by Jane Hosie-Bounar ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 1, 1993
With luminous clarity, the new Delacorte Prize winner depicts, in alternating chapters, a trio of young people on Long Island's north shore during their pivotal 14th summer. Nita, whose vibrant mother is dying, is on the edge of despair, testing fate and her own limits by swimming or sailing too far out, trying Molly's friendship with an abrasiveness that doesn't quite hide her vulnerability. Molly (the only one to narrate her chapters in the first person) is more repressed, like her mother, who—in contrast to Nita's—is so reserved that her cryptic explanations about sex leave her daughter mystified; and yet, in a touchingly funny scene, the two manage to laugh about their inhibitions. Meanwhile, classmate Eddie Barnicle—butt of thoughtless cruelty because of a webbed hand and a mother who treasures it as God-given—is an unwilling bystander while a neighbor's five-year-old drowns. He's in a stolen boat with the rowdy Carey boys, who—afraid they'll be caught drinking beer and clamming illegally—refuse to investigate the child's sudden disappearance from shore; in his distress, Eddie later tries to cut away his hated webs, thus declaring his independence. Plot is secondary here; the book shines for its vividly realized portraits of young people whose complementary lives touch, and who ultimately, in a delicately understated final scene, sustain each other. A beautifully crafted debut that's sure to appeal. (Fiction. 12+)
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1993
ISBN: 0-385-31074-9
Page Count: 120
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 1993
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by Kathleen Glasgow ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 30, 2016
This grittily provocative debut explores the horrors of self-harm and the healing power of artistic expression.
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New York Times Bestseller
After surviving a suicide attempt, a fragile teen isn't sure she can endure without cutting herself.
Seventeen-year-old Charlie Davis, a white girl living on the margins, thinks she has little reason to live: her father drowned himself; her bereft and abusive mother kicked her out; her best friend, Ellis, is nearly brain dead after cutting too deeply; and she's gone through unspeakable experiences living on the street. After spending time in treatment with other young women like her—who cut, burn, poke, and otherwise hurt themselves—Charlie is released and takes a bus from the Twin Cities to Tucson to be closer to Mikey, a boy she "like-likes" but who had pined for Ellis instead. But things don't go as planned in the Arizona desert, because sweet Mikey just wants to be friends. Feeling rejected, Charlie, an artist, is drawn into a destructive new relationship with her sexy older co-worker, a "semifamous" local musician who's obviously a junkie alcoholic. Through intense, diarylike chapters chronicling Charlie's journey, the author captures the brutal and heartbreaking way "girls who write their pain on their bodies" scar and mar themselves, either succumbing or surviving. Like most issue books, this is not an easy read, but it's poignant and transcendent as Charlie breaks more and more before piecing herself back together.
This grittily provocative debut explores the horrors of self-harm and the healing power of artistic expression. (author’s note) (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: Aug. 30, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-101-93471-5
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2016
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by Renée Watson & Ellen Hagan ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 12, 2019
A book that seamlessly brings readers along on a journey of impact and empowerment.
A manifesto for budding feminists.
At the core of this engaging novel are besties Chelsea, who is Irish- and Italian-American and into fashion and beauty, and Jasmine, who is African-American, loves the theater, and pushes back against bias around size (“I don’t need your fake compliments, your pity. I know I’m beautiful. Inside and out”). They and their sidekicks, half-Japanese/half-Lebanese Nadine and Puerto Rican Isaac, grow into first-class activists—simultaneously educating their peers and readers. The year gets off to a rocky start at their progressive, social justice–oriented New York City high school: Along with the usual angst many students experience, Jasmine’s father is terminally ill with cancer, and after things go badly in both their clubs, Jasmine and Chelsea form a women’s rights club which becomes the catalyst for their growth as they explore gender inequality and opportunities for change. This is an inspiring look at two strong-willed teens growing into even stronger young women ready to use their voices and take on the world, imploring budding feminists everywhere to “join the revolution.” The book offers a poetic balance of dialogue among the main characters, their peers, and the adults in their lives. The exquisite pacing, which intersperses everyday teen conflicts with weightier issues, demonstrates how teens long to be heard and taken seriously.
A book that seamlessly brings readers along on a journey of impact and empowerment. (resources for young activists, endnotes) (Fiction. 12-18)Pub Date: Feb. 12, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5476-0008-3
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2019
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by Renée Watson ; illustrated by Ekua Holmes
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by Renée Watson ; illustrated by Andrew Grey
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by Renée Watson ; illustrated by Bryan Collier
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