Through a series of lists, a nar­ra­tor reveals how lik­able, 15-year-old Dar­ren Jacob’s world was rocked by his par­ents’ divorce just as his broth­er, Nate, was leav­ing for col­lege, and a year lat­er when his father comes out as gay. Dar­ren has to fig­ure out how to deal with it all after a stolen week­end with Nate and his crush, Zoey. The mix of lists and nar­ra­tion works as a con­tem­po­rary style we are accus­tomed to in this short-atten­tion-span world. Read­ers who use lists to clar­i­fy their world or build an argu­ment will relate to this every-kid. The list for­mat allows read­ers many access points to the story.

The nar­ra­tion sec­tions allow for an unin­ter­rupt­ed dive into Darren’s world, that of a Chica­go teen who is going through much of the reg­u­lar angst, plus a few doozies. The flip side to the lists is that the nar­ra­tive flow is a bit chop­py. But in this world of lis­ti­cles and media bom­bard­ment that inter­rupts seri­ous con­tem­pla­tion, Me Being Me is an appro­pri­ate­ly cur­rent take on a clas­sic theme. Darren’s lists also focus, albeit briefly, on his Jew­ish identity. 

Rec­om­mend­ed for ages 14 and up.