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America
Acclaimed author E.R. Frank writes provocative fiction. America, a foulmouthed, yet endearing 16-year-old, attempts suicide and is placed in the care of psychiatrists at Ridgeway mental hospital.
There he learns to cope with a past filled with neglect and mistreatment with the help of Dr. B. Alternating between Americas present- day stay at the hospital and his past, living in the care of his older brothers, America is a stark exploration of the mind of an inner-city youth.
There he learns to cope with a past filled with neglect and mistreatment with the help of Dr. B. Alternating between Americas present- day stay at the hospital and his past, living in the care of his older brothers, America is a stark exploration of the mind of an inner-city youth.
256 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 2002
39 people are currently reading
1534 people want to read
About the author
E.R. Frank
8 books90 followersE. R. Frank is the author of two highly praised novels for Atheneum: America and Friction. Her first novel was Life Is Funny, winner of the Teen People Book Club NEXT Award for YA Fiction and was also a top-ten ALA 2001 Quick Pick.
In addition to being writer, E. R. Frank is also a clinical social worker and psychotherapist. She works with adults and adolescents and specializes in trauma.
In addition to being writer, E. R. Frank is also a clinical social worker and psychotherapist. She works with adults and adolescents and specializes in trauma.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 142 reviews
April 21, 2021
This is a reread for me.
Amazing every-time, I discovered this book as a teen and it broke my heart😠. I read it as an adult and it had done the same. I will always cry 😢 when reading this book and I still highly recommend.
Amazing every-time, I discovered this book as a teen and it broke my heart😠. I read it as an adult and it had done the same. I will always cry 😢 when reading this book and I still highly recommend.
February 19, 2024
Gut wrenching and sad. I understand why some would prefer their teens not read this but ignoring what happens in the world isn’t going to stop it from happening.
May 14, 2011
America starts off as a book about a 15 year old boy who is in some sort of mental home. He is what you might typically picture when you picture the "bad boy" that has depression and tried to kill himself. He's stubborn, he curses all the time, and he refuses to talk to his therapist. He even occasionally throws chairs or other things.
However, the novel alternates between the present time, and America in the mental hospital, and the past. We learn that America was a crack baby, and grew up with a foster parent until he was in Kindergarten. He ten goes to visit his mother, who promptly abandons him to his older brothers (around ages 7 and 9). The three boys live on their own for 2 years. We continue to learn about America's past, and all of the horrible things he endured. In many ways we become sympathetic.
Although I kept wanting to read and find out more, I was also very disturbed while I was reading. I feel like you expect the story to go one way: you think that there’s the bad side, which is his mother, the drug addict, and two older brothers who have been living on their own for years from the age of 7, and then there’s the good side, which is sweet Mrs. Harper who takes good care of him. However, the “good side” isn’t all that good. Browning, Mrs. Harper’s half brother, really turns out to be a terrible person. He not only allows this 7 year old to drink alcohol, he also makes him read dirty magazines. What’s worse is that Browning also starts sexually abusing him. Turns out that living at Mrs. Harper’s isn’t so much better than living with his mother.
It really got me thinking about how important it is to raise children the right way. Of course you can’t always be perfect, but having a positive influence is so essential. The sad thing is, there are children who don’t have this positive influence. You can really see how America is learning the wrong things about life. Sometimes it seemed like he didn’t do what was right because he didn’t know any better, or people told him that it was wrong. For instance, when Browning told him not to bother Mrs. Harper, he was too young to realize that he really should go and talk to her. In many ways, I found myself blaming Mrs. Harper. Maybe that’s horrible to say, but if she was that old, and in that poor medical condition, she probably shouldn’t have been adopting a young boy. Aside from that, she should never have entrusted him to Browning. She may not have known that he was sexually abusive, but she certainly did know that he was an alcoholic and chain smoker. I’m not sure why she thought it was okay to leave America in his hands, instead of trying to find someone that could truly take care of him.
This book allowed me to see things from a point of view I might not normally see from. While it was disturbing, it was also interesting and at least a little bit hopeful at the end.
However, the novel alternates between the present time, and America in the mental hospital, and the past. We learn that America was a crack baby, and grew up with a foster parent until he was in Kindergarten. He ten goes to visit his mother, who promptly abandons him to his older brothers (around ages 7 and 9). The three boys live on their own for 2 years. We continue to learn about America's past, and all of the horrible things he endured. In many ways we become sympathetic.
Although I kept wanting to read and find out more, I was also very disturbed while I was reading. I feel like you expect the story to go one way: you think that there’s the bad side, which is his mother, the drug addict, and two older brothers who have been living on their own for years from the age of 7, and then there’s the good side, which is sweet Mrs. Harper who takes good care of him. However, the “good side” isn’t all that good. Browning, Mrs. Harper’s half brother, really turns out to be a terrible person. He not only allows this 7 year old to drink alcohol, he also makes him read dirty magazines. What’s worse is that Browning also starts sexually abusing him. Turns out that living at Mrs. Harper’s isn’t so much better than living with his mother.
It really got me thinking about how important it is to raise children the right way. Of course you can’t always be perfect, but having a positive influence is so essential. The sad thing is, there are children who don’t have this positive influence. You can really see how America is learning the wrong things about life. Sometimes it seemed like he didn’t do what was right because he didn’t know any better, or people told him that it was wrong. For instance, when Browning told him not to bother Mrs. Harper, he was too young to realize that he really should go and talk to her. In many ways, I found myself blaming Mrs. Harper. Maybe that’s horrible to say, but if she was that old, and in that poor medical condition, she probably shouldn’t have been adopting a young boy. Aside from that, she should never have entrusted him to Browning. She may not have known that he was sexually abusive, but she certainly did know that he was an alcoholic and chain smoker. I’m not sure why she thought it was okay to leave America in his hands, instead of trying to find someone that could truly take care of him.
This book allowed me to see things from a point of view I might not normally see from. While it was disturbing, it was also interesting and at least a little bit hopeful at the end.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 22, 2011
America is a child who has fallen through the cracks of society. His story is a highly disturbing one. Told in fragments, which intertwine and interrelate, America tries to explain his tortured existence of feeling like no one who is nowhere. He has been subject to sexual abuse, has attempted suicide, has lived in the foster system, is a runaway. While he is committed to a residential hospital, he meets Dr. B. Like all therapeutic relationships, the road is rocky and rough, until America can stand it no more and must confide in someone who cares.
There are a number of reasons this book is appropriate for teens, teachers, librarians, parents, and anyone else who is involved with teens at risk. Written by a clinician, the key point the book makes is the ability for lost children to find their way back, if they can have a "healing relationship". These relationships may be established with any number of people, not just professionals.
There are sections of this book that will make you tear up, make you feel sick to your stomach, and make you a joy like never before.
There are a number of reasons this book is appropriate for teens, teachers, librarians, parents, and anyone else who is involved with teens at risk. Written by a clinician, the key point the book makes is the ability for lost children to find their way back, if they can have a "healing relationship". These relationships may be established with any number of people, not just professionals.
There are sections of this book that will make you tear up, make you feel sick to your stomach, and make you a joy like never before.
May 17, 2012
A book my 13 year old read after finding it on the shelf at the library. On one hand, I'm sad she read this on her own. There is definitely mature content for a younger teen. But, on the other hand, she gave me the book and told me to read it so we could talk about it.
Well, I read it. It is a tough and violent tale of childhood gone very very wrong. I can't imagine how tough it would be for a 6 year old to be let down by almost every adult in their life.
The story is told in current time with flashbacks during counseling sessions. I think this was a great way to tell the story. Sometimes I wanted to scream at the counselor as much as the patient!It's a tough read, as a parent or a YA, but well worth getting through.
I'm going to go talk to my daughter about this book and we're going to talk about thing we never would have - if not for this book bringing it up. And I'm okay with that too.
Well, I read it. It is a tough and violent tale of childhood gone very very wrong. I can't imagine how tough it would be for a 6 year old to be let down by almost every adult in their life.
The story is told in current time with flashbacks during counseling sessions. I think this was a great way to tell the story. Sometimes I wanted to scream at the counselor as much as the patient!It's a tough read, as a parent or a YA, but well worth getting through.
I'm going to go talk to my daughter about this book and we're going to talk about thing we never would have - if not for this book bringing it up. And I'm okay with that too.
March 31, 2009
At first, when I started reading this book it was really confusing for me. I didn't understand the writing structure of the author. But once I started reading more and more of the story. I got why America a nine-year old boy was so messed up. Not only mental, where he was feeling insecure of himself. But the trama that made him feel special, yet he didn't know any better because he had never really had any love in his life. And with this he had finally thought that he was being loved for once in his life and what happens is that he gets hurt. By that one person that was almost like a father to him. When I finally figured out what happened to him I couldn't beleve what I was reading. It felt as if I could almost image all the things that were going on at that point. It's something that makes you think twice, of other people that act like that. The feeling of what being loved is really like.
August 24, 2016
This book influenced me greatly. Have a kid who gets lost in the system, drinks vodka and Coke as a little kid to loosen him up because of one of his reckless guardians, the naked lady lighter, five o' clock at the fountain in the fucking AM, attempted suicide through hanging as an adolescent, abandonment, crying for months on end and never stopping after a tragic fire that brought death to a criminal loved, endless "huh's" during therapy with a psychiatrist, pain and loss, loneliness, survival, please "step off": America as freedom and our inaliable rights as humans, declarations of independence: a kid getting through all of that, all the Americas in the system, existing today and in the past and in the future, forgotten and abandoned, but somehow strong, resilient, beautiful: hope, passion: compassion: the book literally raw, fractured, anti-systematic: lyrical and rough, roughened, the writing raw: America the beautiful ...
I hope you'll read this book ...
I hope you'll read this book ...
March 31, 2009
This book was really confusing at first because when I started reading it I didn't knew what it was talking about and I got kind of lost. After a few days reading the book I founded interesting and easy to read, I just needed to get into it and comprehend every thing it was talking about. In my opinion I liked this book a lot because it really got my attention and I got to learn a lot from it. One of the things I learned from this book was not to give up in yourself. I know this might be hard for some people out there, but I mean you have to believe in yourself and never ever give up on you because killing yourself isn't going to fix anything. Thinking of killing yourself is not a good option to fix problems or get away from some thing... I think we have to think it twice before doing some thing stupid...
June 20, 2007
America is the victim of the foster care system. A nurturing relationship with Mrs. Harper when he was very young helps him overcome the many traumas that happen to him over the next twelve years. That and a good therapist.
April 15, 2012
I was touched. Completely and utterly touch by America's journey written in first person from lost to feeling found. I took his journey and I'm enlightened by it the most.
September 15, 2007
devastating and amazing
December 13, 2018
I define the novel America as a genre-defying controversy like Push. If it were a major motion picture, it would be NC-17, and not as accessible as a YA novel. If this book could make it passed the district's censorship, then I could work with students to deconstruct its complexity.
This book might not appeal to teen readers as it's more of a story founded on maturity and compassion in a way that Oscar winning movies accomplish, as I fear that non-black students might have a difficult time relating to students from a previously unexposed background. I think it is possible that this novel was written for adults, initially, then was re-marketed by the publisher to meet a more impressive yield.
I would recommend this book be taught to twelfth graders, as they are the ones most likely to be equipped with the hindsight to judge the privilege of their own education in contrast to the misery that America faces. America is not a novel concerned with bridging the dichotomy between boys and girls, and is less recognizable as a YA novel than the other books used in the mental health theme.
The book is certainly "teachable," but I'll need to read it again to start to figure out where to begin.
On another note, I imagine that the best way to insure exposure to students is to incorporate this novel into some sort of extracurricular activity, like an honors English reading club. Censorship would be less of an issue at that point.
For my theme, I was looking for a book that dives into sociopathy, or specifically an abused child that develops antisocial tendencies, differing from post-traumatic stress disorder. Instead, the novel advertised to me as an orphaned boy's descent into crime is more of a commentary on America's impoverished immigrant communities. Unlike Push, however, America ends on a much more uplifting note; one that cements it as a narrative worth teaching in class. If I end up working in a relatively wealthy district, then it would be critical for me to try to teach this novel. If I successfully get the novel approved by the district, I could teach my students about the hardships felt by those around them in places they've likely never been, in a retelling that feels genuine despite the fact that I've never lived it. In the end, the mental health theme is less focused on searching for a diagnosis in this book as much as it is focused on following America's success, and documenting how he overcame these obstacles.
Critical Race Theory best addresses the marginalization of the black community that America and his two older brothers were born into. America, being the product of a parent gametically morphed by crack, had the potential to pass as white, but never quite made it.
This book might not appeal to teen readers as it's more of a story founded on maturity and compassion in a way that Oscar winning movies accomplish, as I fear that non-black students might have a difficult time relating to students from a previously unexposed background. I think it is possible that this novel was written for adults, initially, then was re-marketed by the publisher to meet a more impressive yield.
I would recommend this book be taught to twelfth graders, as they are the ones most likely to be equipped with the hindsight to judge the privilege of their own education in contrast to the misery that America faces. America is not a novel concerned with bridging the dichotomy between boys and girls, and is less recognizable as a YA novel than the other books used in the mental health theme.
The book is certainly "teachable," but I'll need to read it again to start to figure out where to begin.
On another note, I imagine that the best way to insure exposure to students is to incorporate this novel into some sort of extracurricular activity, like an honors English reading club. Censorship would be less of an issue at that point.
For my theme, I was looking for a book that dives into sociopathy, or specifically an abused child that develops antisocial tendencies, differing from post-traumatic stress disorder. Instead, the novel advertised to me as an orphaned boy's descent into crime is more of a commentary on America's impoverished immigrant communities. Unlike Push, however, America ends on a much more uplifting note; one that cements it as a narrative worth teaching in class. If I end up working in a relatively wealthy district, then it would be critical for me to try to teach this novel. If I successfully get the novel approved by the district, I could teach my students about the hardships felt by those around them in places they've likely never been, in a retelling that feels genuine despite the fact that I've never lived it. In the end, the mental health theme is less focused on searching for a diagnosis in this book as much as it is focused on following America's success, and documenting how he overcame these obstacles.
Critical Race Theory best addresses the marginalization of the black community that America and his two older brothers were born into. America, being the product of a parent gametically morphed by crack, had the potential to pass as white, but never quite made it.
May 3, 2019
In the beginning when I first started reading this book I was a bit confused because I didn't know what was really happening. But as I kept on reading I started to learn more about America a sixteen year old boy who was sexually abused, attempted suicide , and who was sent to many therapist. He was a boy who was mentally messed up and thought so poorly of himself. I will admit that in the beginning I was a bit annoyed with America's attitude towards everyone that tried to help him but later on I learned why. If someone were to ask me if I recommended this book to them I would most likely say yes to them.
I was so intrigued by the way that this book was written, at first it started off with America's present life but as the story went on he started having flashback. I really enjoyed the flashbacks because they actually helped answer some of my "why" questions. I was finally understanding why America was the way he is. Like I mentioned before I would recommend this book but only if they were over the age of thirteen. The reason that I say this is because the book does have sexual abuse scenes and talks about attempt suicide which in my opinion I feel like kids that age should not be reading this. But I was so amazed by how the author included theses types of scenes in her book because both are a delicate topic to write about.
The main symbolism that I found in this book that caught my attention was Angels. When America lived with a woman who actually loved him they would always paint angels together. But they were never the same the angels were always unique in their own way. At the end we get a quick glimpse of America in heaven, not only was he in paradise he was an angel. A very one of a kind angel who finally felt found. I feel like that's how we should all see ourselves as beautiful angels who don't have to change for the people in society we are all found.
I really enjoyed how this book was written in first person because I was able to somehow put myself in America's shoes and actually understand all of his pain and anger. This book was honestly so powerful, captivating, and sorrowful. It really amazes me how all these events combined as one and created a beautiful story. The theme that I got from this book was to stop being the person you think you were meant to be and be the person that you want to be. America was always surrounded by bad influences but once he found people that made him feel worth something he realized that he was worth so much more to this world.
I was so intrigued by the way that this book was written, at first it started off with America's present life but as the story went on he started having flashback. I really enjoyed the flashbacks because they actually helped answer some of my "why" questions. I was finally understanding why America was the way he is. Like I mentioned before I would recommend this book but only if they were over the age of thirteen. The reason that I say this is because the book does have sexual abuse scenes and talks about attempt suicide which in my opinion I feel like kids that age should not be reading this. But I was so amazed by how the author included theses types of scenes in her book because both are a delicate topic to write about.
The main symbolism that I found in this book that caught my attention was Angels. When America lived with a woman who actually loved him they would always paint angels together. But they were never the same the angels were always unique in their own way. At the end we get a quick glimpse of America in heaven, not only was he in paradise he was an angel. A very one of a kind angel who finally felt found. I feel like that's how we should all see ourselves as beautiful angels who don't have to change for the people in society we are all found.
I really enjoyed how this book was written in first person because I was able to somehow put myself in America's shoes and actually understand all of his pain and anger. This book was honestly so powerful, captivating, and sorrowful. It really amazes me how all these events combined as one and created a beautiful story. The theme that I got from this book was to stop being the person you think you were meant to be and be the person that you want to be. America was always surrounded by bad influences but once he found people that made him feel worth something he realized that he was worth so much more to this world.
March 4, 2022
this book is about a 16 year old boy named america that has attempted to commit suicide but failed. he is put in a psychiatric housing center where he attends meetings with his therapist, Dr. B. america has shown himself to be empty and alone with the meetings with Dr. B, but through the book you get flashbacks of his childhood that lead him on to the point of him wanting to hurt himself because of all of the things that have happened to him throughout his years of misfortune. as a child he went through so much that really bent him out of shape and showed how it changed him in the present. this book helped me see how and what can lead people to be cold and empty and it showed me how events in a persons life can really matter weather it is a big or small event. i personally loved this book but i cant quite put my finger on why. its really sad overall because its just showing the downward spiral of a patients childhood that has caused him to want to hurt himself and to become cold and empty. i honestly thing its the way the story is told going back and forth from present to past to present with everything leading up to the present overall. i loved the book and would read it again if i wasn't so dang busy. i would recommend this book to anybody who is looking for a different type of layout in a book. something to switch up the normal layout that everybody is used to. if you made it to the end of this review, thank you for reading!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 23, 2018
C'était intéressant, surtout pour un étudiant en psychologie comme moi. Mais le mot de fin de l'auteur m'a davantage marquée que le livre. J'ai mis du temps à m'attacher à America. J'ai réussi. Le personnage est touchant, réel, sans filtre. Le livre est aussi un tableau clinique, la dissociation progressive du personnage, les phénomènes de déréalisation, les effets des médicaments, la dépression, le traumatisme ; tout cela m'a rappelé mes cours de psychiatrie et je reconnais à l'auteur cette expérience, cette justesse dans la description du vécu d'un jeune adolescent interné. mais c'est presque trop clair, trop simple, trop fluide. je ne sais pas. j'ai l'impression que le livre ne se suffit pas à lui même et que sans le contexte du résumé et du postface, il perd grandement de sa valeur. la forme me semble pourtant parfaitement adapté, le style est simple (peut-être trop?). j'ai tout de même apprécié ma lecture. un livre - pas un chef-d'œuvre - mais digne d'être lu, qui répond je le pense aux objectifs modestes de l'auteur : témoigner avec justesse, sans trop en faire.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 28, 2018
This book was amazing. The book is from first person and in the eye of a young man. The teen or at times little boy is speaking as an orphan struggling to understand his life. Because the author starts the story in the middle of the characters life it's not clear how he had gotten to that point in the story. Having the story written this way makes the plot a mystery and more interesting and keeps the reader engaged and curious.
On to the meat of the book: the author did a slam dunk job! I want to believe that this author must of read some kid's diary or she must of talked to some orphan child. To me this is the first book I have read where a woman has written a character that truly seems like a man's point of view. This book was a page turner and easily could of been read in one sitting had I not been sick and dealing with my 5 kids. Read this and love it like I did! Amazing story of a boy name America!
On to the meat of the book: the author did a slam dunk job! I want to believe that this author must of read some kid's diary or she must of talked to some orphan child. To me this is the first book I have read where a woman has written a character that truly seems like a man's point of view. This book was a page turner and easily could of been read in one sitting had I not been sick and dealing with my 5 kids. Read this and love it like I did! Amazing story of a boy name America!
June 4, 2019
At the beginning of the novel America, the main character named America is a 15 year old mixed race male staying in a psychiatric inpatient residential center called Ridgeway, where he has been involuntarily admitted after attempting suicide. Throughout his childhood preceding his stay at Ridgewood, America experiences abandonment, sexual and emotional abuse, homelessness, and trauma. America depicts the harm of exposure to adverse childhood experiences; the failure of the social welfare, public school, and justice systems to protect a young child; and the possibility of healing through the support of a stable, supportive environment and a long-term relationship with a competent therapist. The novel follows America from age 15 to age 18 and alternates between flashbacks of past and present to powerfully illustrate how America’s ecological environment and social context influences his functioning and way of relating to the world.
I read this book for a master's graduate school course in social work and learned from the depiction of the clinician, Dr B. That said, this book was published in 2002 and I'm not sure how America would pass muster with today's sensitivity readers, given that the author is a white woman writing about the neglect and abuse of a mixed race young person. I'm concerned that, if read outside the context of racism and the destabilization of black communities in the U.S., this could perpetuate stereotypes about people of color in the minds of some readers.
I read this book for a master's graduate school course in social work and learned from the depiction of the clinician, Dr B. That said, this book was published in 2002 and I'm not sure how America would pass muster with today's sensitivity readers, given that the author is a white woman writing about the neglect and abuse of a mixed race young person. I'm concerned that, if read outside the context of racism and the destabilization of black communities in the U.S., this could perpetuate stereotypes about people of color in the minds of some readers.
March 28, 2018
3.5 pushing 4 stars, though I liked this novel well enough, it reminded me a lot of Last Night I Sang To The Monster which is not to insult neither of the authors, but America had less prose I guess I should say? Though he and the main character of LNISTTM are so so different, I just enjoyed the writing style of the second one better but!! I still love E R Frank and enjoyed this and breezed through in one day and became again familiar with the sadness of reality that Frank is so good at showing us, with those glimpses of hope so much like real life
January 14, 2023
Per me è stato molto difficile leggere America. La storia è letteralmente straziante, riesci a immedesimarti fin troppo in questo ragazzo. Cosa ha passato, i suoi sentimenti, il motivo per cui non riesce ad aprirsi. Sei pervaso da un senso di malinconia che ti porti dietro per tutto il suo viaggio, perché è questo che è America: un viaggio. Non divertente, né facile, ma crudo, spietato, infelice per questo ragazzo. Avresti voluto che le cose fossero diverse per lui, che alcuni legami ritornassero, che il suo passato ritornasse, la sua infanzia si conservasse, e invece no.
Mi è molto piaciuto il rapporto con il suo terapeuta. Il dottor B. riesce a fare qualcosa che gli altri terapeuti non sono mai riusciti a fare con America, anche se ci è voluta molta pazienza.
A livello di scrittura, a volte era abbastanza piatto, altre volte erano per la maggior parte solo dialoghi. Ma ammetto che ti abitui quasi subito a questo modo di scrivere dell’autrice.
Mi è molto piaciuto il rapporto con il suo terapeuta. Il dottor B. riesce a fare qualcosa che gli altri terapeuti non sono mai riusciti a fare con America, anche se ci è voluta molta pazienza.
A livello di scrittura, a volte era abbastanza piatto, altre volte erano per la maggior parte solo dialoghi. Ma ammetto che ti abitui quasi subito a questo modo di scrivere dell’autrice.
May 10, 2019
First off, I'm entirely sure that the book is actually called 'america is me'? Regardless, I enjoyed it. I read it many years ago & revisiting it brought to light a lot of things my younger self would have understood but not necessarily fully. It makes me sad that there are many Americas out there as well as more to come. A poignant story with a startling message that will continue to be carried on.
August 30, 2023
This book is BEAUTIFULLY HAUNTING!!! If you're not comfortable with darker themes and traumatic past this isn't for you. For me god this book hit me once I picked it up i couldn't stop reading it. I finished it in one day. It's a light read, easy to read in my opinion. It's quick to draw you in and you can't help but fall deeper and deeper. I sobbed for hours after this book. It's so captivating and heartbreaking... I just can't express how much this book impacted me.
December 20, 2017
After America attempts suicide, he finds himself as an inpatient at a mental health facility. It is through this treatment program America explores his past and the effects it has on his present. It discusses drug issues, sexual abuse issues, and other tough things.
I thought this was a realistic exploration of a young man's life.
I thought this was a realistic exploration of a young man's life.
June 3, 2020
I took adolescent lit in high school & at the point was convinced reading was a something I HAD to do, but wasn't really interested in until I read this. This book sparked my passion for reading- it's heartbreaking but it's also incredibly moving & the author captured America's pain brilliantly. Everyone should read this at least once in their lifetime.
August 25, 2019
I once knew a boy like America, he was befrinded then abused by a male counsleor at a boy's home. The only diffrence between them were America tried to kill himself. My brohter slowly killed himself with alcohol and drugs. So as I read about America it cut like a knife.
July 13, 2020
Fifteen year old America's failed suicide attempt lands him in a treatment facility. Through alternating chapters between the past and present, the readers sees the events of America's past which led to the event.
January 23, 2022
A heart-breaking story of a young boy who got lost in more ways than one. The book brought forth emotions that I wasn't expecting, but very appreciative of the author taking on difficult subject matter.
May 29, 2017
Powerful, compelling, and sad.
July 17, 2017
Review to come
March 29, 2019
I love this book! It is similar to the one I wrote (I promise I wrote it before I read this) E.R. Franks writing style blows me away and I absolutely can’t get enough!
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