Cut

Cut
by Patricia McCormick

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Book Summary Information

Author: Patricia McCormick
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2002-02-01
ISBN: 0439324599
Number of pages: 160
Publisher: Push

Book Reviews of Cut

Book Review: A Glimpse, Not an Expose on Self Mutilation
Summary: 5 Stars

Patricia McCormick's novel, "Cut" gives you a glimpse of the psychological horror faced by 15 year old Callie. She has recently started to attend Sea Pines mental health institution, which its "guests" refer to as Sick Minds. Callie is a cutter and at the onset of the novel, you're not certain what led her down the path of self mutilation.

Callie keeps to herself all the thoughts she would like to reveal. Her real thoughts and feelings are buried, and while she may refuse to address her psychologist, she keeps any insight of value, to herself. Interestingly, you may notice that the reader and psychologist become one at times, as she refers to all the things, "you" want to hear. When Callie is in avoidance mode she stays silent during her one on one counseling sessions. She goes into detail as to the cars she is counting or the designs on the wall paper blocking both her psychologist and the reader with nonessential details.

Her avoidance issues, becomes beneficial to the reader, when she tells you about the various other patients there that suffer from various eating disorders and the one girl who suffers from the same affliction she does. Viewing the destructive eating habits of an anorexic patient, through the eyes of someone who is facing her own battle is jarring. Callie sees these girls as simply committing meaningless actions that may or may not be suitable.

With time Callie begins to open up after an episode where she cut herself and caused herself more harm than she had been accustomed. The family dynamics that contributed to Callie's downfall are slowly unearthed and the reader witnesses just how dysfunctional the family truly is. The only saving grace is her younger brother who happens to be afflicted with serious medical ailments.

McCormick is quick with her sentences, with a keen eye for details, and teen angst. The ending is fitting, though from experience with a book club at the high school I work at, many of my students were disgruntled that the book was not gorier or that the ending was not more explicit. You're forced to come to your own conclusions, but its fitting with the tone and slow unraveling of Callie's secrets.

I also want to warn readers that this is not meant to be a tell all of all the trials and tribulations that someone who cuts themselves goes through. We get a glimpse of the recovery process and nothing more. However, McCormick's writing is poetic with a certain quick rhythm, which takes into account its brevity and length.

It's a daring experiment in writing with such a sensitive subject. I was satisfied, though it's only fair to admit that not everyone will be happy with her writing style. Otherwise, I recommend it to teens and adults alike.

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Summary of Cut

An astonishing PUSH novel about pain, release, and recovery from an amazing new author.

Fifteen-year-old Callie isn't speaking to anybody, not even to her therapist at Sea Pines, the "residential treatment facility" where her parents and doctor sent her after discovering that she cuts herself. As her story unfolds, Callie reluctantly become involved with the other "guests" at Sea Pines -- finding her voice and confronting the trauma that triggered her behavior.

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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Cut