Fullerton, Alma. Walking on glass.FULLERTON, Alma. Walking on glass. HarperCollins. 144p. c2007. 0-06-077851-2. $15.99. (Lib. bdg: 0-06-077852-0. $16.89.) S In this brief, stark "journal" in free verse free verse, term loosely used for rhymed or unrhymed verse made free of conventional and traditional limitations and restrictions in regard to metrical structure. Cadence, especially that of common speech, is often substituted for regular metrical pattern. , an unnamed teenager tells how his life has been changed by his mother's suicide attempt suicide attempt, suicide bid n → intento de suicidio suicide attempt, suicide bid n → tentative f de suicide a few months ago. Depressed and unstable, she tried to hang herself, but he walked in and managed to pull her down from a chandelier, covering them both in a shower of glass. Now his mother is in a coma coma, in medicine coma, in medicine, deep state of unconsciousness from which a person cannot be aroused even by painful stimuli. The patient cannot speak and does not respond to command. , with no chance of recovery, and his father can't seem to let her go. Meanwhile, the boy's vicious friend Jack is beating people up and egging him on to more and more dangerous behavior. Grieving grieving Mourning, see there and angry, the boy feels trapped. Then he meets a sensitive, supportive girl named Alissa and decides to turn his back on Jack. Will he be able to find the courage to set his mother free, by pulling the plug on the machinery that keeps her alive? This is heavy stuff, told in a direct and heart-wrenching fashion: exaggerated, perhaps, but effective. It's a bit reminiscent of Terry Trueman's novels Cruise Control See adaptive cruise control. and Stuck in Neutral, about people caught up in tragic circumstances not of their making, and raises some of the same moral issues. For thoughtful teens. Paula Rohrlick, KLIATT S--Recommended for senior high school students. |
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