Spoiled Brats: Stories

**The "hilarious" (*New York Times Book Review*) collection of short stories from the award-winning humorist Simon Rich includes the story that inspired the Seth Rogen comedy *An American Pickle*.** Twenty years ago, Barney the Dinosaur told the nation's children they were special. We're still paying the price. From "one of the funniest writers in America" comes a collection of stories culled from the front lines of the millennial culture wars (Jimmy So, *Daily Beast*). Rife with failing rock bands, student loans, and participation trophies, *Spoiled Brats* is about a generation of narcissists -- and the well-meaning boomers who made them that way. A hardworking immigrant is preserved for a century in pickle brine. A helicopter mom strives to educate her demon son. And a family of hamsters struggles to survive in a private-school homeroom. Surreal, shrewd, and surprisingly warm, these stories are as resonant as they are hilarious.