Rules for the Unruly: Living an Unconventional Life
Gr. 10-12. Decades after graduating, Winik, author ofThe Lunch Box Chronicles(1998), was invited to return to her high school and address the recipients of an award for academic excellence. She did so with trepidation, feeling unqualified to give advice, but the talk went so well that she developed it into a book for high-schoolers. As in her previous books (all written for adults), she describes some of her experiences, including unwanted pregnancies and life-threatening drug addiction, with a candor and sensitivity that keep the stories from becoming sentimental. This is definitely for mature teens (some parents, teachers, and YAs will find the language and subject matter abrasive and explicit), but Winik speaks to teens without the slightest hint of condescension, and her advice about living an extraordinary life is alternately moving, powerful, and hilarious.John GreenCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved