Emotionall engaging

Polak, Monique. Scarred.
Orca, 2007. 152p. $7.95 1-55028-965-9
Realistic Fiction

Teenage Becky, once a promising figure skater, is now teaching skating to young girls at a local summer camp. She is also cutting herself using knives, razors, and eventually resorting to burning her wrists on the kitchen stove, This story, set in Canada, describes background in the rink that resounds with realistic skating scenes. As Becky tells her story, the reader finds out how her self-mutilation is a result of her physical and emotional abuse by a former coach who demanded flawless skating. Her dysfunctional family situation with a perfectionist mother, wimpy father, and obnoxious older brother doesn’t help matters. Becky never told anyone about the abuse, but dropped out of competitive skating, gained some weight, and became rather introverted. She feels an emotional release when she cuts her wrists but doesn’t know why. A chance meeting with a former friend at the camp helps to unravel the roots of the problem. This is a cautionary tale that is not for the squeamish. Readers who liked Patricia McCormick’s “Cut” may want to read this one as well, although it is not as emotionally engaging as “Cut”. TW