Sticker

Hoke (The Groundhog Forever) offers up an evocative reflection on queerness, race, and his hometown of Charlottesville, Va., in this conceptual “memoir in 20 stickers.” Part of Bloomsbury’s “Object Lessons” series, his book uses the humble sticker as a metaphorical linchpin for a series of essays that attempt to render his “identity a little more tangible” as he recalls his upbringing in Charlottesville, where “Coexist [stickers] coexisted with band names and brand logos and authoritative statements.” Hoke remembers the prolific poison awareness sticker Mr. Yuk (his first crush) and early moments of his burgeoning sexuality; waxes poetic about the placid pleasure binder paper reinforcement stickers gave him in school; and interrogates his sleepy hometown’s white supremacist roots with the well-known UVA Rotunda sticker, visual shorthand for the town’s favorite son, Thomas Jefferson. Hoke’s insight on the depth and endurance of Charlottesville’s racism in pieces like “Are You Triggered?” is striking, but his self-deprecation often distracts from his more moving points (particularly in one passage where he uses two full pages to express how much better his brother was than him at everything). Still, those willing to sit through some theatrics will find a unique perspective on one of the most infamous cities in recent American history. (Jan.)