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Title: You Don't Know Me
Author: David Klass
type of book: YA Fiction
call number: YA/FIC
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This book is strong in character and story.
Main Characters:
- John, a troubled teenage boy that no one seems to know at all
(especially his
mother, since he writes directly to her)
- Tuba, the frog which really isn't a tuba
- Violent Hayes (Violet), girl saxophone player in band, (she likes John,
but he doesn't see it)
- Glory Hallelujah (Gloria), the prettiest girl in school
- Billy Beezer (Beeman), John's best friend (who is not a real friend)
- Andy Pearce, John's friend who takes everything absolutely serious
and logically
(like Mr. Spock)
- "the man who is not my father" (John's mother's boyfriend)
Summary:
John has serious problems with his mother's boyfriend, whom he refers to as "the man who is not my father." He is a criminal who abuses John physically and mentally when John's mother isn't around. John's mother works hard but is sad and doesn't see
what is happening to her son.
Mrs. Moonface (Mrs. Gabriel) is the anti-math teacher in the anti-school. John
ends up suspended from school after voicing out his thoughts and hurting her
feelings. Another teacher at the anti-school is Mr. Steenwilly, the music
teacher, who thinks John has real talent. Steenwilly tries to talk with John
to find out what's wrong but John refuses.
Things start getting very bad for John when he finds out that his mother plans to marry "the man who is not his father."
I would recommend this book!
Why?
This novel is very well written. The narrator's voice immediately gets
into readers' heads. John's thoughts are very funny and his creative ability
to rename things in his world is wonderful, even if it is to help him cope with
a horrible home life. The stream of conscious style, though, could be a little
confusing for a younger or less sophisticated reader. The struggle and
frustrations John go through in his day to day life are real and unsettling, but
this type of content needs to be discussed.
Fortunately, the humorous tone makes the content more acceptable to digest, and
I often found myself laughing at John's absolute wit.
The title itself will catch readers' attention since adolescents often feel no
one can understand how they feel or what they think.
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Other suggested reading:
Sloppy Firsts by Megan McCafferty
When Dad Killed Mom by Julius Lester
Stop Pretending: What Happened When My Big Sister Went Crazy by Sonya Sones
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Employee Initials: KS
Review Date: February 2003
Read other reviews by this staff member.
