I was very much looking forward to this book given the synopsis and the first look, but was let down pretty quickly. The synopsis in my opinion is misleading and is only pertinent to the beginning of the book. I expected a book that was about growing up in Synanon, but reality the author left when he was four years old. I am not discounting his childhood being different, but I don’t feel it appropriately warranted the synopsis on the back of the book. With all of that being said, it was interesting reading about growing up during a different time in history, parts in which are parallel to what is happening in society today. This book is also a good representation of how you’re not stuck in the life you were raised in, and the person you were raised to be.