A review by wenzy
Dirty Heads by Aaron Dries

4.0

Okay, so I really try not to judge a book by its cover but when I saw this I knew I had to have it and read it! And boy was I right! Read this in a couple of hours while riding in a car, this story follows a young adult, Heath, recounting his life from a teenager up until the present showcasing a troubled family life involving the disappearance of his father, school bullying, and discovering one’s sexual identity. On top of all that, he feels an inexplicable connection to the disappearance of his father and things get really…strange. The chapters are numbered in reverse order as a countdown that we know where it leads but is still all the more dread inducing. There’s some nice 90s nostalgia and sweet moments but it’s a terribly sad coming-of-age story. There’s a moment in here where Heath is praying desperately to God asking him to not make him gay and you really just want to grab him and tell him it’s okay. It’s short and tragic, cosmic and disorienting, and never quite explains how truly everything started. It doesn’t have to though and I won’t say too much either. Go and read it for yourself!