Cruddy

By Lynda Barry,

Book cover of Cruddy

Book description

On a September night in 1971, a few days after getting busted for dropping two of the 127 hits of acid found in a friend's shoe, a sixteen-year-old who is grounded for a year curls up in the corner of her ratty bedroom, picks up a pen, and begins to…

Shepherd is reader supported. When you buy books, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Why read it?

1 author picked Cruddy as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

How much do I love this hilarious, terrifying, completely bonkers carny show of a novel? Written and illustrated by Barry, a cartoonist, it opens with a suicide note by Roberta, a misfit teen with a busted-up face who’s left behind a rageful diaristic manifesto describing child abuse, theft, revenge, murder, and a cast of characters out of a circus nightmare.

I got whiplash, veering from stomach-cramping laughter to anxious dread, heartbreak, and complete wonder at the strange, freakish beauty of her prose, like finding chunks of gold in the trash. When I finished, I thought, WTF did I just read,…

From Chin-Sun's list on distressed women.

Want books like Cruddy?

Our community of 10,000+ authors has personally recommended 97 books like Cruddy.

Browse books like Cruddy

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in teenagers, road trips, and dysfunctional families?

10,000+ authors have recommended their favorite books and what they love about them. Browse their picks for the best books about teenagers, road trips, and dysfunctional families.

Teenagers Explore 120 books about teenagers
Road Trips Explore 28 books about road trips
Dysfunctional Families Explore 105 books about dysfunctional families