About This Book
Reach for this book if your teenager feels like a square peg in a round hole or is struggling to find meaning in a rigid school environment. This dryly funny, satirical look at a 1950s Chicago high schooler follows Robert Nifkin as he navigates a toxic school system and eventually finds his place in an unorthodox private school that values curiosity over compliance. It is a brilliant choice for students who feel alienated by traditional education or who have a subversive sense of humor. While the setting is historical, the emotional core of searching for a tribe and the right to think for oneself is timeless. Parents should know the book addresses serious themes like anti-Semitism, McCarthyism, and homophobia through a satirical lens, making it appropriate for middle and high schoolers. It encourages teens to realize that school is not the whole world and that intelligence comes in many forms.
