Kiss+of+Broken+Glass

Kiss of Broken Glass by Madeleine Kuderick 2014 SLJ gr 9 and up; 14+ Kirkis; 8-12 Booklist Realistic Fiction Recommended by Merrimack Middle School

Link to the NHU PAC entry here

Summary (Amazon) In the next 72 hours, Kenna may lose everything—her friends, her freedom, and maybe even herself. One kiss of the blade was all it took to get her sent to the psych ward for 72 hours. There she will face her addiction to cutting, though the outcome is far from certain. When fifteen-year-old Kenna is found cutting herself in the school bathroom, she is sent to a facility for a mandatory psychiatric watch. There Kenna meets other kids like her—her roommate, Donya, who's there for her fifth time; the birdlike Skylar; and Jag, a boy cute enough to make her forget her problems. . . for a moment. Madeleine Kuderick's gripping debut is a darkly beautiful and lyrical novel in verse, perfect for fans of Sonya Sones and Laurie Halse Anderson. //Kiss of Broken Glass// pulses with emotion and lingers long after the last page.

Comments: Full disclosure: Normally, I am not a fan of disorder books – bulimia, anorexia, cutting and the like. Yes, I understand that these are huge issues that our teens are struggling with, but very often these books are used as how-to manuals when in the hands of the kids who are struggling. I know this because we’ve battled these disorder demons in my house with my daughters and guess who’s books I found hidden under the bed? With that said, I had an easier time reading Kuderick’s //Kiss of Broken Glass//. Objectively, the verse is lovely. It’s not stilted, and the characters are allowed to develop into multi-dimensional people. The story has tension and moves forward. Kenna is smart and honest and a teen reader would probably recognize her as someone sharing a class or a seat at the lunch table. But here’s what I found refreshing: Kenna admits she doesn’t have any deep, dark secrets -- she is cutting as a copycat. So what was it about a privileged kid from an educated family that caused them to self harm? I think Kuderick touches on it – Kenna’s social pressures of trying to fit in, of trying to be noticed as the middle child of a blended family. Learning disordered coping skills from her peer group and needing to replace these with other coping skills suggested in therapy. In the Author’s Note, Kuderick discloses that she wrote the book in the year following her daughter’s involuntary commitment under Florida’s Baker Act and that her daughter helped edit early drafts of the novel to ensure that “the words rang true.” – I don’t have a problem with this being included on the list. – Yvette/Merrimack

As a reader I learned much about the attraction of cutting. Still not sure this is one for the list. Nancy/formerly Madbury

Too mature? I like knowing about this one and adding it to the collection but I also can imagine the parents' faces when I take them to the 7th/8th grade award shelf. Well written and a great perspective on the topic. I could be convinced either way. Mollie- Portsmouth