Cut [Hardcover]

Patricia McCormick (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 2002

When she arrives at Sea Pines, Callie is self-destructive, unresponsive, and withdrawn. Her parents and doctor have placed her in the "residential treatment facility" after discovering that she cuts herself. Callie refuses to talk to anyone, including her psychiatrist. But slowly, through compelling first-person narrative, the event that traumatized her comes to light. Callie reveals that her brother Ben nearly died from liver failure while in her care. Her mother was unavailable and her father was at a bar. Although their absence is evidence of a deep family dysfunction, Callie blames herself for the crisis. When the threat of expulsion from Sea Pines precipitates a cutting incident that frightens her, Callie finally begins her healing process. She opens up to the girls around her and surrenders to her therapist the compass she's been using to cut herself. Through Callie's frank and realistic voice, first-time novelist Patty McCormick illuminates a subject that is rarely discussed. Her story of Callie's recovery will speak to the more than 1 million people - mainly girls and young women - who engage in acts of self-inflicted violence every year.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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 --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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 out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 13 and up
  
• Hardcover
• Publisher: Perfection Learning (January 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0756913578
• ISBN-13: 978-0756913571
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (368 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #676,838 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Patricia McCormick is a former journalist, novelist and National Book Award Finalist. "CUT" was her first novel. Published in 1999, it has sold nearly 800,000 copies. Her other books, "SOLD," "My Brother's Keeper", and "Purple Heart" have received numerous awards.

Her new book, "NEVER FALL DOWN," 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."

NEVER FALL DOWN, due out in May 2012, is available for pre-order now.

"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

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

58 of 62 people found the following review helpful:

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

By A Customer

This review is from: Cut (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.

42 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

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

By 

Nancy E. "Nancy" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cut (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.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Self mutilation never sounded so bad, January 19, 2005

By 

Student "Bob" (Cedar Rapids, IA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cut (Paperback)

Patricia McCormick's Cut is a review of all major medical problems facing today's youth. Callie, a cutter, is sent off to a troubled youth center with other girls that each have unique reasons to be there, such as anorexia and bulimia.
The book tells the story of a girl dealing with her problem and quite frankly; I don't think the other does very well writing about the problem. The book doesn't provide the clueless with reasons for cutting, something that needs to be known to relate, understand, and prevent the cutting obsession. Also, it doesn't seem like much research was done before the writing of the book. The girl McCormick writes about contradicts many traits of the real-life mutilator. One of my long-time friends is in counseling for cutting. Everything she says, the reasons and the defense, is absolutely gut wrenching. Cut doesn't deal with any of these and not once did I get the same emotions as I did from my friend. Even without relating to real life, Cut's storyline is somewhat boring and lacking all creativity. I'm sure there's a better book out there about teen self-mutilation; so don't waste your time with this one.