Through intense, diarylike chapters chronicling Charlie's journey, the author captures the brutal and heartbreaking way 'girls who write their pain on their bodies' scar and mar themselves, either succumbing or surviving. Feeling rejected, Charlie, an artist, is drawn into a destructive new relationship with her sexy older co-worker, a 'semifamous' local musician who's obviously a junkie alcoholic. But things don't go as planned in the Arizona desert, because sweet Mikey just wants to be friends. After spending time in treatment with other young women like her-who cut, burn, poke, and otherwise hurt themselves-Charlie is released and takes a bus from the Twin Cities to Tucson to be closer to Mikey, a boy she 'like-likes' but who had pined for Ellis instead. Seventeen-year-old Charlie Davis, a white girl living on the margins, thinks she has little reason to live: her father drowned himself her bereft and abusive mother kicked her out her best friend, Ellis, is nearly brain dead after cutting too deeply and she's gone through unspeakable experiences living on the street. Aideen and Meabh are both lesbian, and while Aideen mentions experiencing some homophobia in the past, it is not the focus of the story ethnic diversity is similarly part of the background texture.Ī noteworthy take on vulnerability and seeking help that doesn’t offer platitudes.Īfter surviving a suicide attempt, a fragile teen isn't sure she can endure without cutting herself. The language used is very Irish, featuring sentence structures and colloquialisms that set the cultural scene in a completely natural way. A spark of emotional authenticity runs throughout, making the narrative engaging and enjoyable. Aideen begins somewhat rough at the edges and soon becomes a character readers can easily root for: Between her mother’s drinking problem and her own failing grades, Aideen deals with issues faced by many young people. Smyth paints a snapshot of someone who appears to have everything sorted but on the inside is falling apart at the seams. She silently struggles with her own home life while solving the issues of others to cope with her feelings of helplessness. Aided by Kavi Thakrar, a witness to Aideen’s pushing Meabh down the stairs-part of their harebrained scheme-Aideen soon finds herself running a favor-for-favor business for the student body.

Sixteen-year-old Irish student Aideen Cleary faces some big obstacles.Īfter walking in on perfectionist classmate Meabh Kowalska, daughter of the school principal, crying in the toilets, Aideen gets roped into a drastic plan to help her fix her problems.

Not my problem by ciara smyth