Customer Reviews

Out of Control

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4 star:		(4)
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2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Valerie Michon is just an ordinary highschool girl. And "Rollo", "Brigg" and "Candy" are just ordinary highschool guys. Until the day that the guys decide that Valerie's a little annoying and that they might have some "harmless" fun teasing her. But the guys don't know how one thoughtless moment can change their lives, and Valerie could never know how her sense of security and optimism could be altered in the blink of an eye. This novel about sexual assualt is well-written, thought-provoking, and hard-hitting. Norma Fox Mazer keeps it suspenseful and realistic and knows just how to develop the characters. It is written in a way that makes you realize that sexual assault isn't a simple issue and we are challenged to think of the the boys as "normal", not just as monsters. In particular, "Rollo" is shown to have just "jumped on the bandwagon" and lived to regret his actions. Valerie is also portrayed well...struggling with humiliation, anger, and shame. Minor characters also add interesting and contrasting viewpoints and perspectives. To close...a well-done book on a difficult subject. Any teen should read this.

This book is fantastic and I recommend it to anyone who loves emotion, realistic books. This book is mainly about sexual assult and everthing that follows. There is one phrase in the book that is used over and over that has struck me and I believe I'll never forget. "We all know these things happen, but somehow we think they're happening somewhere else to someone else. We read about things in the papers, see them on T.V. Not here, we think. Not us. Not me. That's what I thought. Well, I was wrong. It was me." I've realized how true that is. It's not something you want to think about, but you need to think about what you'd do in that situation. This book is hardhitting, realistic, it makes you think, and it will never leave you. You'll never think the same way after you read this book. "Put fear behind you and do what's right." Not many of us can do that, but those of us who can are truely blessed. Thanks for reading my review.

I've read other books by this author and normally I'm impressed, but after working for over a year with anger management teens, I can tell you that this author left out a lot of holes in her plot. Teens do not suddenly snap into violence, there is a reason behind. If this book was written more from Brig's point of view, showing the reason to why he got to this point rather then just saying he didn't like her, it would be much better. Rollo and Candy followed their friend without thinking of the consequences, Brig had the actual reason. She did a good job showing Valerie's emotions, but other then that, there were too many holes for me to enjoy this book or actually say it was an accurate description of teen anger. Because Rollo wasn't the one with the anger - Brig was.

Out of Control by Norma Fox Mazer was unique and engrossing. Mazer wrote about a serious issue in our society, sexual assault. Her writing was life-like and interesting. I especially liked the way Mazer illustrated the emotions of Valerie, the main character. She was a usually intelligent, happy, optimistic girl whose emotions changed drastically after her attack. She was felt anger, hatred, fear and an untrusting feeling with her usually safe world. Mazer's words left a lasting impression on me. Mazer's words left a lasting impression on me. She made me feel some of the emotions that Valerie must have felt For example, she made me feel anger and sadness because attacks like Valerie's really do happen. She made me feel sympathetic and understanding towards every girl who has ever been attacked because she made me wonder how I would feel if I was attacked. I not only liked the way Mazer illustrated Valerie's emotions, I also enjoyed the way she showed other character's emotions like Rollo's. He was one of the boys who attacked Valerie; however, Mazer had a way of making me feel almost sorry for him by showing his thoughts and the way he pursued Valerie. He called her house and tried to see her when ever possible because he wanted her to see that he was really not a bad person. I did understand that Rollo was sorry for what he did; however, I found myself confused by him because he was always having thoughts like this: "With just a tiny movement of his hand he could touch her, with just a tiny movement he could touch Brig (Rollo's best friend) He's so much bigger than both of them that he could crush them, or kiss them. His face is rough and burning. Stupid thoughts, he's always having stupid thoughts."(Mazer 36) I got the impression that he is gay or at least sexually confused, even though this was never stated. I know that I should have a better understanding of this after reading the book, but I don't. Another reason that this character confused me is that he comes across as a nice, non-violent, caring boy. He cares about his family and takes care of his older, mentally retarded sister with love. I do not understand how or why he could have attacked Valerie. Whenever he thinks about what he did to her, he feels disgusted and ashamed. He also did not know why he attacked her. The thought that maybe he just followed his friends did cross my mind, but Mazer never stated that this was the reason that he attacked her. The book made me use my imagination. I liked this. Even though I liked the book, I did not like the way that Mazer had the principal deal with the situation. He wanted to keep the incident quiet, so that he would not get into trouble, and so that the school's reputation would not be be tainted in any way. His way of doing this was by not making the situation seem like a big deal and by only suspending the boys for ten days each. Also, he hinted to Valerie that she might want to attend a different high school so that she might feel more comfortable and less threatened. This was just his way of saying "I am scared that she might go public and I want her out of an environment that might tempt her to do so." This is not a fair way of dealing with a sexual attack. The boys' punishment should have been more severe; for example, the cops should have been involved, especially considering what the boys did to Valerie. Overall, this book was excellent because Mazer's writing was both realistic and emotional. I have not yet read any other books by Norma Fox Mazer, but I am sure that any other book written by her will be just as good. I would recommend this story to anyone who likes a good read, especially a teenager.

The book Out of Control by Norma Fox Mazer is very interesting. I thought the book was pretty well written. Mazer writes about sexual harrassment and chooses a different way of expressing it. I ended up feeling bad for Rollo since he didn't know what he was doing and how he truly regreted it so much. Valerie get's harrassed by these three boys in school. Their punishment was not enough and Valerie was left in fear, anger, and sadness. She wouldn't trust anyone anymore. This book shows how difficult it is to stand up for yourself.

The novel is beautifully written and realistically examines sexual harassment and how it can be so hard to get anyone to believe you and almost impossible to get a school to do anything about it.

This shows just how cruel boys can treat girls and how hard it is for girls to be believed when they try and tell what happened.

Not one of Mrs.Mazer's best,but it's still worth reading. It shows the lurid reality of sexual assault that many young women face today. Simply because she was an outcast,Valerie was singled out for harassment. But you get to look into the boys' minds,too. I sympathized with Rollo,which I couldn't do otherwise. He was a nice guy who jumped on the bandwagon. He stupidly kept annoying Valerie with phone calls,but he did try to apologize. Although your friends might do something that seems fun,it's not always prudent to join in.In this case,someone was hurt by it. Although the book does give moral lessons,it was fun to read. If you want a provocative read that makes you think,I reccomend this book.

After reading this book, I had a different view of victims of sexual assult and harrasment. (I can't spell so you are going to have to excuse me) Valerie didn't deserve what she got, but she got it anyway for no reason. Its aweful to think that you can't trust anyone out there, but that's something alot of people live to be safe by. You never know what a few mean words could stir up, especially with a couple of big guys.

Rollo, Candy, and Brig have been best friends for years. The three boys are now in high school and like to flex the authority they feel as a trio. They make games out of intimidation, such as staring down girls in the cafeteria to see how flustered they will get, or blocking a staircase so a girl can't walk up it.

Valerie, a fellow student, refuses to play the game. She acts like the boys are stupid and not worth her time, which makes her more of a target. When Brig is having trouble with his girlfriend and needs an outlet, he takes out his anger on her. Candy and Rollo follow mindlessly along.

When the boys see Valerie leave a schoolwide assembly and sneak up to the third floor, they follow her. Once there, Rollo isn't quite sure what happens. He remembers joining in grabbing her and pushing her, but he certainly didn't intend to sexually assault her or do any real harm. But when she runs away and tells a teacher, that is the story that gets out.

Rollo tries his best to come to terms with what he's done, while trying to figure out whether he is a monster or not. He also tries his best to make amends to Valerie, who is understandably reluctant to speak to him.

Even though the boys try to give the impression that the incident was no big deal, Valerie's world is shattered. She had imagined herself safe, but now she feels vulnerable and jumpy, and angry that Rollo, Candy and Brig got away with what they did with so little punishment.

I liked the idea behind this book. Valerie's reaction seemed realistic, as did Rollo's. When he had a chance to think about what he had done, he felt honest remorse. However, I didn't like that there was so little actual punishment involved. In that sense, this book dates itself. It was written almost fifteen years ago, and there is no way that students could have gotten away with an attack like this today.

Valerie's on the third floor of her school. Everyone in the school is in the assembly except her, Rollo, Brig and Candy. Valerie's looking out of the window when the three boys com up behind her they grab her and she twists and turns to get free but it happened too fast for her to get away she screams and screams but no one is there to help.

I think that the characters "come alive" in his book. The characters have some good and negative qualities. Valerie is a very artistic person with many dreams and fears.
Rollo is a very caring person, but does some stupid things to people with his friends. Brig is a very uncaring person, and has no respect for girls and their feelings. Candy is a lot like Rollo because he does things with the others so he will fit in. He really doesn't think if the consequences of his actions.

I was left with a lot of thoughts. I think that even in a little town people will still do things that are thought of to be done in big cities. It left me thinking that some of my friends could have this happen to them. I think it's a fear among all-teenage boys and girls. It isn't really a fear among me now, but all teens should always try to be aware that it could happen.

I thought this book was very good but dragged on a little bit. I think the author needed to put a little more consequences into the boy's actions.