I always work hard to get those kids what they ask for. I hope that the book absorbed the reader’s abuse (at least to some degree). One of the teens from the halfway house we serve wanted “something on cutting” and, after he checked it out, the book came back with extra scars inflicted on the cover photo.

why you chose it-as in why you were intrigued enough to pick it up.

Links to reviews in professional review sources Wilson’s Senior High School February 2011

genre or subject-the main theme/issue of the bookĬommunity Life-Homosexuality Community Life-Child Abuse Diseases/Disorders.

Kendra’s relationship with her mother and Carolyn and her acceptance that Kendra may not be able to stop cutting “cold turkey”. She validates the reasons behind cutting while asserting that, “…none of us deserves to be hurt, that it’s important to treat ourselves gently, and that we need to surround ourselves with loving people who can mirror that love back to us(p.234, Rainfield 2010)”. The author’s note also reveals that she was a survivor of abuse much like Kendra’s described in the book. The author also provides a wonderful list of resources at the end of the book. Although Kendra’s story could be triggering for abused teens, it shows that they are not alone. The story explores many facets of life including sexual abuse, emotional and mental health, self-mutilation by cutting, homosexual and lesbian relationships.

But that doesn’t make the watched feeling go away. I’m so afraid I’m imagining all of this, that it’s just an echo from the past. “‘Someone is following me.’… I know how that sounds. The author also gives a plethora of resources for readers who are sharing any / all of Kendra’s issues. Rainfield wraps the reader up in Kendra’s experience and helps us understand why she cuts herself.

As the story unfolds Kendra gives the reader clues through her memories. Kendra describes hearing footsteps behind her and the reader may not be as ready to believe Kendra. She confides in Carolyn that she is being followed. The reader meets Kendra in her therapist’s office. Rainfield grips her reader from the get go and you won’t want to put it down. Kendra reaches out for help from a caring counselor, a girl at school and finds some relief through cutting herself. She is trying to remember the identity of her abuser.

summary of the plot and content of the title.

Scars by cheryl rainfield