Peter Cameron's SOME DAY THIS PAIN WILL BE USEFUL TO YOU (Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 2007)
Billed as a young adult book, Peter Cameron's SOMEDAY THIS PAIN WILL BE USEFUL TO YOU is a wonderful little gem of a book–funny, smart, and totally engaging. A sort of 21st century CATCHER IN THE RYE. I only picked it up because I'm working on a Y.A. title and so I look for books in the same category that might serve as an inspiration and a challenge. This one is certainly both! Hopefully, its “label” (of Y.A.) won't keep it only in the hands of librarians and teens. It deserves a wider readership.
–Julia Alvarez was a National Book Critics Circle award finalist for “In the Time of the Butterflies.” Her latest books include “Saving the World” and “Once Upon a Quinceanera.”