I picked up Walking on Glass because I thought the cover looked pretty—yes, I am that shallow sometimes. And my shallowness got me a really deep, moving read.
Walking on Glass is a skinny book, 131 pages of free verse told from the perspective of a teenager whose mother tried to commit suicide. She’s now in a coma, and he struggles with his feelings of anger, guilt, and longing to be free of his mother’s illness. We follow him while he tries to find his way through hospital visits, bullying (he’s the bully), and his father’s grief and inability to let go.
I’m not much of an expert on poetry, don’t know how to write any myself. But I do know short fiction, and this book reminded me of a good short story: the way every word matters, and certain sentences can send a chill up your spine.
This was an excellent book, one that I’ll read again. No crime, but somewhat a mystery; I give it a 4.5.
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You are adding to my already overflowing "To Be Read" list. I just picked up a bunch of YA, middle grade and children's books. Partly to research if it's a direction I might want to go in with my own writing, partly to better critique all my friends who now write YA and partly to find good books to get for Miss Elizabeth. There seem to be so many more good choices for kids. Which is heartening.
ReplyDeleteWelcome to the dark side, hehehe....
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