"You don't know me at all. You don't even know the first thing about me. You don't know where I'm writing this from. You don't know what I look like. You have no power over me." 14-year-old John lives with his mother and her boyfriend, a man who is violent towards him whenever John's mother is not around. John believes that if he tells his mother about the abuse, she will side with "the man who is not my father". There's a lot of pain, humour and horror in this book before John resolves his relationship with his mother and lets her begin to know him.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Review
“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
“[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
“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
“[A] captivating first-person narrative with an original voice . . . [T]his is an engrossing story, in the vein of Laurie Halse Anderson’s Speak, to which readers will immediately connect.”—Kirkus Reviews
“John is a genuinely sympathetic, interestingly complex character, his highly mannered voice belongs to someone much older than 14, and it’s wildly inconsistent, veering in tone from seriously realistic to the farcical, from wryly sophisticated and ironically self-deprecating to sophomoric. Weigh that against some brilliant, dramatically charged scenes and John's endlessly intriguing character.”—Booklist
“I loved it because it describes the exact way I feel.”—A YALSA Teen YA Galley Reader
“Extremely realistic.”—A YALSA Teen YA Galley Reader
About the Author
David Klass is an established novelist and writer of screenplays. He lives in New York City.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Can't keep it on the shelf,
This review is from: You Don't Know Me (Paperback)
When I first read You Don't Know Me I was left pretty-much breathless. The second person narration surprised me, but the author's ability to affix me permanently to his protagonist, who couldn't be a more unreliable narrator, knocked my socks off. Since the book came out I've bought at least eight copies for my middle school classroom library. Each year I put it in one kid's hands, s/he consumes the book, hands it off to a friend, then that one hands it off to another, then someone asks whether it can be loaned to students who aren't in my class, then after a few months of bouncing all over school, it disappears. Every August I buy another, with full knowledge that it will disappear, and a song in my heart.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Edgy and Funny,
By
This review is from: You Don't Know Me (Paperback)
This is in second person, which is a big deal. I thought that would distract me, but it actually made the story better. It caught my attention right from the start. Also,the main character is a teenage boy who I found both clever and easy to relate to. I'd recommend this to anyone who likes an edgy read with a humorous voice.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Pretty good aye?,
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Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: You Don't Know Me (Paperback)
k so 'You don't know me' is this awesome book about a kid who gets abused by his step father, but don't worry he gets his moment to shine! The main character is this tortured, tormented, funny, clever, talented kid who is, obviously, going through a hard time. The book is written in first person and described Johns (main character) thoughts, dreams and yeah thats pretty much it. Though this book may prove too dark for some, for others (like me), its one of those few real stories that only pop up like once every thousand years that you just have to read in order to see how freaking awesome it is! So yeh, thats my review...by the way this sellers pretty good too. Well, as far as I can tell, after all I got my book on time. LOVED THE BOOK GIVE IT A TRY YOU WON'T REGRET IT!
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