There aren't too many authors who can depress you and make you laugh within a half a page. Klass is one of those lucky few. "You Don't Know Me" is the timeless story of John, a 14 year-old fringe kid with a sharp mind and a crappy home life. John has a tremendous sense of irony. He tells of his school that is "anti-school" (a place where one merely suffers rather than learns), does battle with a tuba that is really a giant frog, and pursues the lovely but vicious "Glory-Hallelujah," the supposed girl of his dreams. The funniest part of the book is their horrendous date where John escapes certain death via a cat door.
John's life has a flip-side, however. His mother's boyfriend is brutal and abusive and John's mother is clueless. John fears to tell anyone the truth because he believes his mother will choose the boyfriend over him. In the end, "the man who is not his father" almost kills him and John realizes just how much he has going for him in life.
I love this book. It takes a serious issue and treats it with both sensitivity and realism. The humor is delightful, but never detracts from the message and meaning of this important book.
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