# Read the first page of Fat Boy Saves World by Ian Bone Read the opening of Fat Boy Saves World by Ian Bone free, no signup. A silent brother speaks: he wants to save the world. - Page: https://uncovered.ink/read/fat-boy-saves-world-ian-bone - Genre: Coming of age - Year: 2001 - ISBN: 9781442431058 - Read it blind (cover and title hidden): https://uncovered.ink/?b=9780743422451&s=read-page - Buy: https://bookshop.org/a/125786/9781442431058 - Borrow: https://search.worldcat.org/search?q=9781442431058 ## The opening After the last guests had gone, I crept quietly into Brian's room to "see if everything was all right." It was a useless task, really. He didn't need me to tuck his blankets in or puff his pillow, yet somehow it gave me a sense of worth, that I was being a good father to him. He lay sleeping, his bloated body curled up in the middle of the queen-size bed we bought for him, his mouth slightly open. Oh, that mouth, how I wished it would make a noise, let out a yelp of joy or a cry for help as it had done when he was a baby. Cute little boy he was then, picking up the world in his tiny hands and placing it in his mouth, tasting all experience, then belting out a "Ga" or a "Ba," his appraisal and summation. Now that mouth remains shut, closed off from the world, leaving me cut off from him. Around his room were the countless little labels I had placed under anything I could identify. Light switch, doorknob, picture, dresser, bed . . . each one put there in a vain attempt to ignite a speech bubble, get my son to speak again. They were once my hope, my innovative plan of action; now they were symbols of my failure. I couldn’t prompt Brian back into speech, despite my good intentions and clever ideas. There was a secret in his brain that kept his mouth shut forever, and I doubt if even Brian knew what it was. With a quiet respect for my son’s silence, I tore down the labels from his walls, screwing each one up into a tiny ball of discarded paper. And in that moment a curious and disturbing image came to me—that Brian was a terminal patient on life-support equipment; that each label I tore down was like turning off a machine, consigning him to die in peace, away from the respirators and heart monitors. Of course, he wasn’t dying. I was giving up. Now she’s called him fat. His great, corpulent body reduced to a three-letter word. Surely she can do better than that. What about “blubber boy,” or “Ayers Rock on legs,” or even “wobble guts”? Any of those insults would do justice to my brother’s hard-earned mounds of flesh, his massive rolls and crevices. Still, it looks as though “fat” is going to be the funniest dart this hot-dog-stand girl will throw this morning. She just doesn’t understand the power of words—she’s not paid to, is she? She’s paid to ask the standard “Can I help you?” question in a singsong voice. She’s paid to wait for a reply, even if none comes at first, but she’s not paid to wait forever. And after she’d asked her question three times of my brother she lost patience. That’s when she came to the conclusion that he was “fat.” Oh, and she added “stupid” as well. Stupid he is not. She is dedicated to her hot dogs, this hot-dog gal. You can see that by her perseverance. My brother stabs his chubby finger at the row of photographs behind her, and she cranes her neck around to see which one he’s pointing at. Could it be the glossy print of chili dog? Plastic-red-shiny sausage, poking limply out of a flaccid bun. Or is it good ol’ cheese dog he’s indicating? Covered in a pile of artificial yellow string (which doesn’t convince me it’s cheese). Or perhaps it’s American dog, looking cheekily out of its bun? There’s so many of these colored dog photographs, who can tell? “The . . . um . . . chili dog? Is that it?” asks the hotdog girl, thinking she might have the answer. “You want the chili dog?” ## Books with a similar feel - [Game Seven by Paul Volponi](https://uncovered.ink/read/game-seven-paul-volponi.md) - [You Are a Badass by Jen Sincero](https://uncovered.ink/read/you-are-a-badass-jen-sincero.md) - [A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking](https://uncovered.ink/read/a-brief-history-of-time-stephen-hawking.md) - [Wherever You Go, There You Are by Jon Kabat-Zinn](https://uncovered.ink/read/wherever-you-go-there-you-are-jon-kabat-zinn.md) - [Dare to Lead by Brené Brown](https://uncovered.ink/read/dare-to-lead-brene-brown.md) - [Treasure by Clive Cussler](https://uncovered.ink/read/treasure-clive-cussler.md) --- Source: Uncovered (https://uncovered.ink). A short sample shown for reading and discovery. Rights holders can request removal at https://uncovered.ink/takedown.