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Wrecked by E.R. Frank Frank, author of _America_, _Friction_, and the highly acclaimed and very controversial _Life is Funny_ (the first book ever banned in my district) has written another winner. In _Life is Funny_ she showed us life in the inner city. In _Wrecked_ she takes us out to the suburbs. Told from the perspective of teen-aged Anna, the novel shows us the effects a deadly accident has on a family and a group of friends. Anna begins the novel with, “The day I killed my brother’s girlfriend…” It is also the day she begins her teen rebellion against her controlling, anxious father. Anna goes to a party against her father’s orders and on the way home has a head-on collision with her brother’s girlfriend. Anna nearly looses and eye and her best friend, Ellen, suffers severe leg injuries but beautiful, charming Cameron, driving the other car, is killed. Though Anna had been drinking earlier in the evening, she was sober at the time of the accident. No one holds her responsible for the accident, no one but Anna herself. Wracked by guilt, Anna suffers anxiety attacks and her already strained relationship with her brother is further tested. In her nightmares she is haunted by Cameron’s final screams (her “screaming, stopped”). Her overbearing father insists that she doesn’t need psychological help and Anna is only too happy to agree, despite her mother’s protestations. It soon becomes clear, though, that everyone in the family needs help— and not just for dealing with the aftermath of the accident. Anna’s father finally, grudgingly allows her to see a therapist. Through a treatment called EMDR Anna begins to confront her demons, both new and old. In the course of her therapy and through other flashbacks we learn some of her family history and how the relationships have changed over the years. We also learn a little bit about what drives her father. The descriptions of the therapy session may turn off a few teens but most will be drawn to Anna, her flaws, and her struggle to heal and to be a better person. Recommended for high school and mature jr. high students. -- ---- Tony Doyle, Librarian Livingston High School, Livingston, CA tdoyle@muhsd.k12.ca.us <Http://www.lhs.muhsd.k12.ca.us/library/index.htm> "You don't have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them."-- Ray Bradbury "One of the standard problems with the universe is that it's large enough that unlikely things happen pretty often."--Nigel Sharp, U.S. National Science Foundation -------------------------------------------------------------------- Please note: All LM_NET postings are protected by copyright law. You can prevent most e-mail filters from deleting LM_NET postings by adding LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU to your e-mail address book. To change your LM_NET status, e-mail to: listserv@listserv.syr.edu In the message write EITHER: 1) SIGNOFF LM_NET 2) SET LM_NET NOMAIL 3) SET LM_NET MAIL 4) SET LM_NET DIGEST * Allow for confirmation. * LM_NET Help & Information: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/ * LM_NET Archive: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/archive/ * EL-Announce with LM_NET Select: http://elann.biglist.com/sub/ * LM_NET Supporters: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/ven.html --------------------------------------------------------------------