Stitches
by David Small
Stitches by David Small holds a highly rated rating of 4.03 out of 5, based on 17.6K reader ratings. First published in 2009. The book spans 329 pages.
About Stitches
One day David Small awoke from a supposedly harmless operation to discover that he had been transformed into a virtual mute. A vocal cord removed, his throat slashed and stitched together like a bloody boot, the fourteen-year-old boy had not been told that he had cancer and was expected to die.In Stitches, Small, the award-winning children’s illustrator and author, re-creates this terrifying event in a life story that might have been imagined by Kafka. As the images painfully tumble out, one by one, we gain a ringside seat at a gothic family drama where David—a highly anxious yet supremely talented child—all too often became the unwitting object of his parents’ buried frustration and rage.Believing that they were trying to do their best, David’s parents did just the reverse. Edward Small, a Detroit physician, who vented his own anger by hitting a punching bag, was convinced that he could cure his young son’s respiratory problems with heavy doses of radiation, possibly causing David’s cancer. Elizabeth, David’s mother, tyrannically stingy and excessively scolding, ran the Small household under a cone of silence where emotions, especially her own, were hidden.Depicting this coming-of-age story with dazzling, kaleidoscopic images that turn nightmare into fairy tale, Small tells us of his journey from sickly child to cancer patient, to the troubled teen whose risky decision to run away from home at sixteen—with nothing more than the dream of becoming an artist—will resonate as the ultimate survival statemen.
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Author | David Small |
| Published | 2009 |
| Pages | 329 |
| Genres | Comics & Graphic Novels, Biography & Memoir, Comics & Graphic Novels, Non-Fiction, Biography & Memoir |
| Average Rating | 4.03 / 5.00 |
| Total Ratings | 17,589 |
Reader Ratings & Analysis
Rating Overview
How It Compares
Frequently Asked Questions
What genre is Stitches?
Stitches is categorized as Comics & Graphic Novels, Biography & Memoir, Comics & Graphic Novels, Non-Fiction. Its primary genre classification is Biography & Memoir.
Is Stitches worth reading?
Based on 17.6K reader ratings, Stitches has an average score of 4.03 out of 5.00, which is considered "Highly Rated."
How many pages is Stitches?
Stitches has 329 pages.
Who wrote Stitches?
Stitches was written by David Small. It was first published in 2009.
What is the ISBN for Stitches?
The ISBN-13 for Stitches is 9780393068570.0.
Data sourced from community book ratings and reviews. Last updated: April 15, 2026
