Review of The Big Crunch by Pete Hautman

The Big Crunch

by Pete Hautman

2011, Scholastic

280 pages

I decided to read this book after reading a stellar review on a magazine website (the name of which I can't remember).  I had never heard of it before, but it sounded like a fun change from my usual reading. The Big Crunch is the story of two high school students: June, whose family moves about every six months because of her father's job, and Wes, who has just broken up with his first girlfriend.  This story does a great job of avoiding cliches or current trends- Wes is not mesmerized or filled with a desire to drink June's blood upon their first meeting (although he later becomes mesmerized, he never develops the desire to exsanguinate her).  Wes actually thinks that June is sort of weird-looking, and June pity-dates one of his best friends (you learn this from the front cover, not a spoiler).  While I liked the ending, it remains realistic.

The title comes from the theory that the universe will end by crunching in on itself in  a black hole (or something like that- I'm a biology teacher, not a physicist), parallel to how the universe began (the big bang theory).  I can hear Sheldon shutting me down right now.  If you read the book, you will find out what this theory means to the characters.



I loved this book- 5 stars for an excellent, engaging, contemporary love story.  It made me laugh, it made me cry, and it reminded me of my own high school years.  I met my boyfriend in middle school, we started dating after 9th grade, we got engaged at 20, unengaged at 21, and are still together at 23, so I appreciate stories about high school sweethearts and the struggles of falling in love so young.  This is my first time reading Hautman, and he actually has quite a few books, so I'll be checking those out too!