I loved this book because it was suspenseful and sad. ( )

Interesting use of sort-of second person…can’t quite decide if it’s true second, because it’s sort of direct address to someone other than the reader. We are instantly drawn into the story of the main character, a girl who cuts herself and has been sent to an institution for help but refuses to speak to anyone at first. I liked the slow reveal of information and found Callie’s progression believable and her experience compelling. I wasn’t quite sure there was enough power in the scene where she finally talks to her dad, though. It’s the moment where she tells him basically why she’s been hurting herself. He seems to get off a little too easy, but maybe that’s okay—it is really just the beginning of her healing process, not the end, so maybe understated is better. But I did feel slightly let down that there wasn’t a little bit more there. ( )

Reviewed by Cana Rensberger for TeensReadToo.com

CUT is an amazing first novel by Patricia McCormick that offers a glimpse inside the mind of a 15-year-old girl who cuts herself. For Callie, life just became too complicated. The solution lay right in front of her. One tiny cut. A bubble of red. And yes, pain. Then, escape.

Callie now resides at Sea Pines with several other girls seeking treatment for a myriad of other disorders. She goes to group share time, hooks her sleeves over her thumbs, and hides behind her hair. She sees her counselor twice a day and counts the stripes on the wallpaper. But Callie doesn't share. With anyone. Not even when her mother and little brother visit.

Callie can't bring herself to speak. Instead she watches, and listens. She knows everything about her group mates. But they know nothing about this girl who won't talk. Then, when Amanda joins the group and brazenly flaunts her own scars, it becomes more difficult for Callie to remain silent. And as she begins to speak, she slowly finds she doesn't want to keep it all inside. She wants to get better.

Callie is a bright girl that the reader will easily identify with. You'll care for her the same way she cares about the others at Sea Pines. And you'll be amazed when you find out what started it all; that it's an entire family in pain, not just Callie. She'll make you cry, and make you laugh some, and in the end you'll feel so proud of her progress.

Cutting is a very real issue for teens. Many, like Callie, don't even know themselves why they do it. CUT is an honest look at how cutting can consume a young person. If you know someone who cuts, share this book with them. Let them know they can find help. They can stop. This is a gusty novel that you won't want to put down until you're sure Callie is safe. ( )

McCormick, Patricia. Cut. 2000. Front Street: Honesdale.

Genre:

Realistic Fiction

Themes:

Self mutilation, Emotional problems, Family Problems, Psychiatric hospitals

Reading Level:

Young Adult-Upper High School

Awards (what awards has it won):

Best Books for Young Adults, Quick Picks for Reluctant YA Readers Top Ten, Top Choice List, Books for the Teen Age

Plot Summary

Cut is about a fifteen year old girl named Callie that has mental problems through out the story. One day her mother catches her cutting her wrist. Callie’s parents decide to send her to “Sea Pines,” a mental treatment facility. Callie does not talk to anybody at the facility, not even her therapist. As the story goes on, Callie becomes very good friends with the other girls there. Many of the young girls have problems, but not like Callie’s. Even though they do not all have the same mental issues, she can relate them a lot. Callie eventually starts talking in her group of friends and to her therapist. In the end she eventually faces and confronts her family problems that are the blame for detrimental behavior.

Critique

This book defiantly deals with some serious personal and social issues of many young adults. The setting is based at a girl’s home and the mental facility that she lives/attends. Since this book is read by many young adults,

Curriculum Uses (how could this book be used in the classroom/library programming:

This book could be used in a classroom setting that was discussing common young adult mental issues. This book would be a great book to use for examples of common young adult struggles. One example is overcoming self-inflicted harm to oneself. Cut could also be used as a novel on a library shelf. I actually got this book from the high school library that I work at. ( )

Cut is a story about a young girl that was recently sent to an institution to deal with just that, her self-harm issues. For much of the story, Callie doesn’t speak very much. It’s not that she’s mute, more that she doesn’t want to make friends, because she knows that she won’t be there long; however the doctor’s won’t let her go until she makes progress and speaks up in group and admitting she has a problem.
In a society where self-harm is such a common thing, reading a story about it makes you realize just how harmful it is. It does make me wonder, because she self-harms why the put her in an instituition and not just in therapy. It if were me in that situation I would have much rather done one-on-one therapy than stay with a bunch of strangers, and have to confess my deepest darkest secrets to them. But of course it wouldn’t be my decision to make, now would it?
I would have liked a little more back story as to why she started cutting, not just the first time, and a few scattered times after that. It’s a short book, but it doesn’t need to be long to get the message across. Kids are cutting, somre for attention, some just to do it, and some because they don’t know any other way to cope, and they like to have some sort of control over the pain they feel. Some stop after a while, somce can’t stop at all, then there are those that can easily be triggered to do it after not doing it for so long.
Self harm is an issue amoung our generation. Many people around us are cutters, reading a book that shows us that you can cope brings hope to many people. ( )