Stitches
David Small
2009, W.W. Norton
9780393068573
Graphic novel, memoir
Reading Level:
Interest Age: 16+
Annotation: This graphic memoir shows the story of a young man who lost his voice to illness and had to gain it again by standing up to his family.
Plot Summary: This book is a memoir in graphic novel format. It takes place in the 1950s when the author was a child and young adult. David Small was sick a lot as a child, and his father, a doctor, performed a lot of x-rays on him when he was very young. Later, when he develops a growth on his neck he is told it’s harmless but he needs to have surgery to remove it. He wakes up from the surgery missing the growth but also his voice. One of his vocal cords has been removed. He learns weeks later that he had cancer and his parents chose not to tell him. As he gradually learns to speak again, he also has to find his voice in defending himself against the parents who have controlled his life.
Critical Evaluation: I found some parts of this book very disturbing. That’s not necessarily a censure of the book. The imagery and story were extremely powerful, and incited some really strong emotions in me. I was disturbed by what the author went through. I was especially struck by the fact that they kept his cancer from him. I feel like David losing his voice was a great metaphor for how voiceless he was against his overbearing mother. That seems harsh, since this is based on his real life, but the way he framed it is fantastic storytelling.
Author Biographical Information: David Small was born and raised in Detroit. In school he became known as “the kid who could draw good,” but David never considered a career in art because it was so easy for him. At 21, after many years of writing plays, David took the advice of a friend who informed him that the doodles he made on the telephone pad were better than anything he had ever written. He switched his major to Art and never looked back. After getting his MFA at the Yale Graduate School of Art, David taught art for many years on the college level, ran a film series, and made satirical sketches for campus newspapers. (source: davidsmallbooks.com)
Ties to Curriculum Units: none
Booktalking Ideas:
- Discuss the parallels between his literal loss of voice and his figurative lack of voice.
- Talk about the norms of the time period and how trying to uphold them affected David’s family.
Challenge Issues: Abuse, neglect, LGBTQ themes, disturbing imagery
Challenge Defenses:
- Mention awards the item has won or been nominated for
- State the library’s collection development policy
- Reference the ALA’s Library Bill of Rights
- Provide rationale for the item being in the collection
- As a last resort, offer the patron a “Request for Reconsideration” form
Katey's YA Collection 