I’ve been done with this one for about a day, and I’ve already given it to a student. He saw me reading it and asked for it. Actually, he saw it sitting on my cart and asked for it and I told him he was welcome to it when I was finished. I’m excited to see my students excited about reading.  Even though we’re all reading the same novel right now, a number of them have asked to borrow from my collection. Score!

Last Night I Sang to the Monster is definitely a character-driven story. We get to know Zach, the narrator, as well as a number of the other people who are currently in rehab, as Zach is trying (not) to remember what happened that landed him in rehab in the first place. As I was reading, I felt like he was talking to me. Saenz’s prose is so powerful, and Zach’s experience is so real seeming (I’ve never had the experience of going to rehab, so I’m guessing here) that in a couple of places, I about cried.

Fantastic read, and I’m excited to hear what my student has to say about it.