Bruiser by Neal Shusterman

Bruiser by Neal Shusterman is about twins, Bronte and Tennyson.  Things haven't been great in their family since their father's affair and now their mother's retaliation affair.  Things get even worse between the twins when Bronte begins dating Brewster.  Brewster, known as the Bruiser by everyone at school, is a big, menacing boy who has made it a priority to steer clear of everyone else.  He lives with his alcoholic uncle and younger brother in a dilapidated old house, with a giant bull as a pet.  He is the brunt of much bullying at the hands of his schoolmates, but he bears it and shrugs it off.  Once Bronte enters his life, things change.  After his initial resentment, Tennyson gets to know Brew and they all become friends.  That's when things get hard for Brewster.  He has a strange gift... he has the ability to take pain and injury away from those he cares about and transfer the damage to himself.  That's why Brew has always made it a point to never get to know anyone but his family very well.  Once he begins dating Bronte, Brew is thrown into her world of friends, parties, and even her family.  Despite the consequences, he begins caring about many different people and his body suffers greatly.  When he and his brother become foster children and move in with Bronte and Tennyson's family, things get worse for Brew, but much better for the twins.  They learn that Brew's ability extends to emotional injury as well as physical - taking its toll on Brew when he's thrown into the dysfunctional life at the twins' home.

This was an awesome book.  In fact, I've never read one by Neal Shusterman that I haven't loved!  I really liked thinking about the personal consequences of Brew's ability and how I might deal with a friend or family member with such a power.  It's really an ethical dilemma, as the twins discovered in the story.