Kiss of Broken Glass
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- £3.99
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- £3.99
Publisher Description
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.
Supports the Common Core State Standards
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Kuderick debuts with a verse novel about a teenager's cutting addiction, which is inspired by her own daughter's struggle with self-mutilation. After 15-year-old Kenna is caught slicing up her body with the blade of a pencil sharpener in the school bathroom, she is thrown into mandatory 72-hour detention at the Adler Boyce Pediatric Stabilization Facility. Amid familiar descriptions of psych-ward woes and patients' attempts to get out by faking compliance, Kuderick unpacks Kenna's motives: jealousy of her older half-sister; the influence of the "Sisters of the Broken Glass," a group of cutters at school led by Kenna's best friend; a fleeting sense of euphoria and belonging that cutting brings; and "absolutely no reason at all." At times, the theme of clueless adults versus angry, misunderstood kids can be heavy-handed, and references to Florida's Baker Act (which allows for Kenna's involuntary institutionalization) aren't given much context. Nevertheless, Kenna's situation and tentative steps toward recovery as she begins to face her demons may open the eyes of some readers. Ages 14 up.
