Anatomy of a Misfit

How it reads

Anatomy of a Misfit is young adult (young-adult contemporary, specifically), and its dominant mood is melancholy. It's quietly sad, wistful and reflective. The pace is moderate — neither a page-turner nor a slow burn — so it holds up whether you read it in long sittings or short ones.

It's set in a small town setting, in the present day, told in the first person by a single narrator. Its central concerns are coming of age, identity and class and society. In weight it sits in the middle: substantial without being heavy going.

It stands alone, so there's nothing else you need to read first or after. The ending is bittersweet: it resolves, but at a price. At 336 pages it's an ordinary novel's length. It's moderately known: read by plenty of people, but not a household name.