Stitches by David Small

When David Small was a young boy, his radiologist father treated his sinusitis with heavy and frequent radiation therapy. It was the 1950s, and this was in keeping with current medical practice. Even so, ten years later, Small had developed a cancerous tumor on his neck. His parents told him it was a cyst, and when he awoke from what he’d thought would be a simple operation, he found an enormous scar running down his neck. One of his vocal chords had been removed in the procedure, and for the next ten years he was unable to speak louder than a whisper.

Small’s beautiful, cinematic memoir is a haunting portrait of a dysfunctional family. His rage, even after his parents’ death decades later, blisters the pages with loose, evocative drawings. Though the book has been nominated for the National Book Award in the Young People’s Literature category, it is a dark and powerful adult book. Fans of Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home will find this a welcome addition to the graphic novel medium.

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Recommended by Sara D.