Last Night I Sang To the Monster by Benjamin Alire Saenz

Eighteen-year old Zach wakes up to find himself living in a addiction treatment center.  He can’t remember how he got there, but does remember his clinically depressed mother, his alcoholic father, and his violent, abusive brother.  As the story unfolds, Zach narrates in his sad, sometimes Holden Caulfield-esque voice his struggles to feel his feelings and all that he is learning through the group therapy he participates in with adults.  For independent adolescent readers willing to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes, this book offers perspective on the emotional world of a recovering teen alcoholic who is also attempting to heal from trauma.  Readers who appreciate emotional insight and nuance in character development will enjoy this text. Social workers may want to be aware of this one.  --Jessica Fenster-Sparber

Saenz, Benjamin Alire.  Last Night I Sang to the Monster.  El Paso: Cinco Puntos Press, 2012.  Print.