Label

Sisters in sanity

Statement of responsibility

Gayle Forman

Creator

trueForman, Gayle

Subject

Genre

Fiction

Language

eng

Summary

When a family trip to the Grand Canyon turns out to be a trick to take her to a remote, all-girl, residential treatment center for unstable teenagers, sixteen-year-old Brit, devastated by her father's duplicity, comes to realize that only through inner strength and the help of other inmates who become her friends can she endure the harsh conditions of the prison-like institution and plan a way to escape

Tone

trueAngst-filled

Writing style

trueGritty

Review

Gr 7 Up— Already unhappy at being forced to go on a family vacation and missing the chance to play with her punk band at a music festival, 16-year-old Brit is horrified when her father drops her off at Red Rock Academy, a "boot camp" in Utah. Dragged away from him by muscular guards, a sobbing Brit passes an unhappy night before being strip-searched and presented to a therapist the next morning. She is diagnosed as having oppositional defiance disorder and is introduced to the Red Rock reward levels: Level 1—you remain indoors in isolation, emerging only for individual therapy or to use the bathroom; Level 2—you get your shoes back, can leave your room for meals and group therapy, and can receive mail from family members; and so on. In this prison-camp atmosphere, Brit eventually makes four supportive friends with whom she is able to expose the bogus treatment being administered by Red Rock's unqualified staff, one of whom has a record of abusive behavior. Along the way, she escapes for a night and begins a romance with an older bandmate. Although Forman does a good job of capturing teen friendship and angst, the book is not strong on character development. For example, though Brit believes that her stepmother wants her out of the way, readers never gain a true understanding of the father's motivation for committing his daughter, an omission that may be frightening for teens.—Ginny Gustin, Sonoma County Library System, Santa Rosa, CA --Ginny Gustin (Reviewed December 1, 2007) (School Library Journal, vol 53, issue 12, p128)
Like a cross between Girl, Interrupted and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest , journalist Forman's first book for teens tells the gritty tale of five girls trapped in a “residential treatment center” run by bogus shrinks or, as one of them aptly puts it, in “a loony bin, a bogus, bullshit, behavior-modification boot-camp warehouse for unwanted misfit teens.” The narrator, Brit, thinks she's going on a family vacation; instead, her father dumps her behind the barbed-wire fences of Red Rocks, where she is told she has Oppositional Defiance Disorder. Although noticeably sluggish in the beginning (redundant descriptions of the scenery, the staff's abusive practices and the characters' pasts), the pace soon picks up as the girls scheme to shut the place down by taking matters into their own very capable hands. Each of the quintet is valiant in her own right, from Bebe, the famous actress's daughter who sleeps around, to Martha, the overweight loner who used to be a pageant winner, but Brit and V stand out for their ability to grow and eventually face their fears head-on. Brit's fledgling romance with Jed, a member of her hometown punk-rock band, is uncharacteristically sweet, and readers will root for its survival—especially after Brit sneaks out of the compound to share a clandestine moment with him under the stars. This story line, however, takes a back seat to the exposé-like preoccupation with debunking places like Red Rock, which, however engrossing, might be a case of preaching to the choir. Ages 12-up. (Sept.) --Staff (Reviewed October 8, 2007) (Publishers Weekly, vol 254, issue 40, p56)
Punked out, pierced, tattooed and attitudinal, Brit Hemphill is an average teen, basking in her own rebellion and arrogance. Asked to accompany her father on a road trip to the Grand Canyon, she happily obliges. When she is left at Red Rock—a quasi–boot camp/rehab for "troubled" teen girls—Brit is diagnosed with the vague "oppositional defiance disorder." She quickly meets other girls who suffer from similar "afflictions": promiscuous Bebe, bi-curious Cassie, overweight Martha and rebellious V. The girls quickly form a bond and vow to expose the "cruelty as therapy," where girls take turns hurling insults at a chosen victim at "confrontational therapy" or "backcountry therapy," which involves long hot treks through the desert without adequate water reserves. Forman tackles a usual teen issue—seeking respect and acknowledgment from adults—and puts a new slant on it. Through the bonds of their friendship, the girls eventually come to face their own demons, leading to an ending not entirely surprising, though not particularly unsatisfying, either. Think Girl, Interrupted meets Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. (author's note) (Fiction. YA) (Kirkus Reviews, August 1, 2007)

Cataloging source

DLC

Dewey number

[Fic]

Index

no index present

Intended audience

760

Intended audience source

Lexile

LC call number

PZ7.F75876

LC item number

Sis 2007

Literary form

fiction

http://library.link/vocab/ext/novelist/minGradeLevel

7
12

Target audience

adolescent

Context

Work of