It's a memoir written and illustrated by serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer's high school friend. I saw the movie adaptation last year and loved it. The book and movie do an amazing job of showing Dahmer's troubled teenage years without making him a likeable character. I love how the author contrasts his normal teenage life with Dahmer's extremely abnormal teenage life. There were many times when someone could have stepped in and questioned Dahmer's bizarre behavior, but people are so caught up in their own problems and successes that we don't really pay attention to each other. Hindsight is 20/20, right? If you're interested in crime, I highly recommend the book and movie. The book is sad and unsettling, but since the events all occur before Dahmer became a killer, it's not gory.

I know the book is focused on Dahmer, but I wish the author had slightly more self-awareness. As a teen, he was a jerk who exploited Dahmer for his own entertainment. (Actually, you could argue that he's still exploiting Dahmer by writing this book.) It's not the author's fault that Dahmer killed people, and it wasn't the author's job to save Dahmer when they were teenagers, but I wonder if hindsight changed how the author sees his own behavior. That's the only issue I have with the book. It's a fascinating memoir. I think it's worth reading as a cautionary tale.