Written by: Derf Backderf
First line: It's the next path on the left.
Why you should read this book: You've never read anything like this detailed, visual, honest, and often humorous account of serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer's adolescent years, as recalled by one of the boys he considered his closest friends in school. Dahmer's early obsession with death, his horrible home life, his full-blown alcoholism, and the terrifying pull of his frightening sexuality are all here, but so are the elements that, according to the author, make Dahmer a sympathetic character and his story—to a point—a tragedy. Here is the portrait of young man desperate to belong but destined to remain separate from the world, quashing his own myriad demons just as long as he can before the world caves in around him.
Why you shouldn't read this book: Depressing moments, gruesome moments, and the inevitable awful outcome.
Friday, August 31, 2012
Estrella's Quinceañera
Written by: Malin Alegria
First line: According to my mom, a girl's fifteenth birthday is supposed to be the biggest day of her life.
Why you should read this book: Estrella really loves her family and her culture, but ever since she started attending a fancy private school on scholarship, she finds them both a little embarrassing, compared to those of her rich white friends. The more her mother's plans spiral out of control, the more Estrella pulls away from the people who love her, until she realizes that she's alienated everyone who cares. It takes all her social know-how to appease her parents, make amends with her friends, and host a quinceañera that's traditional enough to make everyone happy.
Why you shouldn't read this book: This story has been done in different cultures or different age groups, to much better effect.
First line: According to my mom, a girl's fifteenth birthday is supposed to be the biggest day of her life.
Why you should read this book: Estrella really loves her family and her culture, but ever since she started attending a fancy private school on scholarship, she finds them both a little embarrassing, compared to those of her rich white friends. The more her mother's plans spiral out of control, the more Estrella pulls away from the people who love her, until she realizes that she's alienated everyone who cares. It takes all her social know-how to appease her parents, make amends with her friends, and host a quinceañera that's traditional enough to make everyone happy.
Why you shouldn't read this book: This story has been done in different cultures or different age groups, to much better effect.
I Wish That I Had Duck Feet
Written by: Dr. Seuss (writing as Theo LeSieg)
First line: I wish that I had duck feet.
Why you should read this book: A classic easy reader, this book follows an imaginative boy's flights of fancy as he considers how various mutations would make him more popular around town, particularly with local girls, while creating problems with his parents and the school bully. Hearkens back to its origins in the 60s, when the debate over conformity really began to heat up, but concludes that being a freak is dangerous and unfulfilling. Seuss used this pseudonym for books he wrote but did not illustrate; both the text and the pictures are darling.
Why you shouldn't read this book: You constantly assure your precious little snowflake that they can be anything they want to be.
First line: I wish that I had duck feet.
Why you should read this book: A classic easy reader, this book follows an imaginative boy's flights of fancy as he considers how various mutations would make him more popular around town, particularly with local girls, while creating problems with his parents and the school bully. Hearkens back to its origins in the 60s, when the debate over conformity really began to heat up, but concludes that being a freak is dangerous and unfulfilling. Seuss used this pseudonym for books he wrote but did not illustrate; both the text and the pictures are darling.
Why you shouldn't read this book: You constantly assure your precious little snowflake that they can be anything they want to be.
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
The Rabbi's Cat
Written by: Joann Sfar
First line: Jewish people aren’t crazy about dogs.
Why you should read this book: As best as I can tell, the
thesis of this book is that God exists, but this fact doesn’t really matter.
The rabbi’s cat is an irreverent philosopher who briefly gains the power of
speech by eating a parrot and immediately uses that power to tell lies and,
occasionally, very upsetting and uncomfortable truths. Against a backdrop of
Algeria in the 1930s, with a brief stop in Paris, this story examines love,
theology, faith, and family in provocative and humorous arcs.
Why you shouldn’t read this book: Blasphemy.
Mother, Come Home
Written by: Paul Hornschemeir
First line: Do you remember that summer—I think you were
sixteen—when you went horseback riding?
Why you should read this book: A young boy’s inability to
come to terms with the death of his mother is exacerbated by his father’s even
greater difficulty dealing with the loss. As the boy struggles to take control
of his world, the father drifts farther and farther away, until he is lost
completely. The child sets off to bring him back, only to learn how deeply the
complications and pains of adult knowledge can go.
Why you shouldn’t read this book: Haunting examination of
death and its effect on the living.
The Tale of One Bad Rat
Written by: Bryan Talbot
First line: Once upon a time, there was a very bad rat…
Why you should read this book: Helen Potter, a homeless
runaway whose pet rat is her only companion, is deeply wounded on the inside as
a result of long term childhood trauma. She doesn’t know how to trust humans
and can’t stand to be touched, until she finally chooses to confront her demons
by following the path suggested by her idol, Beatrix Potter, to England’s Lake
district. There, she begins to heal herself and chooses to rise above her
troubled past.
Why you shouldn’t read this book: Trigger warning for incest
and sexual assault.
The Yggyssey: How Iggy Wondered What Happened to All the Ghosts, Found Out, and Went There
Written by: Daniel Pinkwater
First line: When I got home from school, my room was full of
ghosts…again!
Why you should read this book: Generally, Iggy doesn’t have
a problem with ghosts, seeing that her best friend is one, until she notices
that some of the city’s most prominent ghosts are missing. Iggy isn’t the only
one to notice the absence of ghosts in Hollywood, and she is determined to
solve the mystery, even though everyone who knows the truth can’t talk about
it. Along with her friend Neddie and Seamus, Iggy must travel to a parallel
world to battle witches, hide from werewolves, and resist extremely persuasive
television ads.
Why you shouldn’t read this book: You don’t approve of children
having too much freedom.
Little Boy Blue: A Puppy's Rescue from Death Row and His Owner's Search for the Truth
Written by: Kim Kavin
First line: I’m the oldest child in my family, but I wasn’t
the first to be cradled and loved.
Why you should read this book: When she adopted an adorable
puppy she found on the Internet, the author thought nothing of how that puppy
ended up on that website. As she falls in love with her brindle-coated Blue,
she begins to question the circumstances of his earliest days and uses her
journalistic skills to uncover the seamy world of animal rescue. What she
learns is, in turn, eye-opening, horrifying, and hopeful, and this book turns
the spotlight on the efforts—good, bad, and ugly—to deal with the problem of
seemingly unwanted cats and dogs.
Why you shouldn’t read this book: Dead puppies.