The Quick Cut: A teen girl recovering from a fire that killed her parents and leave her body scarred begins returning to high school. Drama ensues when she makes friends and enemies.
A Real Review:
Thank you to Delacorte Press for providing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
All of us have scars. Whether it be emotional or physical, life has a way of wounding us in ways that leave it's mark permanently. While many can hide their scars from the public eye, there is a whole litany of those who have no choice but to let theirs be seen by all (and in many cases be silently judged). This is the reality for Ava Lee.
Ava's life has been anything but easy since the day of the fire. Not only did her home burn down, but both her parents died and she was left a survivor, holding onto life with 60% of her body covered in burns. Now, a year later, she is multiple surgeries later and living with her aunt and uncle - who are pushing her out of the house and back into high school again. Will she be able to handle the pressures of the typical teen life again? Or will it turn her into someone she doesn't recognize?
This book features two characters with skin grafts and survived burns, one of them being our heroine. As powerful as their story is and the psychological gamut they go through trying to make their way back to a normal life, I found some elements of the story distracting. It seemed like the author didn't know whether to make certain characters enemies or friends and the whiplash between the two competing actions wore on me after awhile. I also found myself curious as to how the fire at Ava's house started, but somehow that never gets answered - even when the details of what happened are discussed.
Ava struggles with who she was pre-fire and who she is now. In many ways, that fire stripped her of her true identity and now she's left vulnerable to others manipulations. Through all this, she continues to wish desperately she can go back to who she was. That battle internally leaves her holding onto the past and it's a journey that is very gripping. You see what it's like to be a burn victim and learn a lot about the recovery process. It's quite enlightening and only makes me more sympathetic to the aftermath.
With a strong core story, this burn survivor book is compelling even with a few distracting details.
My rating: 4 out of 5