Book Review: "Leave the Kid Alone"
- marthaengber
- Jun 29
- 2 min read
by Steve Zettler
Steve Zettler hits the ball out of the park with his hilarious forthcoming memoir, LEAVE THE KID ALONE! He writes from the viewpoint of his seven-year-old self grousing about having to operate the family’s inn and restaurant’s industrial dishwasher on an Easter Sunday in the 1950s in Bucks County Pennsylvania. The day dramatically changes, however, when the restaurant closes, the family finally sits down to eat, and the author goes upstairs to discover that his battle-ax of a relative, Great Aunt Bertha, is dead in her bed. Rather than be traumatized, he takes some pride in informing his family.
And so the author continues from there, giving a highly entertaining blow-by-blow account of the aftermath. By remaining in the character of his young self, we’re treated to his funny, straightforward dialogue — the only bad word he’s allowed to say is “crappy,” which he thinks is crappy — and optimistic perspective, like that now that his tightwad aunt has died, his dad will be in charge of the purse strings, and maybe that means he’ll buy the family an RCA TV.
Through these day-by-day deliberations, we meet the colorful characters of the author’s youth; those who work at the restaurant, customers, people around town. The immersion drops us into his life in the way of a great comedic novel.
I really love memoirs that allow me to experience someone’s life and cast a humorous view on families in back-when times to the point I feel like I’m viewing a movie. In that way, this is a three-dimensional success!
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SCATTERED LIGHT, a novel, sequel to WINTER LIGHT
THE FALCON, THE WOLF AND THE HUMMINGBIRD a historical novel
BLISS ROAD, a memoir
WINTER LIGHT, a novel, in paperback and audiobook
THE WIND THIEF, a novel
GROWING GREAT CHARACTERS, a resource for writers
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