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Romance. Young Adult Fiction. Young Adult Literature. HTML: When Imogen, a sixteen-year-old black belt in Tae Kwon Do, freezes during a holdup at a local diner, the gunman is shot and killed by the police, and she blames herself for his death. Before the shooting, she believed that her black belt made her stronger than everyone else�more responsible, more capable. But now that her sense of self has been challenged, she must rebuild her life, a process that includes redefining her relationship with her family and navigating first love with the boy who was at the diner with her during the shoot-out. With action, romance, and a complex heroine, Bruised introduces a vibrant new voice to the young adult world�full of dark humor and hard truths. Praise for Bruised STARRED REVIEW "Offering psychological drama and an introduction to martial-arts code of behavior, the book has a meaningful message about power, control, and the internal bruises carried by victims." �Publishers Weekly, starred review "Her story is compelling, and readers will stick with her as new insights bring about a believable shift in her behavior...This distinctive debut will be appreciated by fans of contemporary fiction." �Kirkus Reviews "This layered first novel explores the aftereffects of the trauma, convincingly depicting why Imogen blames herself for a situation over which she had no control. Skilton also sensitively depicts the bond and tentative romance that develops between Imogen and Ricky. The main story line about Imogen's struggle to come to terms with what she did (and did not do) is nuanced and honest." �Horn Book "This is a useful exploration of the difference between fantasy-style omnipotence and the complexity of real-life human strength." �Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books "Skilton does a fine job capturing how a psychological process after trauma can take time and might manifest in unique, sometimes unexpected, ways." �VOYA Magazine "Poignant and emotionally raw at times and humorous at others, this debut novel adeptly portrays a shattered life in the wake of an unexpected act of violence and the road back to normalcy." �School Library Journal "Here is a writer to watch who handles complex issues with sensitivity in the vein of Deb Caletti and Sarah Dessen." �Booklist.… (more)
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Imogen was innocently caught in an incredibly difficult situation, one that ended with death. For weeks after the incident, Imogen is having trouble returning back to her normal self. She has a black belt in Tae Kwon Do and she did nothing to stop that death from occurring. Her previous life now seems pointless, as all her years of preparation added up to nothing. So where does she go from here?
Skilton's writing style is wonderful. She has a way of describing things in such an honest way, but at the same time, in a way that is new. For instance, one of my favorite quotes was this, "They're both bright and upbeat, a matched set of silverware in a catalog, and I'm the replacement knife thrown in at dinner because the other ones were in the dishwasher." This quote might just speak to me because I am obsessed with kitchenware, but I love how it at first seems odd and abstract, but it is really quite simple and relatable. The subject matter is not pretty, she deals with death, post traumatic stress, a paraplegic parent, rocky romances, tumultuous friendships and other emotionally wracking situations. Yet the words are enjoyable and incredibly relatable, even if you have never found yourself physically in any of the situations being described.
Overall, I would recommend this one. Bruised is brutally honest, sarcastic, and pumped full of emotion. Sarah Skilton is definitely a debut author to watch.
For me, Bruised was an interesting change from my normal reads. The only reason that I read it was because I got it from the SARC. I would have missed out on a fantastic book, to tell you the truth. It was nothing like what I expected. The synopsis
The very first scene was the scene. And I don't say that lightly. I loved the mystery behind the shooting-- Imogen is blocking it from her mind, and I really wanted to know what happened. It all unfolds beautifully towards the end, I must say.
Actually, a lot of things unfolded beautifully towards the end.
But let's talk about the beginning. The beginning was intense, y'all. We witness a shooting, then we witness life after a shooting for a black belt. The guilt that Imogen felt was so real and sad that I could imagine why she felt that way.
I loved Imogen, I really did! When we first met her, I feel like her spirit was crushed. But over the course of the story, she starts to really gain it back-- I love that kind of development. It felt so real and natural, but I wish that she hadn't been so hard on herself. I also wish that she hadn't been so hard on Ricky.
For the most part, I really enjoyed Ricky! Sometimes he said or did something that was a little off-color, but he made a great friend, and he was just so sweet and nice. I don't think that I could stress enough about his perfect mix of bad-boy and sweet-heart. He was such a gentleman!
All in all, Bruised was a fantastic read about putting yourself back together after tragedy.
Imogen is in a diner when a gunman walks in. She hides beneath the table and sees a
Throughout the novel, Imogen tries to self-destruct. She already broke ties with her best friend because Imogen feels that Shelley chose her brother over her. She’s also mad at her brother. He tries to save Imogen despite her behavior towards him. When she sneaks out of the house, he follows. She also meets Ricky, the boy who was in the diner with her. He isn’t doing well either, so they form a bond. They attend counseling at school together and she agrees to teach him to fight.
In her desire to beat herself up, Imogen asks Ricky to really fight her. He refuses. They date but breakup when he refuses to fight. Shelley is accepted to a ballet school in New York; Imogen’s dad is a diabetic and must be in a wheelchair and refuses to work out or eat correctly; her mother never hugs her; and, Hunter finally gives up trying to save her and leaves to stay at a friend’s house, telling his parents to help her.
Imogen feels alone.
This realistic fiction novel did not captivate me and I didn’t like Shelley, Imogen’s best friend. Imogen eventually remembers what really happens and can move on in her relationships with Shelley, Hunter, her father, and Ricky. This novel did not stand out to me and I couldn’t relate to any character. Those of you who like edgy realistic novels might like this.
Imogen needs help and she is stuck. It takes a while for the book to reveal the full extent of the events.
We had a good discussion in book club about this one.
Imogene’s character grows in
I really liked this book, but I don’t like the cover, and the paper-back cover is similar to the hard-back. The broken trophy makes sense; I’m just afraid that many of my students will bypass it because of the cover. There aren’t as many karate students here as there used to be, but I’m pretty sure if I can “sell” this to the right people, it will take off.