This is the first book I finished in 2011!

I'm partial to memoir. The first person telling, especially from a young person's POV, can be difficult to pull off in a believable way in a novel. Squalor, New Mexico, however, is an example of how to do it well.
In this tale, Lisette Brodey has created a narrator who is so endearing that her telling and revelations within the book feel like genuine (albeit innocent) confession; it is as though she exists and is teasing out the secrets of the adults around her, dealing with the normal coming-of-age difficulties, and letting us in on her journey. There was a subtle humor and depth to this book that I simply loved. Surprisingly, Squalor, New Mexico has impressed me enough to rank up there with some of my favorite memoirs. It's difficult for a piece of fiction to romance me in the manner memoirs and personal essays do, but I felt there was an honesty here that is worth revisiting.