“A thoughtful, caring examination of race, class, and wealth in America.”
“Keen and tender-hearted social observation of a diverse and struggling cast of characters. The Place You’re Supposed to Laugh is a wonderful and rich debut with a big heart.”
7.13 Books, 2018. Cover design by Gigi Little
the place you’re supposed to laugh
It’s 2002 in Silicon Valley, and the fizz has gone out of the dot-com bubbly. Chad Loudermilk is a freshman at Palo Alto High School, and his best friend’s transfer out has made him acutely aware that he’s the only black kid at Paly. His “well-meaning but nevertheless white” adoptive parents worry that they can no longer afford their rented house, resenting those who continue to prosper, especially the internet mogul next door. Chad must navigate a series of “disruptions” to figure out what comes next. With insights into race and class delivered with a comic touch, The Place You’re Supposed to Laugh offers a picture of a family and neighborhood that is both heartbreaking and hilarious, sometimes at once.
Buy it from Bookshop here
A playlist at LargeheartedBoy
Taking My Time at Bloom
IF MY BOOK at Monkeybicycle
Research Notes at Necessary Fiction
My Shelfie at The Coil
My First Time at Quivering Pen
Interview in San Francisco Chronicle (!)
“Acutely observed, full of wit, keen insight, and compassion, The Place You’re Supposed to Laugh follows an ensemble of complicated, entirely human characters, as they seek to define, or in some cases reclaim, their own identities in a radically shifting world.”
“It may be her debut, but Jenn Stroud Rossmann’s novel shows she’s a startlingly wise and insightful writer. She effortlessly weaves together the stories of the extended Loudermilk family, a rich, complicated, and love-able cast of characters. Instantly absorbing and full of life, this is a story told with humor and heart.”