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Cut By Patricia Mccormick ( Push )
Release Date: 2002-02-01
Average Customer Rating:
List Price: $7.99
Price: $7.99
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Product Description
This debut novel deals boldly with mental illness and is by turns riveting, thrilling, and heartbreaking. Teens will relate to the adolescent drama and all-important friends as the main character tries to ³cut² it. The bittersweet tale will resonate in the turbulent world of young adults and its readers will find hope in the uplifting end.
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Amazon.com Review
Burdened with the pressure of believing she is responsible for her brother's illness, 15-year-old Callie begins a course of self-destruction that leads to her being admitted to Sea Pines, a psychiatric hospital the "guests" refer to as Sick Minds. Although initially she refuses to speak, her individual and group therapy sessions trigger memories and insights. Slowly, she begins emerging from her miserable silence, ultimately understanding the role her dysfunctional family played in her brother's health crisis. Patricia McCormick's first novel is authentic and deeply moving. Callie suffers from a less familiar teen problem--she cuts herself to relieve her inner frustrations and guilt. The hope and hard-won progress that comes at the conclusion of the novel is believable and heartening for any teen reader who feels alone in her (or his) angst. Along with Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak and E.L. Konigsburg's Silent to the Bone, McCormick's Cut expertly tackles an unusual response to harrowing adolescent trouble. (Ages 14 and older) --Emilie Coulter
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 Lack of insight
I was expecting ALOT more about this book.. It doesn't show you the insight of a cutter's mind, it's just about a girl who is in a looney bin... i was expecting some true, deep feelings, or the realistic exasperation of a cutter without any tools... Blablabla totaly not worth it...
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 Introspection of a fictional girl ( the_grad_student_in_english )
While this is a fictional account of self-harm, I felt that it was a fair portrayal of the main character who is attempting to deal with familial issues the best way she knows how. I have read horrendous books that were intended to have the same effect that this story had...and from my reading (so far) this story is the closest that I have found to reality. Yes, Callie has problems...Yes, she hurts herself... but she is not hollow. She is just a normal teenage girl who doesn't know how to cope with the emotions that she is feeling.
I can say that as a current recovering harmer (I am 29 now...I have harmed for 17 years), this book most closely resembles my experiences with self-harm...including the confusion and frustration that you feel. The alienation that you go through...when you harm and while you are trying to recover. This book shows that it's not as simple as just stopping.
I felt that the other characters were inconsequential to the underlying message that this book was sending out. Yes, the other characters are a catalyst to Callie's road to recovery...but their influence in minimal. I think that this too is an accurate depiction of how relationships can be when on is trying to recover from this particular illness. One doesn't just open up to anyone and everyone they meet...
While this is a fictional piece, I felt that Callie was not an "overdone" character. McCormick focuses mainly on Callie's introspection about her problem, and not so much about the problem itself, which is a crucial part of the healing process.
I recommend this book to people who are looking for fictional piece that gives a fair portrayal of a young lady who self-harms.
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Bad idea for the youth
Bad back lash! As a cutter myself for 8yrs before I discovered this book in school on day in middle school incouraged by teachers I was horrified. I've had many emotional problems and I refuse to read this book. My problem is that it is being given to suck a young group of people. I remeber because of this book my friend started cutting. Stupid right. The book is being taken to seriously by the youth but the education of the topic is good.
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 Well written, but lacking... something. ( jaco476 )
This was a good book in the way that it was well written. She writes with ease that makes your eyes fly over the words of the page at a good rate, and it doesn't clutter itself up with pretentious words. I liked the main character Callie, but her reasons for cutting do not seem justified. I also would have liked to see a little bit more information about the other girls in the hospital with her. It seemed like one could go on so many different ways with them. For a first novel, not bad. For me spending my money on it, I'm not impressed.
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 Okay, but not the best ( chaluta2 )
This book's popularity is mainly based on the fact it was a semi-good novel about self-harm when it has become more common, and alientated teenagers flock to anything that will make them feel understood. Any parents should know that this book does NOT glorify self harm in any way, and if your kid believes that this book does so, they are too impressionable and a little stupid. This book is narrated by a self-harmer and since it is in the voice of a self-harmer she is obviously addicted to the act and fantasizes about hurting herself and thinks it will make her feel better because that is HOW self harmers think. This is extremely similar to how a drug addict would talk about their drug of choice and how they think it will make them feel better. If you have a very impressionable, naive kid don't let them read it. But if you have a smart kid that is aware of mental illnesses and twisted thought processes this is fine. For teens interested in this, it's ok. It's def blown out of proportion and like I said it's popular because it was published at the right time when the demand was high. If you are a self-harmer it might be good to relate to, but you can tell that the the woman writing it never actually experienced self-harm herself. Crosses by Shelley Stoher is better, but nearly unheard of because it was written years ago when self-harm was still rare. The Luckiest Girl in the World by Steven Levenkron is also pretty good.
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