SuitabookBelonging and identity
Xan feels unable to find his place and asks Robert to use his preferred name, while Robert responds with teasing and partial attempts to adjust.
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Book details
Chris Lynch - Author
This is a tense family story about a young person’s alienation and a brother’s attempt to understand and help him. Its opening voice combines sharp humour with unease, while the wider direction involves extremism and possible self-destruction.
Delve into the mind of a teen whose journey of self-discovery leads to the unthinkable in this tense and terse novel from award-wining author Chris Lynch. Alexander, who wants to be called Xan, is a misfit. He has never fit in?not in academics, sports, or social life. He’s an awkward loner who hasn’t been able to find his place in the world.???? Robert is Xan’s half-brother, and unlike Xan, Robert seems to have his life together. At eighteen, he’s enrolled in community college with a decent job and a great girlfriend. Robert often teases his brother, but he’s also his biggest supporter. No matter what, he’s got Xan’s back.???? When Robert starts to suspect that Xan is traveling down a dangerous path, he may be the only one who can save Xan from self-destructing?before it’s too late. But can Robert save himself????? This edgy exploration of what goes on in the mind of someone pushed to the brink examines the seeds of extremism that exist in everyone?and is sure to captivate readers of all kinds.
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Sign in for personalised guidanceThis is a tense family story about a young person’s alienation and a brother’s attempt to understand and help him. Its opening voice combines sharp humour with unease, while the wider direction involves extremism and possible self-destruction.
Xan feels unable to find his place and asks Robert to use his preferred name, while Robert responds with teasing and partial attempts to adjust.
Robert suspects that Xan is travelling towards extremism and determines to intervene, while the book links this direction with being pushed towards the brink.
Robert is presented as both Xan’s biggest supporter and someone who repeatedly teases him; the brothers share a constrained home life.
Pay attention to the contrast between Robert’s support and his repeated mockery, and to how Xan’s wish to be called Xan is handled. The story’s treatment of extremism and its consequences remains important to assess.
This is a grounded book brief while Suitabook strengthens the analysis: some draft conclusions still depend on unresolved evidence.
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