Reading Responce : Stiches by David Smalls

            The book Stitches by David Smalls is a powerful book. It doesn’t have many words but the pictures show a depth meaning behind it. The book is about David Smalls (the author) having his vocal cord removed, not being told that he had cancer and that he was expected to die. His family is very harsh on him and he’s always in his own little world. But no one knows that he’s a very talented young adult. What I noticed about the book Stitches by David Smalls is how the book deals with loneliness and self esteem which is what a lot of people deal with in the world.

           

            In the book, he’s very lonely. He has no one to talk to, no one to share his thoughts and feelings with, and no one that shares the same interests with him.

I think this because his family is filled with secrets, and not only him but everyone is in their own little world. He lives with his brother, mother and father. His mother was secretly a lesbian, and was depressed with David having cancer. She seems to regret the fact that he’s his son and isn’t able to show any love towards him. His father was a doctor and was very quiet. He always seemed to know what he was doing and never took any advice from anyone. And his brother would always just beat on his drums.

He has no one to relate to. “And I, too. Had learned a way of expressing myself wordlessly…” (18). This quote shows that he tries to hide his loneliness but entertaining himself. “Getting sick, that was my language” (19). This quote shows that he really does need some love.

Something else I observed in the book was that he has no self esteem and is lacking it. I think this because when he found out he had cancer from a letter the doctor wrote the the mother, he automatically lost all self esteem. First he never received love, and now he knows no one loves him. I think he just also lost all respect for himself because everyone he was around with had no respect for him either.

“Back in school, at first wildly self-conscious… I soon learned… when you have no voice… you don’t exist”(212). This quote shows that he really did lose all respect for himself and he thought that there was no reason for living.  

This book is very deep and interesting and I think that every teenager or maybe even adult can relate to this book because there’s always a time in life where someone does feel really alone and not loved. Being not loved can really affect a person and it really does hurt and I think that David Smalls really did show that throughout the book.