Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis by J.D. Vance

Gordon Jack

Plot Summary
Hillbilly Elegy was recently named by the Times as "one of six books to help understand Trump's win." This is the story of how a boy who grew up in poverty in Kentucky's Appalachia region went on to become a Yale Law School graduate. Vance chronicles his family's struggles with alcoholism, abuse, and trauma and how he was able to rise above these circumstances through personal fortitude and community support. He uses this coming of age story to shed light on the decline of white, working-class Americans.

Critical Evaluation
I picked up this book after the election because I wanted to understand the world outside our Silicon Valley bubble better. J.D. Vance's story helped immerse me in a culture and community that I knew very little about. After reading this, I feel like I have a better understanding of how poor, working class communities like the one Vance grew up in both help and hurt a person's chances for happiness and success. For all the hardships Vance endures, he has the love and strength of his family to get him through the hard times. In the end, the author doesn't offer much advice on how to help these communities, but he does lift a veil and help the reader understand them better.

Highly Illogical Behavior by John Corey Whaley

Gordon Jack

Plot Summary
In many ways, Solomon Burke is a normal teenager. He's sixteen-years-old living in Upland, California with two loving and supportive parents. What makes him different is that he's agoraphobic and has severe panic attacks whenever he ventures outside his home. As a result, he hasn't been outside for three years, two months, and one day. But then he meets Lisa and her boyfriend Clark and suddenly feels a longing for friendship. 

Excerpt
“Solomon watched them from the door as they walked down the driveway and got into Lisa’s car...It hadn’t happened before, really, so he tried to think about something else to keep from freaking out. But it wouldn’t go away. He felt it. It was small and it was complicated, but he felt it all the same. He wanted to follow them. He wanted to walk outside and follow them into the world.” -

Critical Evaluation
I give this book a 10 out of 10, mostly because Solomon is such a compelling character (I haven't even mentioned that he's gay which causes another set of complications in the story.)  When he meets Lisa and Clark, he realizes how much he misses human relationships. But being their friend means leaving his safe place and venturing into a dangerous world where he could get hurt.