Scars (YA)

Scars. Cheryl Rainfield. 2010. WestSide Books. 250 pages.

"Someone is following me." I gulp air, trying to breathe.

Kendra has had a hard life. She's in therapy now. And she's trying her best to recover her memories, recover her life. But when the novel opens, she can't remember her abuser. She remembers the abuse--the sexual abuse. But something is keeping her from seeing the face of her abuser. The face of the man who had tormented her for over a decade.

Kendra is convinced that this man is not finished with her yet. She feels that she is being followed, being stalked. That this man is leaving her messages, leaving her threats. Reminding her that if she tells, she'll die.

So yes, Kendra has had a hard life. And her home life is challenging to say the least. Her relationship with her parents is tense. She doesn't get along with either her mom or her dad. Kendra is angry that her mom has failed to support her in many ways. That her mom failed to listen to her as a child the few times Kendra tried to let her mom know she was being hurt. Her mom also has a hard time accepting that her daughter is a lesbian.

One way she copes is by cutting. Cutting herself numbs her emotionally. Whenever she feels overwhelmed, whenever the pain becomes too much, Kendra resorts to hurting herself. Another way she copes is with her art.

While Scars is a fast-paced novel dealing with hard issues, it's also a love story. Kendra has fallen in love Meghan, and Meghan has fallen in love with her. With Meghan she is able to be herself, to talk and have someone really listen, really understand.

Scars is an emotional, compelling novel. Kendra's story is haunting and the threats she faces are all too real. Scars is a book that is hard to put down.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Running for My Life

Gonzalez, Ann. 2009. Running for My Life. Westside Books. 237 pages.

My body knows which days I meet with my therapist even when my head tries to forget.

There is so much more to Running for My Life than I was expecting. I think the fault was mine. Our heroine, our narrator, is a young teen girl Andrea McKane (14) suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Her mother is currently hospitalized for her schizophrenia. Andrea is seeing a therapist--though she's unable to speak or communicate most of the time--and she's trying to move on with her life. But the nightmares aren't going away, and her fears are only increasing as she learns that her mother may be released soon. True, the medication is supposed to be helping her mother. They don't feel she is a threat to herself or to others. But Andrea has a feeling that isn't quite right. In her visits with her mother, she is overwhelmed by the past. And her mother's words...aren't reassuring. Andrea isn't face this all alone. She's got a good support system--her father who is consistent and kind, her best friend who is encouraging her to try a new hobby: running, her new boyfriend who is understanding and sensitive. Running for My Life is intense in places. I like the complexity of it. I like the narrative structure how the reader has to assemble some of the pieces for themselves. It's a book I'd definitely recommend to those wanting to understand more about mental health.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews
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Between Us Baxters

Hegedus, Bethany. 2009. Between Us Baxters. Westside Books. 306 pages.

Like Moses, Meemaw had ten commandments.

Meet Polly Baxter our twelve-year-old narrator. Being twelve is never exactly easy. But for Polly growing up in the late fifties in the South, it's a tricky business. You see, Polly and her mother are rule-breakers. Their best friends are negroes. They don't follow the social code of the South that would prohibit them from socializing outside their race. But it's even trickier than that in a way. Their best friends--the Biggses--are more affluent than they are. The Baxters rely on the Biggses in several ways--a mixture of friendship and charity. And Polly wears hand me downs from her best friend, Timbre Ann. Polly has mixed feelings about this. She's ashamed to be wearing hand-me-downs from a 'colored' girl and she's jealous that Timbre Ann can afford these store bought clothes in the first place. As the novel progresses, Polly becomes increasingly jealous that her friend though socially despised (and facing threats by the KKK) falls into the 'haves' while her family is struggling to get by, struggling to get food on the table. The Baxters seem destined to be in the 'have-nots.' And they're not the only ones. There seems to be an ever-increasing population of disgruntled whites--among them Polly's father--who doesn't think it fair that black businesses should be so successful while their own businesses are either failing or nonexistent. (For example, some of them don't work at all and just spend their days and nights getting drunk and complaining about how awful they have it.)

There is plenty of tension in Between Us Baxters. Plenty of complexity. The Baxters are looked down upon by many people. Including the mother's family. There is strife and frustration and anger flowing all the time. Polly is not living in a peaceful home.

Generally, I liked it. I thought it was interesting to see the world through Polly's eyes. On the one hand, she's grown up being best friends with Timbre-Ann. The two are so close they seem more like sisters in some ways. But on the other hand, there is rivalry and tension between them as jealousy and frustration and disappointment and fear come into the picture. Feelings that quite honestly are beyond race. To be twelve is to go through some of these things. Friendships and relationships are constantly being tried--put to the test--as angst comes out due to natural growing pains.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews
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