. It is Park's most popular book, and has won numerous awards for children's literature. It was followed up by a sequel in 1988 called Almost Starring Skinnybones.
The story is narrated by the main character, Alex Frankovitch, a rather unpopular and awkward grade school boy.
Alex wrote a letter in a promotional contest for a cat food company that describes the key points in his young life mainly having to do with Little League baseball.
Memory can change the shape of a room; it can change the color of a car. And memories can be distorted. They're just an interpretation, they're not a record, and they're irrelevant if you have the facts.
I have to believe in a world outside my own mind. I have to believe that my actions still have meaning, even if I can't remember them. I have to believe that when my eyes are closed, the world's still there. Do I believe the world's still there? Is it still out there? … Yeah. We all need memories to remind ourselves who we are. I'm no different … now … where was I?
Your life is over. You're a dead man. The only thing the doctors are hoping to do is teach you to be less of a burden to the orderlies. And they'll probably never let you go home, wherever that would be. So the question is not "to be or not to be", because you aren't. The question is whether you want to do something about it.