When Mr. Dog Bites
-
-
5.0 • 1 Rating
-
-
- $7.99
Publisher Description
All Dylan Mint has ever wanted is to keep his Tourette's in check and live life as a "normal" teenager. The swearing, the tics, the howling "dog" that escapes when things are at their worst-nothing about Tourette's makes it easy to meet cute girls or have normal friends (or many friends at all). But a routine hospital visit changes everything-Dylan overhears that he's going to die. In an attempt to claim the life he's always wanted, he decides to grant himself parting wishes, or "Cool Things To Do Before I Cack It". In an intimate portrayal of life with Tourette's, Dylan's journey to come to terms with the disorder that has defined his life and his preconceptions about the world around him is hilarious, painful and, ultimately, utterly masterful.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this no-holds-barred coming-of-age story, Conaghan's U.S. debut, the British author introduces 16-year-old Dylan Mint, who struggles daily with Tourette's syndrome. When Dylan learns that he's likely to die in a few months, he sets out to accomplish three things: have sex with a girl, help his best friend Amir overcome prejudice, and get his soldier father home from Afghanistan. Naturally, nothing goes as planned, as Dylan discovers truths about his family, his own condition, and the people in his life. Focused through narration rife with bursts of profanity and Cockney rhyming slang, this story takes on an almost hallucinatory tone (" BIG GIANT SHITE' I shouted, then whooped a few times and then headed back to class in a massive daze"). It's nevertheless an uncompromising look at the effects of Tourette's, autism, and Oppositional Defiant Disorder on those who have them and their friends and family. Though the story occasionally goes astray amid a meandering plot and dialogue that takes effort to unpack, Conaghan, who has Tourette's himself, does an excellent job of portraying his unconventional and memorable protagonist. Ages 14 up.
Customer Reviews
so good 🩷
just a-mayonnaise-ing!