My Friend Dahmer

by Derf Backderf
CMSE paperback 214 pages
genre: graphic novel, non-fiction

Told through the author's memories, interviews with others who knew Dahmer in the 1970s, and with research, Backderf tells the story of the Jeff Dahmer he knew as a teenager growing up in Ohio. It isn't as horrid as I had expected, but it is disturbing that Dahmer didn't seem to make strong positive connections to any human beings as a young man. Neither of his parents seemed to know what was going on with their son. Enlightening and sad, this isn't a book that I will get for my collection, but it isn't sensationalistic . . . it would actually be a really good one for teachers to read. We are already aware of kids who struggle to fit in or have unusual interests, but this is a wake-up call to what can happen when no one intervenes.