Rainfield does an exceptional job making this distinction and luring the reader into an understanding that while cutting is a tabooed outlet, it's an outlet for a reason. She isn't cutting to kill herself- she's cutting because she has no other way of letting out the intense pain she feels. Kendra can't say when the abuse started or when it stopped, she can't say what person did it to her- someone her family had to know given she was a young child, but she can say that it happened, she remembers parts, and it was horrific. Books like this can often blur the fiction/nonfiction line and this one toes it expertly, pulling the reader in and making them feel every bit of pain Kendra did- pain the author felt at one point.įor Kendra, cutting is her way of forgetting and dealing with the memories of being sexually abused as a child- her way of not remembering the face of the person who did it because that could be worse than remembering in the first place.
Even more notably is the somewhat autobiographical nature of it and knowing that, this book surged into me even more deeply because although it is fiction, there is obvious proof at least parts of this are based on a dark reality. That, alone, makes this book thrust itself forward.
There are books I could compare this to because they have similar subject matter- books that deal with sexual abuse and ones for cutting but rarely any that combine the two. Each facet stands out, shining as brightly as its counterpart without either overtaking the other. This is a powerful, potent book that will leave you feeling twisted and flayed because this book not only dives into the horrific world of child sexual abuse, it throws in cutting. Scars is the unforgettable story of one girl's frightening path to the truth. But the truth about Kendra's abuse is just waiting to explode, with startling unforeseen consequences. Since her own mother is too self-absorbed to hear her cries for help, Kendra finds support in others instead: from her therapist and her art teacher, from Sandy, the close family friend who encourages her artwork, and from Meghan, the classmate who's becoming a friend and maybe more. To relieve the pressure, Kendra cuts aside from her brilliantly expressive artwork, it's her only way of coping. If she lets her guard down even for a minute, it could cost Kendra her life.
Frightened, Kendra believes someone is always watching and following her, leaving menacing messages only she understands.
Kendra, fifteen, hasn't felt safe since she began to recall devastating memories of childhood sexual abuse, especially because she still can't remember the most important detail- her abuser's identity.
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