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Stitches

4.03 of 5 stars 4.03 · rating details · 9,193 ratings · 1,673 reviews

Finalist for the 2009 National Book Award and finalist for two 2010 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards: the prize-winning children’s author depicts a childhood from hell in this searing yet redemptive graphic memoir.

One day David Small awoke from a supposedly harmless operation to discover that he had been transformed into a virtual mute. A vocal cord removed, his throat sl...more Finalist for the 2009 National Book Award and finalist for two 2010 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards: the prize-winning children’s author depicts a childhood from hell in this searing yet redemptive graphic memoir.

One day David Small awoke from a supposedly harmless operation to discover that he had been transformed into a virtual mute. A vocal cord removed, his throat slashed and stitched together like a bloody boot, the fourteen-year-old boy had not been told that he had cancer and was expected to die.

In Stitches, Small, the award-winning children’s illustrator and author, re-creates this terrifying event in a life story that might have been imagined by Kafka. As the images painfully tumble out, one by one, we gain a ringside seat at a gothic family drama where David—a highly anxious yet supremely talented child—all too often became the unwitting object of his parents’ buried frustration and rage.

Believing that they were trying to do their best, David’s parents did just the reverse. Edward Small, a Detroit physician, who vented his own anger by hitting a punching bag, was convinced that he could cure his young son’s respiratory problems with heavy doses of radiation, possibly causing David’s cancer. Elizabeth, David’s mother, tyrannically stingy and excessively scolding, ran the Small household under a cone of silence where emotions, especially her own, were hidden.

Depicting this coming-of-age story with dazzling, kaleidoscopic images that turn nightmare into fairy tale, Small tells us of his journey from sickly child to cancer patient, to the troubled teen whose risky decision to run away from home at sixteen—with nothing more than the dream of becoming an artist—will resonate as the ultimate survival statement.

A silent movie masquerading as a book, Stitches renders a broken world suddenly seamless and beautiful again. Finalist for the 2009 National Book Award (Young Adult); finalist for two 2010 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards (Best Writer/Artist: Nonfiction; Best Reality-Based Work).(less)

Hardcover, 329 pages

Published September 8th 2009 by W. W. Norton & Company

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Feb 21, 2012 ~Geektastic~ rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: memoir-biography, graphic-novels, dysfunctional, coming-of-age, family-sagas, library, relationships, reviewed

If it were up to me, all biographies and memoirs would be written in graphic novel form. Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic, The Complete Maus, The Complete Persepolis, Blankets ; these are all near-perfect expressions of personal and familial experience. The power of imagery saves the subject matter from being bogged down by the excessively wordy, self-justifying tendencies of some, and the oblique, pseudo-poetic drivel of others. The best graphic novel memoirs and biographies seem to combat these t...more If it were up to me, all biographies and memoirs would be written in graphic novel form. Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic, The Complete Maus, The Complete Persepolis, Blankets ; these are all near-perfect expressions of personal and familial experience. The power of imagery saves the subject matter from being bogged down by the excessively wordy, self-justifying tendencies of some, and the oblique, pseudo-poetic drivel of others. The best graphic novel memoirs and biographies seem to combat these tendencies by utilizing a profound economy made possible by the the concentrated effect of the visual. Everyone knows the old truism, “a picture is worth a thousand words,” but books like these show you what it really means to tell a story visually.

Stitches is perhaps one of the best examples of this, even compared to the aforementioned masterpieces of the genre. Spare is the keyword here, as simple and often entirely silent series of panels tell a heartbreaking but ultimately redemptive coming of age story.

Childhood is a bizarre and dangerous time; so much of who we are is the result of those formative years, and so much can go wrong. Some of us get lucky and we enter adulthood with nothing but a few minor scrapes and mental bruises, mitigated by affection and happy memories. But some of us are like David Small, and we are scarred.

A bleak childhood and the questionable practices of 1950’s medicine (including the ministrations of Small’s radiologist father) leave Small scarred inside as well as out. The story is not a pleasant one, and there is no real humor to lighten the burden of disclosure, but it is told with such subtle beauty that it is worth the pain, like life itself often proves to be. (I apologize at this maudlin tendency, but there it is).

Silence, both literal and metaphorical is the tool most often and effectively used by Small as he relates his traumatic and disturbing youth. Rendered voiceless for years by a mysterious medical procedure, he understands the power and difficulty of silence. His family doesn’t communicate— typical of their repressive time—and even with a voice, Small is rarely heard. Perhaps it is this lack of voice that gives him the ability to encapsulate a swathe of years in a few lines and the subtle shading of a face. He is definitely a master of facial expressions, if not of vocalization.

There are moments of, if not joy, then understanding from time to time. And there are some truly disturbing events as well. (view spoiler). But life is full of both, it just seems that he got a bit more of the latter and at the end of his story I found myself surprised that he didn’t grow up to be a serial killer. David Small (and the rest of us) should be very thankful for the cathartic effect of storytelling. And good therapists.
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Dec 07, 2011 Lee rated it 4 of 5 stars

Such strange compressions of time: 24 years of the most significant moments in the author's life laid out in comparatively spare, sane, elegant, mature, b&w drawings (compared to the work of many other leading graphic artists) over 329 pages that surely took years to complete, read in an "enjoyable" hour, immersed in that sort of cinematic bookishness that comes from turning pages so much more quickly than those covered in text. A great passage of pages where the kid-aged author dives throug...more

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Jun 04, 2013 Ocoronel1 added it

I feel that the book is mysteries, creepy, crazy, and not normal. This book makes me feel like mine parts of it. It also makes me feel sad for the kid, because the way his parents treat him. This book makes me feel all different kinds of feels. This book has different kinds of emotion.

I predict that David is going to die, because of his cancer. I also predict that David’s father is going to try to make David forgive him for what he has done to him. I think that David is not going to forgive his...more

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Aug 15, 2009 Jennifer rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: graphic-novels

This evocative graphic novel, replete with themes of loss, anger, pain and hope, is bound to resonate with readers in much the same way that
Craig Thompson’s Blankets does. Small’s memoir mirrors the helplessness children and adolescents often feel as pawns in world ruled by adults with their own dysfunctional baggage, and beautifully illustrates the truism that everyone eventually grows up and is rewarded with the chance to develop their own identity separate from the people who raised them. Als...more

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Jul 27, 2009 UConnCo-op rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: graphic-novel

Imogene's Antlers by David Small has always been one of my favorite childrens books so I was eager to read his graphic memoir Stitches, but not prepared for the intensity of it. With drawings and spare words, he relives his troubled childhood with his frighteningly unhappy mother and physician father. After X-Ray treatments from his father, he develops cancer at the age of 14 but no one tells him. He awakes from surgery scarred, mute, and confused about what happened and why. At 16 he leaves hom...more

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Dec 15, 2010 Kelly rated it 4 of 5 stars

Woo wee, this memoir had some bite to it, to be sure. Picking this one up, I was not sure if it would consitute as 'creepy' as everyone has said it is. It's worse. Stitches is creepy and affecting. The story of David Small's childhood kept me up at night, with me pondering over him being mentally scarred or not. The pictures are 'simplistic' yet arresting. Check this one out.

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Jul 12, 2009 Bob Redmond rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: graphica

The story: a boy suffers from the worst kind of neglect, in a truly screwed up family situation. It probably won't spoil the story to say that he loses his voice through an operation (hence the title). It's a memoir.

The background: the author would eventually become a renowned illustrator of children's books.

My notes: the book is goregously illustrated in black inks and watercolors. The prose is spare, and the story minimal. Amist the flood of memoirs published in recent years, this one has to s...more

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Mar 01, 2012 James rated it 5 of 5 stars

What would you do if you discovered a secret that would change everything? In Stitches, award winning author and illustrator David Small recreates his dark childhood where not even a glimpse of hope is to be found. Through a secret which aggravated his childhood to the brink of death, Small somehow withstood the pain and the suffering of a childhood without love; and comes out on top, because of a passion. A driven force. Art. I would exceedingly recommend this book to anyone that is looking fo...more
What would you do if you discovered a secret that would change everything? In Stitches, award winning author and illustrator David Small recreates his dark childhood where not even a glimpse of hope is to be found. Through a secret which aggravated his childhood to the brink of death, Small somehow withstood the pain and the suffering of a childhood without love; and comes out on top, because of a passion. A driven force. Art. I would exceedingly recommend this book to anyone that is looking for a good scare, through a graphic novel that is no less than flawlessly written.
Something that really struck me about this book is that David is able to run away from home at age 16, just on the hope that he will someday become one of the world’s greatest artists(295). The fact that David was able to survive on his own as a senior is amazing but I can’t but help thinking that being practically on his own the most of his life, his tough family condition “prepared” him for his life in solitude. Yet, wondering about it, if all of us are going to go out into the world someday, does it mean that we should all be trained from young how it feels like to be completely alone? Something else about Stitches that struck me is that David’s mother, didn’t love him. What really struck me about this is that someone would not love their own flesh and blood. This idea is reinforced through the time when David finally figures out that the only reason his mother came to visit him when he was on his “deathbed” was that to her, he no longer mattered. To her, he was already dead and had come to just bid farewell(211). Who would have thought that someone’s sense of hatred, and disgust could come in the form of their own son. Another part of the book that downright struck me is that David’s own dad gave him cancer. This was even more striking as his Dad is a qualified radiologist. Even though in the book it says that the reason his dad exposed David to 2-400 rads was that he was giving david therapy for his sinus infection, the 2-400 rads were enough to give David cancer(285). Yet, by the time that David had figured this out, it was already too late. He had already had one of his vocal cords taken out, along with the extreme growth in his neck that was because of his cancer. The picture depicted after this scene was a black hole that david walked into, and this sums up his life until then. He had been like one of the soldiers in The Charge of the Light Brigade. He had been led astray, and had been walking into oblivion. Not sure about who he was , or who he was going to be. He just believed, and did whatever people told him to.
This book shows us the light and the darkness about our world, and therefore I rate it a 4-5 star book. David Small is like Thomas Friedman, an enlightener to our unpleasant, and unfriendly world that we live in; and what better way to reveal the unpleasant truths about our world than through a graphic novel? David Small presents us with an overpowering and extraordinary memoir, which comes to life in the muted form of words. In this story of a dark and secret life, filled with anger and vengeance, David Small has once again produced a brilliant work of art. The ultimate accolade for Stitches.
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Oct 30, 2009 Nicole rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Carol Morency

Shelves: graphic-novel, memoirs-biographies

heart wrenching and so well done.

my review from work:
"In harsh gray tones and unforgiving imagery, David Small captures his childhood growing up with distant, unloving parents in 1950s Detroit. His father, a radiologist, often treated David’s minor ailments with x-rays that caused a small growth on his neck that his parents left untreated for years. Surgery revealed it to be cancer and David lost part of his vocal cord and, at first, his voice. The anger and hurt, even after many years, over the...more

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Aug 26, 2009 Nancy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: graphic-non-fiction, young-adult-interest, july-2009, memoir

This memoir in graphic format by children's author and illustrator David Small reveals a very dark childhood where he cowered in a house punctuated by the angry silences of his mother. Likewise, David was reduced to near silence not just in fear of unexpectedly setting off his mother, but by the loss of one of his vocal chords. Left briefly in the care of his maternal grandmother, he overheard family secrets and was exposed to incomprehensible violence, which later shed some light on his mother'...more

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Mar 05, 2010 Steven rated it 5 of 5 stars

Several of his illustrated books were favorites to read to my kids when they were small. This illustrated memoir reveals a childhood so very different from theirs. Raised in a home without love, he is pulled back from the edge of madness by one caring adult. The book is beatifully done and very touching.

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Nov 07, 2009 Stacy268 rated it 4 of 5 stars

Heart breaking.

I read this last night and was left very pensive. Once wakened by my daughter around 1am, Small's story would not leave my brain. Upon reflection I think I will be haunted by this one for a long time.

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Jan 26, 2011 Hom Sack rated it 5 of 5 stars

And I thought my average reading speed of 50 pages per hour was pretty good. But to read this 336 page book in 40 minutes in one sitting? Wow, that's and impressive 504 pages per hour! :-)

Stitches is well illustrated and flows seamlessly from frame to frame. So, it was a delight to read despited the sad recounting of the author's childhood years. I recommend it highly.

The last time I read comic books ( now more fashionably called Graphic Novels ) was during my pre-teen years. Beside the typical...more

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May 01, 2013 Lizz rated it 4 of 5 stars

It's not often I rate a book that I did not read in elementary school this high. For those who are not fans of the graphic novel genre, this might be a good one to start with. David Small has proved time and time again he can tell a full story with nuance, emotion, and intelligence through images alone. His illustrations for picture books capture the idea that the illustrator truly rounds out the story, offering clues to the bigger picture and important details.

STITCHES is sad to be sure, but se...more

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Apr 12, 2013 Brianna Bizzaro rated it 5 of 5 stars

Name: Brianna Bizzaro
APA citation: Small, D. (2009). Stitches, a memoir--. W W Norton & Co Inc.
Genre: Biography
Award: National Book Award Nominee for Young People's Literature (2009), Pennsylvania Young Readers' Choice Award Nominee (2011), Michigan Notable Book (2010), Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Nonfiction & Graphic Novel (2009), ALA Alex Award (2010)
ALA's Top Ten Best Books for Young Adults (2010)
Format: Graphic Novel
Selection Process: Scholastic Teachers’ pick - First-Rate Bio...more

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Mar 20, 2013 Melanie Bates rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: chapter-book, graphic-novel, informational-or-biography

Stitches

Summary: This is a story about a young boy, David. David had medical problems ever since he was little. Despite his medical problems his parents were never really there for him. His parents had different priorities and always seemed to push David’s problem aside. He eventually found out that he had cancer, after David recovered he decided to separate from his family. David built a successful life for himself, he didn’t return to see his mother until she was on her death bed.

Response: I f...more

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Mar 19, 2013 Madison Gervais rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: graphic-novel, historical-fiction

Annotation
The book Stitches is a true story about a young boy named David Small. David was unable to have the normal childhood he so badly wished he could, because his mom and grandma were very abusive. When he was young he found out that he had a growth on his neck that needed to be removed but his mom couldn’t afford it. When in all actuality his mother would just rather spend her money on other things like cars and furniture. When they finally decided to pay for the surgery after it they were...more Annotation
The book Stitches is a true story about a young boy named David Small. David was unable to have the normal childhood he so badly wished he could, because his mom and grandma were very abusive. When he was young he found out that he had a growth on his neck that needed to be removed but his mom couldn’t afford it. When in all actuality his mother would just rather spend her money on other things like cars and furniture. When they finally decided to pay for the surgery after it they were surprisingly nice to him and nearly waited on him hand and foot. He was suspicious as he should because they were hiding a secret from him. Little did David know, his surgery was not as simple as they thought, after his first surgery the doctors had to return and have a second surgery. David was to find out later, while he was recovering, that he had cancer and that was the reason for all the complications. When David was fully recovered he separated from his parents and moved out to start his own life. This was not easy since his throat was scared from surgery and he had trouble talking. He ended up falling in love with art and becoming an artist.

Response:

This was a wonderful book. I absolutely love the setup of the graphic novel. It was a book I felt that I couldn’t put down I became enthralled with David’s story and I felt for him and everything he went through. This book gives children an outlook that they can become whoever they want to be, regardless of what people see them becoming. His mother did not expect him to amount to anything and told him he would end up right where his grandmother did, and he purposely wrote in big bold letter “I DIDN’T”.

Classroom Connections

This would be a good book for kids who see chapter books as a daunting task. It is a way for them to feel accomplished by finishing a long book and not struggling too much reading. Another activity that students could do is look at the images and try and guess what will happen or make another version of the story by
using the given images.

Reading Complexity

I could not find a lexile score but I would place this as appropriate for 7th grade and up.
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Feb 27, 2013 Patrica rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 5-8, print-format, graphic-novel

This is a true story about a young boy named David. David wasn't able to have a normal childhood because his mother and grandmother were very emotionally and physically abusive towards him. At a young age, David found out he had a growth on his neck. He needed to have surgery but his parents said they couldn't afford it. They were greedy and selfishly buying clothing, furniture and a car. When David was finally able to have his surgery, is parents were surprisingly nice to him. Offering him anyt...more This is a true story about a young boy named David. David wasn't able to have a normal childhood because his mother and grandmother were very emotionally and physically abusive towards him. At a young age, David found out he had a growth on his neck. He needed to have surgery but his parents said they couldn't afford it. They were greedy and selfishly buying clothing, furniture and a car. When David was finally able to have his surgery, is parents were surprisingly nice to him. Offering him anything he ever wanted. Little did David know it was only because they were keeping a very dark secret from him.

After David had the first surgery, the doctors claimed they had to operate again. After David woke up from the second surgery he was informed that his throat was scared and he no longer had a voice. While he recovered at home, David discovered that his parents secret was that he had cancer. This was the reason for all his medical problems and surgery's. When David was fully recovered, he left home and began to live life on his own. He believed strangers were better to live with than his own parents. He began to rebuild his life and discovered his passion for art. He began a successful career as a picture book artist and only returned to see his mother on her death bed.

Response:Although this story was very sad it made for a great read. I couldn't believe how terrible David's parents treated him. As a parent myself, it mad me angry to think that this is a true story and that there are actual people in this world as disgusting as them.
Concept:It made me very happy to know despite everything this boy had been through he still was able to overcome these tragic events and lead a normal and successful life. This story makes me appreciate my parents and I'm blessed to have such a wonderful family of my own.

Classroom Connection:this story would make a great classroom connection because it will teach students about forgiveness, overcoming obstacles and the power of love. After everything David had been through, he didn't let that stop him from pursuing his dreams of becoming an artist. I believe its very important to express how much you appreciate, respect and love your loved ones. This can make for a great writing activity to have your students write a letter to a loved one of their choice and expressing how much they love and appreciate them. Finally, I believe David forgave his mother at the end of the story when he visited her for the last time. Despite how terrible she treated him, he found room in his heart to forgive her. This is an important message to teach students of all ages.

CCSS Range:I could not find a lexile for this book but I believe this book is better appropriate for older students. Due to some of the graphic pictures and some of the topics discussed such as cancer. I think by the sixth grade and up students will be able to read this book independently. (less)

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Jan 06, 2013 April rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2013-reading-log, nonfiction, graphic-novel, classroom-library

Hauntingly heartbreaking and poignant, this graphic novel about David Small's life is powerful. The art panels create a dark and foreboding tone that quickly draws the reader into the story. The writing is matter of fact and detached, which adds to the emotional response the reader experiences. This memoir would be especially appealing to young adults as many of them can relate to David's attempt to find himself in spite of the issues his parents are struggling with, about which they often misdi...more

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Dec 22, 2012 Michael Scott rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: graphic-novels, memoir

I bought this book on a whim. I was in ABC in Amsterdam, carrying an armful of books, and my eyes fell on a misplaced book; it turned out to be Stitches by David Small, a memoir of a sickly and quite sickening childhood.

I found the memoir itself too dispassionate; this is no Blankets or Jimmy Corrigan the Smartest Kid on Earth. David Small seems to be cataloging his misfortunes (loveless parents, internalized feelings, strict upbringing, sickness trauma, etc.). I found almost every scene too sho...more

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Nov 15, 2012 Savanah G rated it 5 of 5 stars

The main charachter of this memoir is David, a young boy that grows up in a house of silence. Most of the book takes place in David's house with his family. His mother is always angry, while his dad ignores and disrespects him. This family lives in silence meaning they live a life that isnt happy, the relationships are very strained and passionately angry. David constantly tries to occupy himself because he is literally ignored by his family.

This is a memoir. The author wrote this, himself being...more The main charachter of this memoir is David, a young boy that grows up in a house of silence. Most of the book takes place in David's house with his family. His mother is always angry, while his dad ignores and disrespects him. This family lives in silence meaning they live a life that isnt happy, the relationships are very strained and passionately angry. David constantly tries to occupy himself because he is literally ignored by his family.

This is a memoir. The author wrote this, himself being David the main charachter. The main focus of this memoir is the terrible household and lifestyle he has had to live with most of his life, even after he eventually moves out when he comes of age. He constantly asks himself why he is ignored and why he is unloved and completely alone in life. He never gets any of his questions answered though. He only has himself, and as the reader we quickly pick up on this idea.

The plot in "Stitches" is very depressing and mysterious. We never figure out why David is forced to live a life of secrets, hatred, and silence. His family is very complex because they are very unpredictably irritable at times. The story was highly realistic to that of a home where a child is abused mentally. It moved at just the right pace to follow, I dont remember getting lost much. As the reader I believe we place ourselves in David's position. In every scene of abuse we wonder just like David wondered. We see everything through his point of view.

I really enjoyed this book for many different reasons. As a child growing up, we often wonder many things about our families. We wonder why there is passion, we wonder why there is silence. David's emotions resemble many children's emotions. I also enjoyed how in a certain scene where he is being abused by his grandmother on his mom's side, he sees the situation from both his and her view. I think this is a highly valubal trait to percieve anything through. I believe although David is put in a terribly circumstance from birth, his passion and anger flow through him in positive ways such as his artistic ability skills. Through all of his pain and suffering comes a beautiful understanding of reality and I think somehow it helps him to value any good relationship he has in life with anyone.(less)

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Oct 23, 2012 Amy Fieldhouse rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: award-winner, print, graphic-novel, grades-7-12

Summary:
David Small was just six years old, living in Detroit with his parents, where his dad the radiologist gave him x-rays to cure his sinus problems. David’s parents did what they thought was best for him, but in fact had a direct impact on his health. David’s mother was an unusual kind, emotionless but excessively strict. David Small wrote Stitches about his experience growing up and waking from a surgery without a voice due the operation that left his throat scarred, unbeknownst to the ca...more Summary:
David Small was just six years old, living in Detroit with his parents, where his dad the radiologist gave him x-rays to cure his sinus problems. David’s parents did what they thought was best for him, but in fact had a direct impact on his health. David’s mother was an unusual kind, emotionless but excessively strict. David Small wrote Stitches about his experience growing up and waking from a surgery without a voice due the operation that left his throat scarred, unbeknownst to the cancer inside of him. David recreates the terrifying events that have shaped him into the person he is today.
The illustrations are monochromatic and gothic and allow the reader to feel the emotion of the author. Some illustrations and details are graphic and are best suited for a more mature audience. This book is well written and designed and allows the reader an intimate view of what it was like to grow up as David Small.

Response:
What I most noticed about this memoir is the vivid detail in which the author describes his experiences. He seemingly provides every detail to give the reader the full experience of his sometimes terrifying childhood. The passage I found most memorable was when David went to see his white rabbit therapist. I liked that the therapist was completely honest with him and treated him like ‘a favorite son.’ When the white rabbit therapist told David that his mother didn’t love him, I found It interesting that David did not verbally express his emotions(p255). Emotions were forbidden in his home while growing up, and I like that he instead used many different illustrations of him in disbelief, crying, and the unstoppable rain that followed him.

Classroom Connection:
I may introduce this book to a student that is struggling with a life problem. This book can be relatable to a lot of readers and could be beneficial for a student who is ill or has an ill family member.
No Lexile Available
Grade Level Equivalent: 7-12
329 Pages
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Oct 23, 2012 Cody rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: graphic-novel, paperback, picture-book, print-format

Summary
Stitches is a graphic novel about a growing boy named David. David is actually the author of the book as well resulting in this graphic novel being an autobiography. The book starts when David is born and readers are told that he was born with sinus and digestive problems. His father is in the medical field so is able to run a lot of tests, specifically many x-rays. David visits the hospital a lot with his mother and brother. While the family is there waiting for the father to be off work...more Summary
Stitches is a graphic novel about a growing boy named David. David is actually the author of the book as well resulting in this graphic novel being an autobiography. The book starts when David is born and readers are told that he was born with sinus and digestive problems. His father is in the medical field so is able to run a lot of tests, specifically many x-rays. David visits the hospital a lot with his mother and brother. While the family is there waiting for the father to be off work David decides that he is bored and wants to explore the hospital. While he is exploring he sees babies in jars, David takes interest in this and examines the jars. David spends a lot of time looking at the deceased babies. When he returns back to his family he is reminded of how hard his family life is, he is reminded of this almost daily. His mother does not show him a lot of affection, his dad is always working, and his brother is quite older so their interests are different. David is haunted by nightmares of the babies that he had seen in the jars nightly, this really affects David and his life.
His family, specifically his mother, has a party at their house one night. There is a lady that is at the party that (David’s mother is quite fond of) notices a lump on David’s neck. She mentions this to David’s mother and suggestion that he get it checked out by a medical team. After long negotiations David is finally taken to the Doctor. He was told that he needs to have surgery to remove the lump but that it was nothing to worry about. The lump was taken out but David was left with no voice. This is a struggle for David which eventually leads to him finding out why he actually had the surgery. When he finds out what his medical diagnosis actually was it stays with him for the rest of his life. He becomes a rebellious person that makes some bad choices. While this new life journey he is on, he also discovers information on his family that was never thought of!
The pictures though sometimes gruesome went along with the story and added a huge effect on to what was going on in the story along with dialog.
Response
I gave this book a three star rating because I really could not see this being for young readers at all. It was an entertaining book for me but thinking of it for young students was challenging for me. It was also shocking to read such a gruesome and twisted story. I think that maybe even parents would argue this for their children to read. There were also some graphics that were very explicit for students in elementary school.
Classroom Connection
I would connect this in the classroom by talking about the changes that people go through life and hard decisions are being made a lot. This can be done by asking the students to write about an incident that they had to make a hard decision with. Since there is a lot of medical information given the students can do a science lesson about the terms used such as cancer and x-rays.
Text Complexity
I did not find any information about the book but I believe this would be appropriate for middle school students to read.
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Oct 22, 2012 Veronica Smith rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: print-format, graphic-novel

This book is about the author David Smalls’ life. The book starts out with 14 year old David waking up from an operation that has turned him into a mute! His vocal cord was removed and his throat was cut open and stitched back together because he was told that he had cancer and was expected to die. Of course, his parents tried to fix him. His mother tried by making sure the house was silent and no one showed any emotion. His father tried by giving him doses of radiation which almost ended in his...more

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Oct 08, 2012 Christie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: memoir, graphic-novel

I am not a graphic novel aficionado, but David Small’s Stitches has been on my tbr radar for a while. Small’s memoir of growing up in 1950′s Detroit with an older brother, a radiologist father and a bat-shit crazy mother (although the discovery of her secret life makes her a tad more sympathetic) has won a slew of accolades and was a finalist for several major awards including the National Book Award.

I can’t comment on the quality of the art – or how it compares to the art of other graphic novel...more

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Sep 20, 2012 Marianthi rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: print-format, graphic-novel, family, deep-issues, gr-9-12

Summary:
Stitches is a book that tells the story of a boy and his very private and cold family. When reading the book you cannot help but feel sorry for the protagonist because it seems as though he is going through life alone and with no support or love from his distant parents. This book presents a lot of deep issues that the main character has to go through at a very young age. Stitches pushes the boundaries of a young adult book.

The protagonist, David, has lived his whole life in a house whe...more Summary:
Stitches is a book that tells the story of a boy and his very private and cold family. When reading the book you cannot help but feel sorry for the protagonist because it seems as though he is going through life alone and with no support or love from his distant parents. This book presents a lot of deep issues that the main character has to go through at a very young age. Stitches pushes the boundaries of a young adult book.

The protagonist, David, has lived his whole life in a house where free speech and expression where not welcome. He explains that each person in his family had their own escapes from each other and dealt with their own issues in different ways. The problem with a family like this is that David began to feel lost and not loved even by his own mother. When a major problem arises with David's health, he is hurt to find out that his parents have been keeping the truth a secret from him. After recovering from his time in the hospital he learns more interesting problems about the individuals in his family. At a young age he learns how to come into his own then makes a life for himself.

Response:
The story makes me feel very bad for the main character. It left a sad mark and I am not sure I would want to have my students reading this book. I also think not many parents would approve of this book for their children. The issues it presents are very deep and scary and although very real, also something that perhaps teachers should not be introducing to their students. I did think it was a good book, but even at the age of 22 I had a hard time swallowing the story.

The message that this book sends out is one of real life topics that some unfortunate young children have to deal with. It's meaning might hit home for some people that have had to go through some of these issues, but overall it brings up very real problems. Not all of your students are going to know what some of those problems feel like or mean, so that is why I believe the message this book has is not necessarily for young adults.

Classroom Connections:
The only kind of classroom connection I can even think of for this book would be if a student of yours is struggling with similar issues in their home life, than maybe recommending this book to them to read privately. As I mentioned above, I would not assign this book for all my students to read for the fact being that the issues in it are not something a teacher should be discussing with students in my opinion.

Lexile:160L
Guided Reading: N/A(less)

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Jun 03, 2012 Lindsay Heller rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, graphic

My mother read this book for her book club and handed it off to me. From what I could tell her main reasoning seemed to be that it only took her an hour to get through, so it stayed on my shelf for a few weeks. I do like graphic novels, and I find them particularly poignant when they come in the form of memoir, but they never seem to be the first thing I grab when I'm trying to decide what to read next. I'm very glad I decided to read this. I don't know of David Small but he's apparently a well...more

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May 17, 2012 Blair rated it 4 of 5 stars

The Story of stitches is base around the authors , David Small, Life when he was young. The Story begins when David was six years old and was describing the way his family laugh, while doing different things. His Mother would slap the dishes in to the cupboards his dad would punch a punching bag and his brother bang his drum while he would become sick. As the book goes on more of Davids past shows and how when he was born his digestive system wasn’t working how it should be. You also learnt that...more

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May 11, 2012 Martha Freeman rated it 5 of 5 stars

“Stitches” is a dark, dark fairytale that happens to be the true story of the author's childhood and coming of age. Marketed for young adults, the book left thoroughly grown-up me with my jaw agape.

Small grew up in Detroit in the 1950s, his father a radiologist and his mother the proverbial angry housewife, tight-lipped and more concerned about saving money than her two sons. Nobody in the house spoke much, but Dad spent a lot of time hitting a punching bag in the basement, his brother banging h...more

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May 04, 2012 Lisa Gricius rated it 5 of 5 stars

I am very stingy with 5 star-ratings, being a bit of a review-snob, but Stitches by David Small exceeded all of my expectations earning it my deepest respect. This award-winning coming-of-age memoir by children's illustrator David Small is intensely dramatic and as the reviewers rightly termed, "groundbreaking." You will move along from panel to panel in a highly emotional state. I guarantee it. You will cry when you should laugh, and laugh when you should cry. Often wordless, there is no need....more

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