Before Robert Cormier died last November, he had the chance
to see one of his last book recommendations published on the
back of a new author's book. Cut was that book, and here
is part of what he had to say.
"I read Cut in one breathless sitting, mesmerized
by 15-year-old Callie whose silent struggle against self-destructive
impulses captured my heart as well as my admiration. You will
not soon forget a girl named Callie, and this remarkable novel."
Cormier was dead-on correct. We meet this puzzling girl athelete
as she sits in her therapist's office at the residential treatment
facility known as Sea Pines -- "Sick Minds" if you're one of
the "guests." ÊÊHer doctor speaks. ÊHer group therapy leader
speaks. ÊHer fellow patients speak. So do her mother and her
brother, Sam. But Callie maintains her silence.
Deep slashes in her arms do all the talking, though we, the
readers, hear her every thought, from the deepest depths of
her mind. Why did such a strong, able girl turn to the madness
of self-mutilation? ÊAnd what key, if any, will help her find
her way back from the edge?
Cut examines a frightening new trend of self-expression
among over- stressed, teenage girls. It tempers grief with the
promise of recovery, pain with the heeling power of redemptive
love. If you've ever felt a pain so great it leaves you numb
and utterly speechless, Cut is a book you may read in
one sitting -- a story you'll understand.
Click here to buy: Cut
at Amazon.com.
