Braff, Joshua. The Unthinkable Thoughts of Jacob Green

This is one of those books that's supposed to be Good For You. Jacob Green is a boy growing up in an Orthodox Jewish household, terrorized by a father who is narcissistic and emotionally abusive. This book loosely covers a couple of years of his life, from 10-ish to 15-ish; from his move to suburban New Jersey to his older brother's departure for college. It's a relentlessly depressing book, brightened up by the dark and dirty humor that sparks up now and then. Despite that, it could have been good, but what there is of a plot meanders on with a limp; there are anecdotes, but very little forward motion, very little possibility of escape. Jacob is thrown into a position of utter passivity, and the only hints to a way out come right at the end, so that they're never fully resolved.

From an entirely subjective perspective, we hear way more than we need to about a 15-year-old boy's sex life (or lack thereof).

Braff, Joshua. The Unthinkable Thoughts of Jacob Green. Algonquin Books, 2004.