The 9 Lives of Alexander Baddenfield

The book presents a litany of gruesome ways that Alexander, who has had the nine lives of his pet cat surgically implanted in him, conceives to kill himself, just for the thrill of it, because, "Death is cool!" The descriptions of his many deaths are often graphic and range from his being electrocuted by the third rail on the New York subway to a car crash ("The boy went crashing through the windshield, was sent hurtling across the street, and smashed skull-first into a brick wall"), to being gored in a bull ring: "Winterbottom could hear the cracking of Alexander's ribs, each one like a broomstick being broken over a knee. Then came a sickening pop -- Alexander's lung -- and another pop -- Alexander's other lung." There are also violent episodes in which Alexander doesn't die. Some of Sophie Blackall's black-and-white illustrations depict Alexander's deaths.

No profanity, but a few strong insults, as when Alexander yells at a toreador: "You old, crotchety, good-for-nothing, too-tight-pants-wearing, nose-stuck-up-in-the-air, Spanish pile of smelly dog caca!"

Parents need to know that The 9 Lives of Alexander Baddenfield is by John Bemelmans Marciano, grandson of Madeleine creator Ludwig Bemelmans and author of several Madeline books. But don't let that connection fool you into thinking this is a book for young kids; it's not. It's violent from beginning to end, full of graphic descriptions of horrible deaths. The central character is bratty, self-centered, cruel, insensitive, and dangerously masochistic. He derives pleasure from conceiving of different ways to kill himself (because he literally has the nine lives a cat). The book is clearly intended to be darkly funny, and the author skillfully establishes a humorously foreboding tone through the story's narration, but parents and some kids will no doubt be put off by the nonstop accounts of truly bad behavior and grisly ends. "Macabre" doesn't begin to describe this book. Some of Sophie Blackall's fine black-and-white illustrations depict Alexander's deaths; some help lighten the mood.