Taylor reviews Kiss of Broken Glass
By Madeleine Kuderick
Published on September 9th 2014
Published by HarperTeen
Published by HarperTeen
Madeleine Kuderick’s gripping debut is a darkly beautiful and lyrical novel in verse, perfect for fans of Sonya Sones and Laurie Halse Anderson. Kiss of Broken Glass pulses with emotion and lingers long after the last page.
In the next seventy-two hours, Kenna may lose everything—her friends, her freedom, and maybe even herself. One kiss of the blade was all it took to get her sent to the psych ward for seventy-two hours. There she will face her addiction to cutting, though the outcome is far from certain.
When fifteen-year-old Kenna is found cutting herself in the school bathroom, she is sent to a facility for mandatory psychiatric watch. There, Kenna meets other kids like her—her roommate, Donya, who’s there for her fifth time; the birdlike Skylar; and Jag, a boy cute enough to make her forget her problems . . . for a moment.
A novel written as a poem, “Kiss of Broken Glass” is based around a young teenage girl struggling with “cutting”. The story follows her 72 hours spent in Attaboys after getting caught cutting in her high school’s bathroom.
This novel is a very deep and emotional one. It shows cutting for what it actually is, from the person who is actually struggling from it. I enjoyed how raw and genuine it was. Since it is written as a poem, it does not take long to read; but it does not cut short on details. I only wish the ending tied up a bit more, it left me hanging at the end. Not a lot of closure. But, overall I thought it was a good read. Just be prepared—it is a heavy read.
