"Cracked" tells the story of what it takes to drive teens over the edge and attempt to commit suicide. The story is told by the perspectives of two boys, William, referred to as Bull, and Victor. One is the bully, and the other is the victim. Bull, the bully, has been raised by his mother and grandfather in a way that no child should ever be raised. He was constantly harassed by his grandfather, who would always hit or kick or punch him. His mother was never there. Both were alcoholics, and Bull struggled to maintain a life. So he takes his anger out on Victor, who comes from a rich family, and has everything he could possibly want, except for the fact that his parents are oblivious. Victor's parents constantly remind Victor that he was a mistake, that he shouldn't have been born, that he was such a burden. They were his parents but they didn't act as parents. After getting punished for not doing "well" on the SATs, even though he earned a perfect score for math, Victor starts thinking about suicide. Meanwhile, Bull happens to find a gun with bullets inside at his house, and thinks about what would happen if he just one day shot his grandfather. Eventually, both end up in a therapy center, and unknowingly, end up as roommates. The story follows both of the boys' journeys to a better life, and portray both of the characters' immense pain. The plot was a little slow at first, but it was definitely intense, and it was overall, a great book with a great message.
Cracked
By K. M. Walton
| Interest Level | Reading Level | Reading A-Z | ATOS | Word Count |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grades 9 - 12 | Grades 2 - 5 | n/a | 4.1 | 57651 |
In this gripping debut, a teen takes a bottle of pills and lands in the psych ward with the bully who drove him to attempt suicide.
Victor hates his life. He’s relentlessly bullied at school and his parents constantly ridicule him at home.
Bull is angry. He’s sick of his grandfather’s drunken beatings. And he likes to take out his rage on Victor.
Determined to end it all, Victor takes a bottle of his mother’s sleeping pills—only to be disappointed when he wakes up in the psych ward. And his roommate? None other than Bull, whose loaded-gun effort at self-defense has been labeled as a suicide attempt. Things go from bad to worse—until the boys discover they might just have something in common: a reason to live.
Victor hates his life. He’s relentlessly bullied at school and his parents constantly ridicule him at home.
Bull is angry. He’s sick of his grandfather’s drunken beatings. And he likes to take out his rage on Victor.
Determined to end it all, Victor takes a bottle of his mother’s sleeping pills—only to be disappointed when he wakes up in the psych ward. And his roommate? None other than Bull, whose loaded-gun effort at self-defense has been labeled as a suicide attempt. Things go from bad to worse—until the boys discover they might just have something in common: a reason to live.
Publisher: Simon Pulse
ISBN-13: 9781442429178
ISBN-10: 1442429178
Published on 12/4/2012
Binding: Paperback
Number of pages: 336