Daelyn Rice is sharing the last 23 days of her life with us. She chronicles the time at her new Catholic Parochial school, her history of bullying at the hands of fellow students--and to her way of thinking, adults and camp counselors as well--and her reasons for pursuing her own death at her own hands--again. But she also encounters a couple of new acquaintances (for she refuses to believe that anyone can be trusted enough to ever have a friend) who cause her to re-evaluate her situation and its meaning.
Peters takes us into the horrifying mind of a suicidal teenager girl as she maneuvers herself through her last days in a neck brace and no ability to vocalize due to a prior suicide attempt. This provides her with an isolation that she cherishes and protects. It is a disturbing story, but one which forces the reader to consider the weighty and important issues of bullying, love, and suicide.
Empathy can either be generated or not, depending on the reader. Answers are left entirely to the reader.
Merit: Honest and thought-provoking. Well written from a teen perspective.
Share: Perhaps not at all. Better to be aware of the work and only recommend it upon specific request.
Appeal: Might be just the thing to get people to think about the factors and impact of suicide and get one thinking about ways to deal with bullicide.
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