Nick Ryan Ryan itibaren Pokrovka, Kazakhstan
This one grew on me. I didn't care for it much at first – Emil, the protagonist, felt like a sub-Holden Caufield caricature and the 1st-person narration seemed a little overwrought, like author Corrigan was trying too hard to get inside the skin of a teenage boy. But as the story progressed – about Emil's struggle to come to terms with the truth about his mom's death, his brother's disappearance, and his attraction to a mysterious girl – I found myself more interested in what he had to say, and it rang more true to me than it did at the beginning. This book rewards the patient reader; you have to be willing to wade through some self-indulgent (albeit character-establishing) narration at the beginning before things really kick into gear.
Mr. Sedaris is the funniest man on the planet. Read any one of his books but this is my favorite.