HOME AFTER DARK

The world can be a scary and confusing place for just about any 13-year-old. For Russell Pruitt, the main character of David Small’s gripping new graphic novel Home After Dark, it can be downright terrifying.

Like Stitches, his 2009 graphic memoir about his experience with cancer at age 14, Home After Dark focuses on the hellish side of adolescence, although this time the main challenge is bullying instead of cancer.

The graphics work beautifully with Small’s text, which alternates between dialogue and Russell’s thoughts. The writing shares the understated style of the illustrations, allowing both elements to surprise the reader with their emotional punch. Russell’s story may be set some 50 years ago, but it’s all too contemporary in its concerns — a story that might be even more urgent now.

NONFICTION

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Dare to Lead Ship of Fools Killing the SS Girl, Wash Your Face Skinnytaste One and Done Presidents of War Fear The Fifth Risk Whiskey in a Teacup Spygate