Dig

by A.S. King

Hardcover, 2019

Status

Available

Call number

813.6

Genres

Young Adult

All Topics

Fiction

Publication

Dutton Books for Young Readers (2019), 400 pages

Description

Five white teenage cousins who are struggling with the failures and racial ignorance of their dysfunctional parents and their wealthy grandparents, reunite for Easter.

User reviews

LibraryThing member BillieBook

I never quite know how to talk about A.S. King's books. They aren't straightforward narratives that walk up and say "Here's your story and here's the lesson you should take from it." They're skittish things, like stray kittens, who nose up to you out of the corner of your vision but, when you turn

to look at them, they dash away to hide in the shrubbery and peer out of you with glowing eyes. Dig is no exception. It twists and turns and bobs and weaves and not until the very end does it stay in one place long enough for the reader to get a good look at the thing as a whole.

And what can I really say about it that is going to make any sense and not give the whole thing away? Five kids, all misfits and outsiders. One older couple, set in their ways and estranged from most of their family. Two brothers—two rather unpleasant brothers. Assorted parents and other adults, all of whom are rather awful in their own ways. Who are all of these characters? I can't tell you. How do their stories relate? Can't tell you that either. All I really can tell you is that Dig is weird and wonderful and painful and beautiful, like that feral kitten mentioned above. You need to accept that it's going to do everything it can to elude you and when you finally corner it to get a good look, it's likely to hiss and scratch, but you'll love it anyway.

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11 more

LibraryThing member Perednia

Family roots connect the stories of five teens whose existence are not perfect in varied ways. Audacious storytelling that is nearly overwhelmed at times by the audaciousness, but the characters are compelling and there is so much truth about people and relationships in this Printz winner that it's

easy to forgive.

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LibraryThing member lilibrarian

In Pennsylvania, there are several dysfunctional families. A group of teens meet under different circumstances, only to eventually discover something that connects all of them - a girl who appears and disappears mysteriously.

LibraryThing member froxgirl

This novel has structural issues - GREAT ones! The primary characters, all teenagers, are introduced as dramatis personae mostly by description, not name: Can-I-Help-You, The Shoveler, The Freak, Loretta Lynn & Her Flea Circus, and Malcolm. All have terrible parents and for most of the book they

lead separately miserable lives, their only commonality being The Freak, who observes each, assists, and disappears. The Shoveler gets an after-school job as a house painter for an elderly couple, although their walls are all in great condition, and the new paint is the same color as the old. Can-I-Help-You works at Arby's as a drive-through cashier and weed dealer. Loretta's father brutalizes her mother. Malcolm's dad is dying. It takes a bit of effort to follow the threads, but as the marvelous plot jells, The Freak's intentions and identify come clear. Although there’s only one non-white person in the book, it is saturated by the pernicious influence of racism. Possibly mis-categorized as YA, this story is as admirable and compelling as any of the best aimed at the adult market.

Quote: "White isn't just a color. White is a passport. The world is a white amusement park and your white skin is your ticket."

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LibraryThing member lflareads

I picked up Dig from my local library when I heard it won the 2020 Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature. Unique characters are connected in ways they do realize. The comparison to the potato plant and life is interesting and more meaningful throughout the pages. A. S.

King writes, “‘The secret...is keeping the spuds beneath the soil. Because any part of the plant that sees light can hurt you...Even kill you...’”(36). The lives of the characters, when exposed, need to “dig” themselves out and form their own lives and live by their own beliefs.

Throughout the novel, racism, hate, and broken family relationships have separated lives, which could have thrived together. The way the reader views each character’s reality is done in a distinct and unique way. I have never read a book quite like this one. The message is powerful and definitely honor worthy in my opinion.

Dig is a YA novel for high school and older. Mature content.

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LibraryThing member kivarson

All the best books are about love. All my favorite books are about how love is the fuel to not just to endure, but overcome the sh*tiest of circumstances. It doesn’t cost anything to be nice, but it costs us dearly when we choose to be stingy of heart.

Picture frigid and distant parents. Picture

five siblings who weren’t nurtured to be close, scattered by the winds of circumstances; even the one who managed to be wealthy is still miserable. Then picture five screwed up grandkids who when they learn they have so many cousins, coming together to make it all right. With love.

This work reminds me of John Updike’s Rabbit books, right down to the fact that it takes place in the awesome city of Reading, PA, although it’s never actually named out loud, with tiny clues in the landscape.

Some other reviewers found the magical realism strange. I found it necessary. We could all do with a lesson from one who can see the beauty in even a screwed up family.

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LibraryThing member electrascaife

Five teenage cousins tell their own versions of their family's history of abuse and racism in this Printz Award winner. A little slow to get started, but once each individual story begins to unravel, it becomes difficult to put down until you'll find yourself eager/anxious to understand how they

all become interwoven. It's a mystery novel, a treatise on systemic racism, a supernatural thriller, and a tale of hope for the future within the younger generation. It's dark and clever and devastating and moving, and I highly recommend it.

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LibraryThing member reader1009

teen fiction (weirdly intersecting stories involving a racist family that loves potatoes)
I hammered away at this (to page 138) before deciding that I didn't really care to finish this--there is so much else out there that is more enjoyable to read. If you're not familiar with A.S. King, maybe this

isn't the place to start, but if you are one of her many hard-core fans, you'll probably love this--to each, their own.

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LibraryThing member fionaanne

It was going really well until the climax and then it was like the author stopped caring? The last few chapters are like early drafts or notes for a scene yet to be written. Ruined the book for me.

LibraryThing member krau0098

Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone book that I bought for my Kindle.

Thoughts: This is a weighty book (subject wise) and not necessarily a comfortable read. It also takes some time to process. The story follows five individuals (they end up being cousins but you don’t know that at the

beginning of the book). Each of them lives in less than ideal situations; one has a dying father and no mother, one lives with a single mom who is obsessive about stealing, one lives with an abusive father, one lives with a very aggressively racist white pride mom, and one seems to be able to flit about the world at her will.

I just now read the synopsis here and it is kind of spoiler filled in my opinion. Part of the fun of reading this was the journey of trying to figure out how all these five teens were connected. At first the story seems a bit random, jumping from one character to the next, but I love how it all came together. Then there is the Freak, who is able to fade in and out of different locations at will; I love the magical realism this added to the story and found the premise behind this intriguing (although it remains a mystery for most of the book).

There are a lot of social issues tackled here too. Racism is the most prevalent theme, as is the ever present benefit that being a white suburbanite gives you in society. However, there are also strong discussions around abuse, anger/hate issues, mental health, and sexism. In addition to that this book takes a good look at that white privilege suburban culture and picks it apart. Is this class actually happier because of their privilege or are they as much of a mess as everyone else?

Through Gottfried and Marla we get a look at an older couple’s perspective as well; they made money and stability for themselves (not their family) their top priority. However, does that make them responsible for their kids' decisions? Should they have supported their kids better in the past and can they make amends by supporting them better now? What about their mental health issues (especially Marla’s) and the way that is reflected in their kids?

As I said there’s a lot going on here. It’s very well written and very engaging. I had a lot of trouble putting this book down, I just had to know how things were going to unfold. The way the story came together was amazing. Given the nature of the story it is fairly open ended, however, I thought it ended perfectly. I have read almost all of King’s books (I haven’t read Switch yet) and this is definitely one of the strongest ones. It’s not as whimsical as some of her other stories and is less ambiguous as well.

My Summary (5/5): Overall I absolutely loved this. I am a huge A.S. King fan anyway but I thought this was one of her strongest novels yet. This takes a look at such a wide breadth of societal and mental issues and does it in such an engaging way. I loved how the whole story came together. This is an uncomfortable read at points (there is self harm, abuse, rape, hate crimes) but everything was very relevant to the story. I would recommend to those who don’t mind a heavier, thoughtful read that makes you take a hard look at our society.

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LibraryThing member Dairyqueen84

The story unfolds very slowly with each chapter narrated by one character at a time - the Shoveler, the Freak, CanIHelpYou?, Loretta the Flea Circus, and First Class Malcom. The seemingly unrelated stories converge for a poignant denouement. I loved it but few of my teens will be engaged. Maybe I

can get my teen book club to read it.

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LibraryThing member MaowangVater

Somewhere in Pennsylvania, a group of white teenagers and cope as best they can with their dysfunctional family situations. Each feels alienated and alone with his or her problems, whether it’s a racist mother, or an abusive father, or an absent father, or a dying father. Naturally their coping

skills are not necessarily the best, one carries a snow shovel around with him everywhere, even to school, one sells dope through the drive through window at a fast food franchise, one travels to Jamaica with his ailing father and falls in love with the girl selling bracelets on the beach, one keeps a flea circus in her school lunch box, and one has the ability to flicker from one place to another around the world.

Each feels isolated so it’s much to their surprise when they discover that they are all cousins, the offspring of the offspring of a wealth obsessed grandfather and a hyper-perfectionist grandmother. This revelation comes at an unanticipated Easter reunion that reveals something more shocking than just kinship.

In the acknowledgments at the end of the book, King writes: “This book is supposed to be uncomfortable. I’d apologize, but I’m not sorry.” She deals with some hard truths about American life and urges her readers and listeners to lean the facts left out of school textbooks and do something about it.

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