Cut

BIBLIOGRAPHIC INFORMATION:

Cut. McCormick, Patricia. Scholastic Inc., New York. ISBN 978-0-439-32459-5

PLOT SUMMARY:

Callie is a teen that cuts. When she gets stressed she cuts herself in order to make herself feel better. Callie is a “guest” at Sea Pines (a.k.a Sick Minds as the residents call it) a “residential treatment facility. Cut takes you through the beginning of Callie’s journey at Sea Pines. When readers first meet Callie she is not speaking. She finds it too painful. She wants to speak, but she can’t seem to find the words. She looks out the window or at the wallpaper avoiding everyone in Sea Pines including her therapist and the girls in her group. As time passes Callie learns that she does have something to say.

CRITICAL EVALUATION:

Cut is told from Callie’s point of view. She is speaking to her therapist. The book begins with Callie sitting silent in her therapy session. She is recalling the first time that she cut herself. As the reader journeys with Callie, you learn that Callie herself is unaware why she is cutting. Cut is a story of one girl’s journey to heal herself, even though she does not know from what. It is told from the point of view of a person trying to figure out why she is in pain. It becomes increasing clear that Callie could be any teenager with feelings of insecurity. Teens choose to deal with life in many ways, some choose cutting as a release for their pain or stress. Callie shows the reader that cutting is not based around suicide. I had heard about cutting, but this is the first book I have read that deals with the issue. It describes the feeling of cutting and the pleasure that someone that cuts receives. Cut lets the reader into the world of a struggling teen. As Callie moves though her therapy, we come to realize that she carried the world on her shoulders (her brother’s illness, her parents stress) and wants nothing more than to be happy. We are also able to see what she can’t (at least for the moment); people are not perfect (including parents). Sometimes we get so wrapped up with our lives that we forget the affect it has on others. Callie is the perfect example of this. A must read for any teen that is struggling with insecurities.

READER’S ANNOTATION:

Callie is a teen that cuts herself. She doesn’t know why; she just knows that she feels better when she does it.

AUTHOR:

Patricia McCormick is an author that grew up in a town where all of the houses looked the same. She wrote this into the opening chapter of Cut.

McCormick earned her B.S at Rosemont College in 1978, her MS at Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in 1985 and her M.F.A. at The New School in 1999.
Her published books include: Purple Heart, My Brother’s Keeper, Sold and Cut. McCormick’s books cover a wide range of troubled teens. From sexual slavery to war, she shows the strength of teens dealing with troubling and sometimes horrific situations.

In addition to writing books, she has also been a freelance journalist for The New York Times and Parents magazine, and a frequent contributor The New York Times Book Review, Ladies Home Journal, Town & Country, More, Reader's Digest, Mademoiselle and other publications. McCormick is also a former adjunct professor of journalism at Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and an instructor of creative writing at the New School University.

Patricia McCormick is the mother of two children and lives in New York with her husband, son and two cats. (McCormick)

GENRE:

Fiction, Realistic

CURRICULUM TIES:

New York State: English, Health, Family and Consumer Sciences

BOOK TALKING IDEAS:

Have you ever felt like things were out of your control?
Cutting, eating disorders

READING LEVEL/INTEREST AGE:

Age 14 and up

CHALLENGE ISSUES:

Cutting, teen mental health issues

In order to prepare yourself should this book be challenged you may wish to take the following steps:

•Read the book or familiarize yourself with the book and its contents.
•Refer to the library’s collection development policy.
•Read the book reviews from sources such as Booklist, School Library Journal, Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA), Publisher’s Weekly, or BookSpot.com
•Seek the opinion of teen readers that have read the book.

Should this book be challenged you should follow the additional steps below:

•Advise the senior staff of the challenge.
•Let the patron know that their challenge will be filed and that senior library management will review their request and notify them once a decision has been made.
•Offer any further assistance should the patron have additional questions.
WHY DID I INCLUDE THIS BOOK?
I saw it on the shelf of the teen room and I remembered hearing about it.