Walking Naked [Library Binding]

Alyssa Brugman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 2005

There are those who are popular.
There are those who are outcasts.
And there are those who must choose between the two.

Megan Tuw has always been popular. As a leader of her high school’s most cliquish group, she’s among the anointed girls who think nothing of ridiculing those who don’t fit in. That includes Perdita Wiguiggan—a classmate Megan and her friends openly refer to as the Freak. But Megan doesn’t know the first thing about Perdita, since she would never dream of talking to her. Only when the two girls are thrown together in detention does Megan begin to see Perdita as more than someone with an odd last name, as more than the school outcast. And slowly, Megan finds herself drawn into an almost-friendship.

Then Megan faces a choice: Perdita or the group?


From the Hardcover edition.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 7-9–Megan Tuw has always been popular and a leader of her clique–that is until she thinks her best friend, Candace, is joking about organizing a protest over some Year 12 guy getting in trouble for a nudey run (she's not joking). Then Candace starts spending more time with a girl whom Megan does not like. When she gets detention at the same time as outcast Perdita Wiguiggan, she finds to her surprise that the girl is more interesting than Candace. Readers are likely to agree as the unlikable, stereotypical clique members use one another to get whatever they think they need. In a predictable story that could have been a TV movie, Megan must decide if she wants to stay with the comfort zone of the clique or befriend Perdita and face outcast status. Readers never fully get to know Perdita as the story is told from Megan's point of view. And Megan seems clueless as to the harm done to her ("I was sure she didn't take it personally when we called her the Freak. That was just who she was"). Thus, Perdita's suicide comes as a shock to readers. To offset the contrived plot, the author intermingles poetry from the likes of William Blake and Sylvia Plath in an attempt to give depth to the characters.–Crystal Faris, Nassau Library System, Uniondale, NY
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Gr. 8-11. In a story with a familiar plot, tenth-grader Megan, a member of a popular clique, takes steps toward defying convention and becoming friends with a school outcast. What distinguishes this variation is that neither of the central characters-- Megan, the narrator, and Perdita, called the Freak by her classmates--is particularly likeable. Both girls, however, do emerge as intriguingly complex: Megan is a manipulative egocentric girl, who grows increasingly uncertain of herself; Perdita is intense and bright but is somehow emotionally off-kilter. The power of poetry to express emotions is an interesting undercurrent throughout the main narrative, although Perdita's ability to recite obscure verse and Megan's ultimate conversion to poetry both seem a bit strained. Still, this manages to be an absorbing novel, with well-crafted prose that will draw readers in and a theme they can easily relate to. Selected by the Children's Book Council of Australia as a 2003 Honor Book for older readers. Kathleen Odean
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Library Binding
• Publisher: San Val (September 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1417712821
• ISBN-13: 978-1417712823
• Shipping Information: View shipping rates and policies
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Worth a read, November 9, 2005

By 

t.phoenix "blossom" (australia, melbourne) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Walking Naked (Readers Circle) (Mass Market Paperback)

This novel is based on a teenage girl named Megan Tuw who goes through the troubles of a popular girl in high school. She was one of the leaders in the crowd along with her best friend Candace. Everything was fine untill she got into detention with the freak, the outcast, Perdita Wiguiggan. As time past Megan had become a little distant with her best friend and thought Perdita was pretty interesting. But if she choses to become friends with Perdita, her reputation would be ruined and the whole school would be against her.

I had to read the book for Literature circle and it was one of the books that I actually finished.(teachers don't check if you read it or not.) I love the book because it was very realistic and well written. Definitely worth a read, especially to teenagers. It would teach people a lesson and to think before they act.

This book lost a star because I didn't understand the poems. Since this is mainly a teen read, the poems seemed as if it was to be read by older people. But don't worry, there arn't many poems and they don't affect the way you read the book.

If you havn't read it, I suggest you pick up the book today.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Book, August 16, 2005

By 

Kelly "Kelly" (Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Walking Naked (Hardcover)

Walking Naked is a excellent book. Its about Megan whos popular befriending the school outcast Perdita. Megan is soon faced with a choice to chose between her friends in the cool crowd or being an outcast with Perdita. That is one part in the storyline were Perdita acted like a lunatic in front of one of Megan's friends. The ending is shocking and sends a wake up call to Megan. I loved this book. Any teenage girl between the ages of 13-19 should definetly read it.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a powerful first novel, May 18, 2004

By 

Teenreads.com (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Walking Naked (Library Binding)

Alyssa Brugman's debut novel in the United States, WALKING NAKED, is an extremely powerful piece of literature. Brugman accurately and horrifically portrays the high school scene and the peer pressure that is faced while in high school.

The protagonist, Megan Tuw, has always been part of the in-crowd. This popularity gives Megan a sense of security and sometimes gets her into trouble, as is the case when she is kicked out of a class for talking. Megan's attitude earns her detention, where she spends time with "the freak" of the high school, Perdita. Megan realizes, through the writing assignments that they are required to do while in detention, that Perdita is an intelligent and complex person. She begins to spend time with Perdita, keeping these outings a secret from her friends. Megan knows that the in-crowd would ruin her status as a popular figure if they knew that she was becoming friends with "the freak."

At some point within the novel, Megan is faced with a difficult choice: Perdita or her popular crowd. Brugman realistically portrays the turmoil that Megan goes through --- her fears of losing popularity and hurting her friends, her jealousy of being replaced, her feelings of inferiority when spending time with the more intelligent and knowledgeable Perdita, and struggling to figure out how to be true to herself.

Readers of WALKING NAKED will be able to relate to the pressures of being popular and of needing to have the right clothes, the right friends and the right looks. The characters here talk and behave as real-life high school students would. While disturbing, this is an important book that should be read by a majority of teenagers.

--- Reviewed by Melissa Palmer