Reviews

Cut by Patricia McCormick

a_leo_reading's review against another edition

5.0

This novel, yet short, was packed with a large story about a girl finding her voice, and recovering from self-harm. It was intense, haunting, and left me with chills. It is a teen read for teenagers who are also suffering through self-harm, but at the same time it is for those who want to know more.
This is one of my top favorite novels.

sxcpixie's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

stephxsu's review against another edition

4.0

At Sick Minds a.k.a. Sea Pines, Callie lives with a bunch of other girls like herself with problems they need to overcome. Some girls are anorexic; others are cutters. Callie is a cutter. What’s more, she refuses to speak: during her individual therapy sessions, around the other girls, whenever. Something is obviously eating away at Callie inside. But maybe, with the help of her odd mates, most of who have problems of their own too, maybe Callie will finally break out of her silence and get better.

CUT is perhaps one of the best young adult debut novels of the past five years. Patricia McCormick certainly has done her research well, and is able to, through her characters, empathize with teenagers.

toonindividual's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

4saradouglas's review against another edition

3.0

This book was pretty good, but I feel like it was too short. I wish we could have stayed a little longer to hear more about what made the main character cut. I also wish I could have learned more about the other girls in the facility and what made them have "food issues" or "substance abuse issues."

kuakamoth's review against another edition

emotional hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

sleepingnerd's review against another edition

3.0

This book wasn't exceptional, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be based on some of the reviews I've read. It's not as deep as I hoped it would be, and I feel that, for a book that claims to deal with self-harm, that issue was actually explored very little. It was more about her stay at a mental health institution, which reminded me of the Girl, Interrupted movie a bit.

There's a couple inaccurate stereotypes and the whole dissociation thing was a bit hard to believe and not nearly explored enough. However. The writing flows well, and it even made me tear up at one point. The ending felt sudden and vague, but it wasn't so bad.

punkassbookjockey84's review against another edition

5.0

Callie is a cutter. Using her mother's exacto-knife she cuts her arms whenever she feels anxious. When she's found out by her school nurse, she ends up at Sea Pines, which her roommate playfully refers to as Sick Minds. But Callie won't talk. She sits and looks out the window during therapy and group, thinking about what she would say, but never actually saying the words. We don't know exactly why she's there, but as the story progresses, she slowly begins to speak and the puzzle pieces of her past begin to come together. Told in the first person, this story is a believable portrayal of a cutter and the reader feels the angst and emotions of Callie throughout.

This is an extremely engaging read, truly a page turner and a quick read. It's been criticized as giving teens ideas, but I honestly think they would probably have gotten it somewhere else first; if anything, I think this book would act as bibliotherapy for the troubled teen.

rachjq's review against another edition

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

lauraelizah's review against another edition

4.0

I haven't quite put my finger on why, but I really really like this book.