Review of STITCHES

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Small, David. 2009. STITCHES, A MEMOIR. New York, NY: W.W. Norton and Company. ISBN 978039333896

PLOT SUMMARY
An unusual memoir, it is in the form of a graphic novel. It starts out in Detroit when the author is a small child, age 6. The book moves through his life, his dreams, his nightmares, and delves deeply into his mother and her behaviors. He ends up with cancer, though his family keeps that truth from him for many years. He lives in a family filled with silence and describes his silence after the surgery, when in the presence of his friends, feeling like "a shadow flickering around the edges of every event." Small offers some insight to his family dynamics at the end of the book. A fresh, bold take on a memoir.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Quite an interesting approach to what can usually be a boring, or rather less interesting type of publication. A graphic novel form that uses very bold artwork to tell a story with minimal text. Extraordinary emotion is evident throughout the book, particularly his frustration in silence.
His crush on Mrs. Dillon and his description of her is amusing. The revelation by his father about his cancer when he was younger was handled in an interesting fashion, that leaves you feeling a great deal of empathy for young David. This particular work is engaging and mature work, not recommended for younger children. His notes at the end of the book about his parents gives readers an insight into David Small's childhood and what ultimately shaped him as an adult.

Review Excerpt(s)
Publisher's Weekly
"Small tells his story with haunting subtlety and power."
KIRKUS Reviews
"Emotionally raw, artistically compelling and psychologically devastating graphic memoir of childhood trauma."

CONNECTIONS
Have students use only art to tell about a childhood memory. Have them share with each other and tell their stories.