CLEAR CUT

Heather discovers cutting by accident and encounters danger before finally getting help.

Heather’s parents’ severe fight sends the Maine high school freshman running to her best friend Liv’s house, but she finds Liv at home with Cooper, a popular older boy from school. As Liv becomes more preoccupied with Cooper, Heather takes action over the illegal developments destroying their forests and learns more about cutting from an online personality. She begins to use cutting to dull the pain of her home situation, helplessness, and loneliness. But she also comes second in an essay contest and discovers a theater camp, where she makes new friends: Trey, a Penobscot boy who is interested in Heather, and Josie, a bold and dynamic actress who turns out to be a cutter too. One night, Josie takes things too far. Both girls ultimately get the help they need from professionals. This novel, accessible to reluctant readers, presents short, powerful poems that convey vivid experiences. Dodds arranges the words against the blank space in creative designs that require readers to actively participate in making meaning of Heather’s thoughts, feelings, and senses. The story confronts gruesome truths—both physical and emotional—that help outsiders begin to understand the draw of cutting. It is implied that all the characters other than Trey are white.

Memorable and important representation of a poorly understood compulsion.