Another One Down

I've finished another book from my pile for the Fall into Reading Challenge!
This one had a real plot and kept me guessing to the end. I'll have to be very careful what I write in order not to give anything away. This book might not be everyone's choice, apparently out of 4000 British readers 35% gave up without finishing. I feel sorry for anyone who only got halfway through - it gets better and better towards the end. The language is coarse and it's written from the perspective of a 15 year old boy but I enjoyed it. I felt so involved with the narrator and so confused by/frustated by/elated with the world around him. This book really brought out emotions for me.

Wikipedia introduces the plot like this:

"The title character is a fifteen-year-old boy who lives in a small town in the U.S. state of Texas. When his friend Jesus Navarro commits suicide after killing sixteen bullying schoolmates, suspicion falls on Vernon, who becomes something of a scapegoat in his small hometown of Martirio. Fearing the death penalty, he goes on the run to Mexico.

The book satirizes trailer park residents, the media, and most of all, those who believe that life in the United States is just like what they see on the TV news. The Booker Prize judges described it as a "coruscating black comedy reflecting our alarm but also our fascination with America".^[1]"

Despite the bad language I found this book to be wonderfully written and full of neat, fresh, surprising concise descriptions that were a wonderful change after Bluebear. If you don't take offence easily, then you should definitely read it.

The NY Times review is good.