Boys of My Youth

Great writing!

Most interesting!

beautiful.

a perfectly lovely heartbreak of a book. highly reccomended.

Wonderfully Captivating

Just like my headline says, Beard captivates readers with a dual sense of self, luring them in with rich language and powerful descriptions. One of my favorites is: 'My aunt....grins..., big teeth in a friendly mouth.' Pick it up!

A Realistic Look at the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Real Life

Jo Ann Beard's collection of autobiographical essays, The Boys of My Youth, is a look at real life events, some seemingly minor and others monumental, that teaches the reader to look back and remember the things that have shaped your life. She writes in a way that, no matter what the situation-tragic, silly, or otherwise-one can relate to what she's talking about. Whether the reader has been through the same thing or not, Beard brings the reader into the moment and makes him or her understand Beard's feelings. Her writing is honest and witty. I found myself laughing outloud and calling friends to read to them a specific section of an essay and end up reading the whole thing and sometimes others. Beard's essays range from devasting experiences to light-hearted memories of her youth, young adulthood, and beyond. Her voice and description bring not only humor and honesty to her essays, but also a vivid image of each scene that she is talking about. Beard's style of sectional writing and tying different scenes together at the end is so effective that as a reader, I never wanted to put the book down.

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