This book was not easy to read. The format was wonderful, the art was phenomenal and the memories felt authentic. However, it was so authentic that my heart felt like it was rubbed raw. I felt like I was able to step inside Jarrett Krosoczka’s life and a lot of it was not happy. However, Jarrett was able to find a part of himself that he loved and it gave him hope in even the darkest times. I feel this will be such a powerful book for those students and teachers who need help finding hope.
In kindergarten, Jarrett Krosoczka’s teacher asks him to draw his family, with a mommy and a daddy. But Jarrett’s family is much more complicated than that. His mom is an addict, in and out of rehab, and in and out of Jarrett’s life. His father is a mystery — Jarrett doesn’t know where to find him, or even what his name is. Jarrett lives with his grandparents — two very loud, very loving, very opinionated people who had thought they were through with raising children until Jarrett came along.
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Jarrett goes through his childhood trying to make his non-normal life as normal as possible, finding a way to express himself through drawing even as so little is being said to him about what’s going on. Only as a teenager can Jarrett begin to piece together the truth of his family, reckoning with his mother and tracking down his father.
Hey, Kiddo is a profoundly important memoir about growing up in a family grappling with addiction, and finding the art that helps you survive.
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