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Abuse is an issue
that crosses all cultures and all socio-economic classes. It
can occur between parents and children, between parents or between
dating teenagers. It can take the form of negligence or physical,
emotional or sexual abuse. Many of these books are extremely
sad and painful to read and usually recommended for the most
mature of readers.
| Anderson, Laurie Halse |
Speak
Speak is
a stunning novel. Melinda Sordino begins her freshman year not
with all the hope that high school can bring, but as an outcast
because she called the police at an end-of-summer party. She
retreats into a world of silence to protect herself from the
hypocrisy of high school. But the silence does not protect her
well or for long.
Melinda did not call the police to bust
the party, but because she had been raped by a popular jock.
Not only is she a complete outcast, without a friend in the world,
but she gets to see her assailant's smug, leering face every
day.
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| Crutcher, Chris |
Staying Fat for Sarah
Byrnes
The ugliest kids in the school
are best friends. Eric A.K.A, "Moby" because he is
so fat and Sarah Byrnes A.K.A. "Scarface", because
she has disfiguring scars on her face, have both borne the brunt
of cruelty throughout their school years. They always relied
on each other for support, however, Sarah Byrnes was the tougher
of the two. Now that Sarah Byrnes has gone silent and is in a
mental institution, it is up to Eric to figure out what freaked
out his tough-as-nails best friend and help her. Scary. |
| Crutcher, Chris |
Chinese Handcuffs
Wow, this book grabbed me on
the first page and wouldn't let go; just like the Chinese handcuffs
of the title. Trying to synopsize one of Crutcher's novels is
very difficult because the lives of his characters seem melodramatic
and over-the-top and yet, as I am reading, I am totally immersed.
Dillon, like so many of Crutcher's protagonists,
is an angry young man, an expert at challenging authority and
earning "three day vacations." Although he has a lot
to be angry about, his new best friend and possible love-interest,
Jen has the market cornered on rage. They both try to channel
this energy into sports- she is a basketball star, he is a tri-athlete,
but eventually they must face the demons which drive them. He
witnessed his brother's suicide and she is a victim of sexual
abuse, first at the hands of her biological father, then her
step-father.
Dillon and Jen are admirable characters
trying to be decent in a world where ugly things happen which
aren't your fault.
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| Crutcher, Chris |
Whale Talk
I liked this book. I was completely
caught up in the story. TJ, short for The Tao Jones is biracial,
adopted and angry. He is intellectually as well as athletically
gifted and wickedly sarcastic. Looking back, there were a few
plot stretches and some melodrama that did not ring absolutely
true but so much of this book tells it like it is when it comes
to high school sports, snobbery, racism and elitism in general.
TJ frankly discusses sex and sexual attraction, and also uses
some pretty strong language, so this title is for more mature
readers. |
| Flinn, Alex |
Breathing Underwater
Breathtaking book for students in grade 8 and up about the consequences
of being in an abusive relationship. This is a difficult book
to read; but an important one.
Sixteen-year-old Nick has it all, rich,
handsome, athletic and popular. He is also hiding a secret. His
dad regularly beats him up. He is also on probation and in court-ordered
anger-management classes because he started hitting his girlfriend,
Caitlin, a charge which he repeatedly denies.
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| Frank, E.R. |
America
This book is very difficult
to read. The chapters shift from "now" to "then"
and back again as America, a mixed race fifteen-year-old boy
tells of "getting lost in the system," found, then
lost again. Bewilderment and betrayal impact on this boy's ability
to trust and believe in himself and have hope. There is profanity
and some violence (including sexual abuse) in this book which
may upset or offend some. This book is not recommended for anyone
below grade 8. |
| Frank, E.R. |
Friction
Eighth grader Alex attends
an alternative private school and loves it, playing soccer and
hanging out with her best friend Tim. She also thinks her teacher,
Simon is the coolest thing. Enter new girl, Stacy, hip and sophisticated,
mature beyond her years. She and Alex begin to become close friends
and Stacy confides a secret in Alex and suddenly becomes weird,
spreading ridiculous rumors about Alex and Simon around school
until events escalate beyond control.
This is a tough, realistic portrayal of
the dangers of rumors and ineuendo, but also a wake-up call that
some children are abused by people who are in a position of trust.
In this case, it was Stacy who was being abused by someone in
her family.
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| Klass, David |
You Don't Know
Me
John is the narrator of this harrowing novel. He is sarcastic,
ironic and has a wicked sense of humor. He attends a school which
is not a school, has a crush on a classmate he calls Glory Hallelujah
and is being abused by his "father who is not my father."
His real father named him after a toilet and left. Now his single
mother has allowed her boyfriend to move in with the family and
has no clue about what is going on as John tries to cope. |
| Strasser,
Todd |
Boot Camp
I never know what to expect from a book by Strasser except that I will become totally engrossed in the world he presents.
"Blueblood" is the name Garrett Durrell's kidnapper has given him, only the kidnaper won't be asking for a ransom from Garrett's rich parents, as they were the people who hired him. He kidnaps, handcuffs and transports uncontrollable, defiant, children to "boot camp," in this case, Lake Harmony, situated way upstate, near the Canadian border. In fact, Garrett's parents are paying Lake Harmony about $4000 per month to condition Garrett to obey and the directors will do anything to make that happen. Garrett isn't a bad kid, he may be too smart for his own good and maybe a bit lazy, critical of his parents and their lifestyle but he's basically decent and he's in love with a woman eight years his senior.
This book grabbed me by the throat and sucked me in on page one. At the end, I felt either like I was chewed up and spit out or like a freight train hit me. I was stunned. It is a book that I will reread because my first reading was done at a dead run because I just had to find out what happened.
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| Tanzman, Carol M. |
The Shadow Place
Fourteen-year-old Lissa has
been next-door neighbors and friends with Rodney forever. However,
Lissa is popular and Rodney is not. More and more, Lissa is being
forced to choose between her popular friends and Rodney. Between
his outsider status at school and his father's constant bullying
and threats, Rodney is close to snapping and as Lissa becomes
aware of the dangerousness of the situation, she finds herself
in a dilemma. |
| Turner, Anne Warren |
Learning to Swim
This is a very difficult book
to read, but is beautifully written about a sensitive subject.
It is a collection of poems written by Turner about the summer
she was six, learning to swim and was sexually abused by a neighbor's
son. |
| Werlin, Nancy |
Rules of Survival
Matthew Eamon Walsh narrates this searing story as a letter to his sister Emily recollecting the constant fear that he and Callie lived with while they tried to stay ahead of their mother's moods. Emily was much younger than her two older siblings and perhaps not as aware of the constant danger Matt and Callie had to deal with. This is not an easy story to read. While the abuse that the siblings suffered was not blatant or constant, when it came, it was terrifying. What is even more painful to read, was the inaction of significant adults in the lives of these three children. |
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