Description
Book SynopsisGeneration X was born between the legions of Baby Boomers and Millennials, and was all but written off as cynical, sarcastic slackers. Yet, Gen X's impact on culture and society is undeniable. In her revealing and provocative essay collection, Kids in America: Essays on Gen X , Liz Prato reveals a generation deeply affected by terrorism, racial inequality, rape culture, and mental illness in an era when none of these issues were openly discussed. Examined through the lens of her high school and family, Prato reveals a small, forgotten cohort shaped as much by Sixteen Candles and Beverly Hills, 90210 , as it was by the Rodney King riots and the threat of nuclear annihilation. Prato is unflinching in asking hard questions of her peers about what behavior was then acceptable or overlooked, and how we reconcile those sins today. Kids in America illuminates a generation that is often cited, but rarely examined beyond the gloss of nostalgia.
Trade Review" Kids in America is a kick-ass collection. Part memoir, part documentary, these probing and intimate essays take us through the grief, the freedom, the risk-taking, and the pain that shaped Generation X. Vivid and absorbing." Dinty W. Moore, author of Between Panic & Desire
"Like a sociologist with a memoirist's sensibilities, Prato skillfully explores the environment that bred and defined Gen X, diving deeply into the sexist and racist mythologies of the era, excavating everything from pop culture to grief to violence." Gina Frangello, author of Blow Your House Down
"A dazzling exploration into how cultures and identities criss-cross each other, Liz Prato's Kids in America traces how Gen X emerged from the fire and fury of a nation falling to pieces. Phenomenal." Lidia Yuknavitch, Author of Verge-Stories and The Book of Joan
" Kids in America vibrates like a coke high, while still managing to ask hard questions and find the spots of human failing and hope, as the best essays do." Monica Drake, Author of Clown Girl and The Stud Book
Praise for the author's previous essay collection, Volcanoes, Palm Trees & Privilege: Essays on Hawai'i : FINALIST for the Oregon Book Award "A rebuke to cultural appropriation, combined with tribute to a place she loves too much to make her own." New York Times , Top Summer Reads
"Prato's work stays winningly informal and idiosyncratic throughout and . . . coalesces into an intriguing and informative journey through the 50th state." Publishers Weekly
"With her guidance and thoughtfulness, Prato pushes against the surface, locating herself within and the people and landscape of Hawai'i without buying into visitor thinking -- this is not a musing on mai tais and hula events." Buzzfeed
"From the perspective of a non-native who has a deep love and long relationship with these islands, Prato shares stories that intertwine facts and personal memories. They will leave you feeling both enchanted and more aware of our place in the world as unconcerned tourists to a place that many call home." Matador Travel Network
