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Moving, wholly involving, original, and emotionally true, You Don't Know Me is a multilayered young adult novel that presents a winning portrait of an understandably angst-ridden adolescent.
John ("My father named me after a toilet!") wrestles with the certainty that no one really knows him - not in his miserable home, and certainly not at school. It's true that no one can guess his hidden thoughts, which are hilarious, razor-sharp observations about lust, love, tubas, algebra, everything. And, then there's his home: his father ran off years ago, so he's being raised by his mother, who works long hours, and by her boyfriend, whom John calls "the man who is not and never will be my father." This man is his enemy, an abusive disciplinarian who seems to want to kill John and, in a horrible final confrontation, nearly succeeds.
John ("My father named me after a toilet!") wrestles with the certainty that no one really knows him - not in his miserable home, and certainly not at school. It's true that no one can guess his hidden thoughts, which are hilarious, razor-sharp observations about lust, love, tubas, algebra, everything. And, then there's his home: his father ran off years ago, so he's being raised by his mother, who works long hours, and by her boyfriend, whom John calls "the man who is not and never will be my father." This man is his enemy, an abusive disciplinarian who seems to want to kill John and, in a horrible final confrontation, nearly succeeds.
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Reviews
"[A] well-conceived novel. . . . The hero's underlying sense of isolation and thread of hope will strike a chord with nearly every adolescent."
Publishers Weekly
"Klass blazes past his previous literary efforts stylistically, introducing elements of magical realism to gradually reveal a quirky, talented, and likable guy. . . . The world may be 'muddled and painful,' but it is, 'in the end, a love song,'--a rewarding and important message for all readers."
School Library Journal, Starred Review
"John's inner voice is wonderfully cynical yet sweet and sad. . . . This book is for anyone--teenagers and adults alike--who has ever been faced with the absurdity of a normal life."
Voice of Youth Advocates