Last Night I Sang to the Monster

Zach is a senior but he's in rehab instead of high school. He doesn't remember how he got there. Remembering sucks and being alive - well, what's up with that? I have it in my head that when we're born, God writes things down on our hearts. See, on some people's hearts he writes happy and on some people's hearts he writes sad and on some people's hearts he writes crazy and on some people's hearts he writes genius and on some people's hearts he writes angry and on some people's hearts he writes winner and on some people's hearts he writes loser. It's all like a game to him. Him. God. And it's all pretty much random. He takes out his pen and starts writing on our blank hearts. When it came to my turn, he wrote sad. I don't like God very much. Apparently, he doesn't like me very much either. -Zach Benjamin Alire Sáenz' new novel is a gift of honesty and poetry and heart. Zach is a beautiful young man who desperately wants to forget the unforgettable. In order to deal with his addiction, he must first deal with his lost childhood. Sáenz has created one of the most unique and heartfelt friendships I've ever encountered in literature, and it's through this friendship that Zach ultimately discovers his voice. This novel sang to me from the opening page and never once hit a false note. - Matt de la Peña I cried with Zach all the way through this book: tears of rage and sorrow - sometimes laughing though - and finally, tears of hope and joy. Thanks to Ben Sáenz' pitch-perfect writing, Zach will stay in my heart for a long time. -Linda Sue Park