The Underdog
Written by Markus Zusak
Narrated by Stig Wemyss
3.5/5
()
Currently unavailable
Currently unavailable
About this audiobook
Boys are like dogs - ready to bite, bark and beg to be given a chance to show their value.
"I vowed that if I ever got a girl I would treat her right and never be bad or dirty to her or hurt her, ever."
Cameron Wolfe is a dirty boy. He knows it. His brother Rube knows it, because he's one too. they could change - but what would it take?
Markus Zusak
Markus Zusak is the award-winning author of The Book Thief and I Am the Messenger, both Michael L. Printz Honor Books. Markus Zusak's writing career began in high school, where he led a "pretty internal existence. . . . I always had stories in my head. So I started writing them." He lives with his wife and two children in Sydney, Australia, where he is currently working on his new novel Bridge of Clay.
Related to The Underdog
Related audiobooks
Beyond the Chocolate War Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Call of the Wild Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mansfield Park Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Curious Case of Benjamin Button Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Count of Monte Cristo Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Phantom of the Opera Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Therese Raquin Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5Love and Friendship Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAnthem Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Novels of F. Scott Fitzgerald Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Dangerous Age Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Z for Zachariah Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Green Mansions: A Romance of the Tropical Forest Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Scarlet Letter Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Where Angels Fear to Tread Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Palo Alto: Stories Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Wuthering Heights Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Lonely Polygamist Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I Am the Cheese Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Bridget Jones's Diary Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Madonna in a Fur Coat Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Jerk, California Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ethan Frome Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This Side of Paradise Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAmerican Girls Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Boy Proof Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Christmas Carol Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFlappers and Philosophers Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Around the World in Eighty Days Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Young Adult For You
Parable of the Sower Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Hate U Give Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Stardust Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes: A Hunger Games Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Hunger Games Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Graveyard Book Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Powerless Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Ender's Game Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Summer I Turned Pretty Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5If He Had Been with Me Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sadie: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Darkest Minds Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Crave Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Firekeeper's Daughter Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5These Violent Delights Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Black Sun Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The One Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Akata Witch Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5One Last Stop Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Divergent Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Anatomy: A Love Story Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Warrior Girl Unearthed Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5All Boys Aren't Blue: A Memoir-Manifesto Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Downstairs Girl Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Bridge to Terabithia Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mortal Engines: Mortal Engines, Book 1 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for The Underdog
36 ratings3 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Before Zusak gained fame for writing the beloved novel The Book Thief, he wrote a trilogy of books about a young man named Cameron Wolfe: The Underdog, Fighting Ruben Wolfe, and Getting the Girl. This is his first book and the beginning of that trilogy. It tells the story of the Wolfe brothers from Cameron’s point-of-view. He and his older brother Reuben live in Australia and spend their time getting in trouble and annoying their family members. The novel feels immature in some ways. The style flips back and forth between bits that are stream-of-consciousness, dreams, reflections on the action as it happens, etc. But regardless of that, you can still recognize Zusak’s style even in this early work. He has the ability to turn the simplest feelings into beautiful phrases and that is such a gift. Cameron is emotional, just like any teenage boy; his feelings are so raw and intense. Even if the plot of the book isn’t that surprising, it’s still a relatable coming of age story that I think rings true with teens. The work isn’t perfect. There isn’t too much of a story, but even in his earliest work you can see the gems of what’s to come. He’s such a talented authors and it’s incredible to watch how far he’s come in only a decade. BOTTOM LINE: It’s certainly not Zusak’s best work and it’s not the best place to start with him. But if you already love his writing then the completists out there will want to read it. “Had years defeated us? Had they worn us down? Had they passed like big white clouds, disintegrating very slowly so that we couldn’t notice?”
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Portions of this review were originally posted at LuxuryReading.com:As The Underdog begins, the Wolfe brothers are portrayed as wild, trouble making teenagers with a lot of imagination and very little motivation to succeed. Throughout the story the bond of brothers and best friends between Cameron, the younger brother by a year, and Ruben becomes clear as they fight, plan robberies, and generally cause trouble together. While the various plots the boys think up are entertaining, it is Cameron’s struggle to understand the relationships around him that are at the heart of the novel. A clear maturing process occurs as Cameron struggles to understand his role in the world around him.As Zusak's first novel, I would say it is a triumph of lyrical prose. I would warn readers, however, that the psychology involved in the story is widely more relatable to males than females.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5”I don’t really know that this story has a whole lot of things happen in it. It doesn’t really. It’s just a record of how things were in my life last winter. I guess things happened, but nothing out of the ordinary.” p.11And that’s right.This is Markus Zusak’s first novel...and for that reason alone I wanted to read it. Ostensibly for young adults, this chronicle may be coined as a succinct, but subtle, peek into the mind of a growing boy, condensed within a very small chapter of his life - an honest, undisguised, barefaced glimpse into a customarily closed environment. How often do pre-pubescent boys open up with their innermost thoughts and feelings?Like Markus Zusak, Cameron Wolfe is the youngest of four siblings, who spends his time fooling around, playing football and fighting with his family, and dreaming "a whole lot of weird, sick, perverted, sometimes beautiful dreams." p.11There’s some intriguing scenarios concerning sadly funny instances of boyhood bravado - Miffy the poor put-upon Pomeranian for one - mixed with some poignant, close-to, coming-of-age moments; and some astonishing dreamscapes indeed.And that’s all.It may be somewhat autobiographical, in that the author could avail himself of his own childhood musings; but regardless it is a decent attempt to portray a young boy’s ideals amidst his contemplations and fears. It is by no means a staggering piece of literature but it is an interesting premise, the brevity ensuring it maintains the reader’s interest. The first of a trilogy it (most likely) serves as an adequate foundation for the other episodes to come in Cameron Wolfe’s life. And it shows glimpses of the brilliance this author eventually arrives at.In this small account: ..."I survived.Not much happened really.It was all pretty normal." p.11You be the judge of that.(Apr 16, 2011)