Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Criminal Mischief by Keaton Albertson




Criminal Mischief: Delightful Chronicles of Juvenile Delinquency, Keaton Albertson.  self-published: 2010.  e-book, 288 pps.

Keaton Albertson recollects some youthful disinhibitions in Criminal Mischief.  He has two strange brothers, a dad who understands more than he let on to understanding, a mother who curses when screaming at her kids not to curse, some best friends, and some teachers at a public school who are primarily practicing Mormons, or L.D.S. due to being in Utah and all of that.  Keaton Albertson himself was reared as a Mormon but [in a later book] successfully left that particular faith.

Criminal Mischief is about all boyish pranks that border to-- or at times outright crosses over to-- the criminal.  Although aware that I was rooting for the "wrong side" I could not help but laugh at his antics.  I envy Keaton as a child.  By comparison I was too quiet and never got to vandalize teachers' houses or blow stuff up.  And I'm glad that he didn't get sent away to one of them behavior mod boarding facilities.  That probably would have wrecked his writing style as well as a large measure of his life and what makes Keaton Albertson a cause celebre among folks like us.

sapphoq reviews says:  Yeah, Keaton Albertson was something as a young boy and teen.  I laughed through all of Criminal Mischief.  But there was more than boyhood pranks here.  There was also an astute comment on the hypocrisy of his high school faculty when the call came to deny his buddy's valedictorianship on the basis of a "lack of moral character".  If you object to lots of cursing, trash talk, or kids that aren't behaving in a lily white fashion, skip all things Keaton Albertson.  If you don't, you are in for a rollicking ride with Criminal Mischief.

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