Cut [Paperback]

Patricia McCormick (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2002

An astonishing PUSH novel about pain, release, and recovery from an amazing new author.

Fifteen-year-old Callie isn't speaking to anybody, not even to her therapist at Sea Pines, the "residential treatment facility" where her parents and doctor sent her after discovering that she cuts herself. As her story unfolds, Callie reluctantly become involved with the other "guests" at Sea Pines -- finding her voice and confronting the trauma that triggered her behavior.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Burdened with the pressure of believing she is responsible for her brother's illness, 15-year-old Callie begins a course of self-destruction that leads to her being admitted to Sea Pines, a psychiatric hospital the "guests" refer to as Sick Minds. Although initially she refuses to speak, her individual and group therapy sessions trigger memories and insights. Slowly, she begins emerging from her miserable silence, ultimately understanding the role her dysfunctional family played in her brother's health crisis.

Patricia McCormick's first novel is authentic and deeply moving. Callie suffers from a less familiar teen problem--she cuts herself to relieve her inner frustrations and guilt. The hope and hard-won progress that comes at the conclusion of the novel is believable and heartening for any teen reader who feels alone in her (or his) angst. Along with Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak and E.L. Konigsburg's Silent to the Bone, McCormick's Cut expertly tackles an unusual response to harrowing adolescent trouble. (Ages 14 and older) --Emilie Coulter

From Publishers Weekly

This first novel combines pathos with insight as it describes adolescent girls being hospitalized for a variety of psychiatric disorders: "The place is called a residential treatment facility. It is not called a loony bin," states Callie, the narrator, with characteristic grit. Callie does not speak aloud for most of the story, but directs her silent commentary chiefly to her therapist. Through this internalized dialogue, readers become aware of Callie's practice of cutting herself and, more gradually, how her cutting is a response to the dynamics of her damaged family. Similarly, the other girls' problemsDanorexia, overeating, substance abuseDcome to seem (both to themselves and to readers) like attempts to fight off parental or societal obliviousness to their needs: "It's like we're invisible," says a girl during a climactic scene. While running the risk of simplifying the healing process, this novel, like Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak, sympathetically and authentically renders the difficulties of giving voice to a very real sense of harm and powerlessness. Refusing to sensationalize her subject matter, McCormick steers past the confines of the problem-novel genre with her persuasive view of the teenage experience. Ages 12-up. (Oct.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Age Range: 12 and up
  
• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Push; Edition Unstated edition (February 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0439324599
• ISBN-13: 978-0439324595
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (400 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #544,376 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Patricia McCormick is a former journalist, novelist and two-time National Book Award Finalist. "CUT" was her first novel. Published in 1999, it has sold nearly a million copies. Her other books, "SOLD," "My Brother's Keeper", and "Purple Heart" have received numerous awards.

Her new book, "NEVER FALL DOWN," also a National Book Award finalist, is based on the true story of an 11-year-old boy who survived the Killing Fields of Cambodia by playing music for the Khmer Rouge. He would later find out that the music was used to cover up the sounds of the killings; as a man, he has worked to revitalize the traditional songs of Cambodia, an art form that would otherwise have been lost in the genocide.

'The Khmer Rouge used every means possible to break the spirit of their victims," McCormick says. "But Arn Chorn Pond, an 11-year-old boy, would turn the tables on them. He used music to save his life, to save his soul and to repair the broken heart of his country."

"One of the most powerful and inspiring books I've ever read. NEVER FALL DOWN teaches all of us about the courage it takes to speak our truth." - Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

For more information: http://www.pattymccormick.com/ and http://www.facebook.com/pages/Patricia-McCormick/150993641605301

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

67 of 72 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Superficial treatment of a deep subject. September 12, 2003

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

I had expected more from this book when i bought it. After reading the summary on the back cover, i was hoping to read a serious novel that truly confronted the issue of self-injury (SI). Instead, i found the book to be lacking in depth and using SI as a gimmick to establish the lead character, Callie, in the setting of the book.
"Cut" is not a novel about the issue of cutting. It is a novel about a girl in an adolescent psychiatric ward. As written, the book is a very diluted version of "Girl, Interrupted," describing Callie's stay in the ward and some experiences with her therapist and with the other patients. With very little effort, this book could be rewritten as a story of a girl with an eating disorder or a substance abuse problem--the type of mental-health issue is unimportant to the plot.
If you are looking for a story about life in a psychiatric ward, written at a middle school level, this book is perfect and very readable. If, however, you are looking for a book for older teens or adults, or for a book specifically confronting the issue of self-injury, you will likely find "Cut" very disapppointing.

44 of 54 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Emotional and orginal February 10, 2002

By Nancy E.

Format:Paperback

15-year-old Callie has been institutionalized for what she's doing to herself. She cuts her wrists, arms, and hands and she doesn't know why. It could be her parents who don't know how to deal or her brother who is very sick or maybe something else. She doesn't know. But she's not willing to ask for help. In fact she's not talking at all. She doesn't say a single word in therapy, or group therapy where both girls with eating disorders, and drug addictions talk about their problems. As Callie starts to come out of her shell and speak in therapy a new girl comes to the clinic who cuts herself and shows off her scars with pride. Cut is amazing book about an issue that is rarely dealt with in teenage literature but is often dealt with in real life. If you enjoyed books such as Girl interupted and want to learn more about self mutilation and mental hospitals, or just read a great YA book, this is for you. I reccomend this to anyone who's a fan of realistic teenage books.

63 of 80 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars "Cuts" to the Heart of the Issue July 6, 2002

By Allyn VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

Fifteen-year-old Callie has a rare problem. She's not anorexic, she's not on drugs, and she's not bulimic. But she cuts herself. Soon she finds herself at a "residential treatment facility", Sea Pines (or "Sick Minds", as she calls it) and her hurt shows its face when she refuses to talk. Nothing seems to break the silence coming from Callie, and sometimes she just gets the urge to slice her skin, to see the blood...and it's like she's determined never to talk to her therapist. This book is a masterfully written story chronicling (in detail) the thoughts that whirl around in Callie's mind. It is filled with vivid and poignant emotions, and Patricia McCormick develops her main character well. Callie's relationships with the other girls at the treatment facility add subtle insights about human nature and the universal need of friendship. I enjoyed how Callie's family life and her reasons for "cutting" were slowly explored and explained in this novel-in a very natural and empathetic way, without being contrite. But the best thing about this book was its hopeful ending that leaves us with the feeling that Callie has emerged from her treatment stronger, wiser, and able to overcome the temptation to cut herself. I hope to see more from this author.