Title: Steven isn't normal
Description: "Steven isn't normal. But, then again, nobody is. Still, ask anyone, and they'd tell you that Steven is retarded--because he is. Steven is a retard by definition, practice, and circumstance. It's an epithet given to Steven by his community: his neighbors, peers, family, which has been embedded in his psyche and dictated his absurd existence. His absurd determination to kill his mother, who--Steven is convinced--is plotting the elimination of his dearest bottle collection--the hundreds of bottles, from which he has meticulously removed the labels, perfectly sorted and aligned against a secluded wall near the railroad tracks. On his journey, Steven's chaotic family history is revealed, as Steven encounters an array of grotesque characters that, in their efforts to reinforce the label that burdens Steven, they exhibit their own retardation that has been, until then, successfully camouflaged and ignored by their own complacency"--Page 4 of cover.
Subjects: Mexican American boys, Mental retardation, Dysfunctional families, Mexican American families, Deviant behavior, Labeling theory, Fiction