Memorable and important representation of a poorly understood compulsion.
Heather discovers cutting by accident and encounters danger before finally getting help.
Heather’s parents’ severe fight sends the Maine high school freshman running to her best friend Liv’s house, but she finds Liv at home with Cooper, a popular older boy from school. As Liv becomes more preoccupied with Cooper, Heather takes action over the illegal developments destroying their forests and learns more about cutting from an online personality. She begins to use cutting to dull the pain of her home situation, helplessness, and loneliness. But she also comes second in an essay contest and discovers a theater camp, where she makes new friends: Trey, a Penobscot boy who is interested in Heather, and Josie, a bold and dynamic actress who turns out to be a cutter too. One night, Josie takes things too far. Both girls ultimately get the help they need from professionals. This novel, accessible to reluctant readers, presents short, powerful poems that convey vivid experiences. Dodds arranges the words against the blank space in creative designs that require readers to actively participate in making meaning of Heather’s thoughts, feelings, and senses. The story confronts gruesome truths—both physical and emotional—that help outsiders begin to understand the draw of cutting. It is implied that all the characters other than Trey are white.
Memorable and important representation of a poorly understood compulsion. (author’s note, resources) (Verse novel. 14-18)Pub Date: June 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5383-8515-9
Page Count: 200
Publisher: West 44 Books
Review Posted Online: April 11, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
A powerful tale of found family and first love.
After a year away, Ellis returns home to confront her past.
Graduating from high school far from everything familiar was not part of Ellis Truman’s original plans, but she nevertheless ended up spending her senior year with her aunt in California. In Indiana, Ellis practically grew up with the Albrey family and their three tightknit sons, Dixon, Tucker, and Easton. Now, Tucker wants her to return home for matriarch Sandry Albrey’s 50th birthday celebration on the Fourth of July—but Ellis is dreading seeing Easton, as they haven’t talked since she left. Chapters alternate between past and present, and much of the story unravels slowly: How did she come to live with the Albreys? What caused Ellis to then end up in San Diego? What happened in her relationship with Easton? Patient readers will find the heartfelt tension pays off. With her father in and out of jail and an absent mother, socio-economic differences separating Ellis from the middle-class Albreys don’t go unnoticed, and Ellis’ down-to-earth journey shows how she unpacks her feelings about her relationship with her parents. The slow-build romance is swoonworthy, and young adult fans of Colleen Hoover seeking emotional devastation and unforgettable characters will find much to enjoy here. Characters read as White.
A powerful tale of found family and first love. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 10, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-06-308853-5
Page Count: 384
Publisher: HarperTeen
Review Posted Online: Jan. 10, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
A high-concept premise that falls short in its execution.
A teenage girl finds herself alone after everyone else in her town mysteriously disappears, leaving her scrambling to figure out how to find them all.
One late summer day, everybody in July Fielding’s town disappears. She is left to piece together what happened, following a series of cryptic signs she finds around town urging her to “GET THEM BACK.” The narrative moves back and forth between July’s present and the events of the summer before, when her relationship with her best friend, cross-country team co-captain Sydney, starts to fracture due to a combination of jealousy over July’s new relationship with a cute boy called Sam and sweet up-and-coming freshman Ella’s threatening to overtake Syd’s status as star of the track team. The team members participate in a ritual in which they jump off a cliff into the rocky waters below at the end of their Friday practice runs. Though Ella is reluctant, Syd pressures her to jump. Short, frenetically paced sections move the story along quickly, and there is much foreshadowing pointing to something terrible that occurred at the end of that summer, which may be the key to July’s current predicament, but there is much misdirection too. Ultimately this is a story without enough setup to make the turn the book takes in the end feel fully developed or earned. All characters read white.
A high-concept premise that falls short in its execution. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 19, 2023
ISBN: 9780593327173
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2023
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