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Age Range: 11-14+ yrs
"Stiff is an oddly compelling, often hilarious exploration of the strange lives of our bodies postmortem. For two thousand years, cadavers―some willingly, some unwittingly―have been involved in science's boldest strides and weirdest undertakings. In this fascinating account, Mary Roach visits the good deeds of cadavers over the centuries and tells the engrossing story of our bodies when we are no longer with them." -Stiff summary.
This book is a great example of both narrative and explanatory nonfiction. The information is offered in a narrative told in first person, but all of the information is factual and explains the human body and the history of human cadavers. It contains a few images between chapters,
some of which highlight the human body, such as the one above.
This book provides information in a very humorous way, which keeps reader attention after the subject matter has drawn it in.
The image above is the title and description of the second chapter. The other chapters are similar in that they're humorous in their word choice, but give a good idea of what the section will be about.
Readers who have a macabre sense of humor, or even readers who are only vaguely interested in the human body after life, will greatly enjoy reading this hilarious and factual book.
This book has won the ALA Alex Award in 2004, which according to the ALA, "The Alex Awards are given to ten books written for adults that have special appeal to young adults, ages 12 through 18." In 2003 it was a Guardian First Book Award Nominee, which is, according to The Guardian, "a literary award presented by The Guardian Newspaper". In 2006 it was a Lincoln Award Nominee, which "is awarded annually to the author of the book voted as most outstanding by participating students in grades nine through twelve in Illinois" according to the Association Illinois School Library Educators. These nominees and award show that this book did a fantastic job of luring in readers and entertaining them while they learned, which is what I believe a nonfiction book for youth should do.
Brittany,
ReplyDeleteI loved reading your review. This has been on my To Read list for years, and this might finally be the push I need to cross it off. I like how the author uses humor to approach an otherwise confusing and possibly upsetting topic. Denton Little's Deathdate by Lance Rubin is a fiction book that could pair nicely with this one!
Brittany,
ReplyDeleteWhat a unique and fascinating idea for a book. I would never have thought of reading a book about dead bodies (unless it was in a crime scene, I do love a good mystery). I enjoyed the idea that the author uses humor to entice, engage, and inform the reader. The use of humor to also overcome the potentially difficult subject is brilliant! While reading this post I could not help but think of my favorite fictional story. Shoofly Pie (Bug Man series) by Tim Downs is about a forensic entomologist (a bug man) who helps to solve a crime by studying the growth and life patterns of bugs in relation to dead bodies. Fascinating and graphic!