I grabbed this off the shelf at the local library as an audiobook, and because I have an interest in goats and am plotting out a young-adult novel. However, the book has nothing to do with goats. I was surprised by its bluntness and honesty and thought, "This is how kids really think, and not the way adults would like them to think." Which is why young-adult books sometimes are lousy, because they are written to placate and reassure adults. But teens are much harder to fool than adults.
Then I discovered it has actually been on the "banned books" list. I can understand why honesty would upset some people--the same kind of people that don't want to see those behavioral-health surveys that show what the kids are really up to. This book is 20 years old but still feels fresh. It's worth a read.
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