The Trouble in Me

ahhh this book was so tense it made my stomach hurt the entire time I was reading it. I'm not really sure how to rate it? There's definitely skill involved in writing that kind of intensity, but I didn't really enjoy reading it, and I'm not really sure who the intended audience is? I loved [b:Hole in My Life 842087 Hole in My Life Jack Gantos https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1316130742s/842087.jpg 80002], but I felt like that had a more structured narrative? This one is just like, Jack's neighbor Gary keeps encouraging Jack to do an escalating string of shitty things, and Jack does them.. but since it's all set before Hole in My Life, if you've already read that one, then you know that the worst is yet to come. But also, Hole in My Life ends with like... a clear resolution, where Jack ends up in jail. This just ends with vague uneasiness. Which I guess is fine? I mean, lots of times life leaves you with vague uneasiness. I guess kids who like Ellen Hopkins-style books about kids doing fucked-up stuff would probably like this? But unlike Ellen Hopkins et al, you don't have the sense that Jack has been mistreated (which I think is the appeal of a lot of Ellen Hopkins etc, feeling righteous indignation on behalf of the teens whose abusive homelife pushes them toward drugs/crime/whatever?), just that, for whatever reason, he feels unfulfilled and wants to set shit on fire. Which again–I know there are kids like that? So maybe they will like this book????PS A PUPPY FACES SERIOUS PERIL IN THIS BOOK BUT DOESN'T DIE, at least not in the narrative