get along with a teenager named Zachary Beaver. I like how Toby still goes to see Zachary even though unlike everyone else in town he’s not all about him. I though the ending was going to a little bit different then what it was. The introduction to this book was a little hard because they start off by talking about were they are and what they are doing before you get to know the characters. How Toby and Cal had to try and get along with Zachary Beaver even though he doesn’t want them there. The only reason they are there is more because of the Sheriff. I think that the fact at one point they finally got him out of his trailer. The ending was a little different then what I expected it to be. Although I enjoyed the book I though the ending could have been a little better.

Toby and Cal best friends. Nothing exciting never happens in Antler Texas, But this time the fattest boy in the world arrives. Everyone getting the news and wants to go see him. His name is Zachary Beaver. Him and his legal guardian traveling from state to state. But one day Zachary’s legal guardian just left Zachary all alone, him and his trailer, abandoned. When abandoned These kids start hitting and kicking the trailer. Cal and Toby started to throw rocks at the trailer to scare the kids off. But when Toby threw a rock it missed the kids and shattered one of Zachary’s trailer windows. Toby’s mom going away for a singing contest. If she wins she gets a record deal and may never come back.
This book was okay. It could of been better with more details. The characters are hard to picture. When I first read the back I didn’t want to read this book about a fat kid coming to town. But then I realized, if I do read it I can share the positives and the negatives about the book.

Reader reviewed by Robert A.

Did you ever have to make friends with someone who is different in some way? Toby Wilson had to do just that. "When Zachary Beaver Came To Town," by Kimberly Willis Holt, takes place in Antler, a suburb of Amarillo, TX. This realistic fiction book concerns Toby, his friend Calvin McKnight, and Zachary Beaver. According to Toby, the narrator, Paulie Rankin, a circus guy, is searching for acts for his sideshow. This summer, he dropped off his only act (Zachary Beaver, fattest boy in the world) in Antler. Toby and Calvin, who are both about thirteen, find Zachary, who's about their age, living alone in a trailer, as his own guardian. Sheriff Levi says that Rankin has to pick him up within the next few weeks. Opalina, Toby's mom, is away in Nashville, auditioning for a record cut at the Grand Ole Opry; Wayne, Calvin's older brother, is fighting in the deadly Vietnam War. Toby loves Scarlett Stalling, who loves him back, but also has something like a crush on Juan Garcia. Zachary's mom promised to have him baptized, but then she died, and he never did. Toby wants Zachary to get baptized, but Zachary doesn't.

The characters and their part in the plot made it a page-turner. Even when I had met my reading goal, I kept wondering about what would happen next. I even kept reading the book one time. I enjoy stories where one character, like Zachary, is a little bizarre. However, all the subplots lead back to Toby, the main character. I can imagine myself as him.

Kids who stand out as "different" in their school would definitely enjoy this book. Zachary Beaver is that "different" character. He discovers that "normal" people can still make friends with "different" people. In summary, the people of Antler were in for an adventure "When Zachary Beaver Came To Town."