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Izzy, Willy-Nilly

3.59 of 5 stars 3.59 · rating details · 2,060 ratings · 135 reviews

Izzy's never been one to complain. Izzy's the nice girl, from a family that believes good manners and a stiff upper lip are key to facing any situation. Even after a car accident leaves her disabled, she's determined not to show how much she's hurting. It takes Rosamunde, a girl who seems to care nothing about good manners, to forcibly disrupt Izzy's life and help her face...more

Mass Market Paperback, 272 pages

Published February 12th 1987 by Fawcett (first published January 1st 1986)

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Apr 26, 2013 Brandi added it · review of another edition

The book Izzy, Willy Nilly by Cynthia Voigt is a book about a girl named Izzy whose life has changed forever. This all started when Izzy went to a party and met her crush named Marco. Marco had decided to give Izzy a ride home. Unfortunately he was drunk. Izzy thought it wasn't a good idea, but Marco insisted. As he was driving, the car crashed into a tree causing a horrible accident. Marco didn't suffer an accident although, Izzy did. As she was in the hospital she was confused and didn't know...more The book Izzy, Willy Nilly by Cynthia Voigt is a book about a girl named Izzy whose life has changed forever. This all started when Izzy went to a party and met her crush named Marco. Marco had decided to give Izzy a ride home. Unfortunately he was drunk. Izzy thought it wasn't a good idea, but Marco insisted. As he was driving, the car crashed into a tree causing a horrible accident. Marco didn't suffer an accident although, Izzy did. As she was in the hospital she was confused and didn't know what happened to her yet. Her parents came in as often as they could to keep her company and console her through this tough time.
Little did she know that the condition she had was serious. She became very devastated when she found out that she lost one leg. She didn't want to conform to this but there was really nothing she could do. Her life has changed forever. Izzy used to be a cheerleader at her high school and she found out she couldn't cheer again. When she came back to school and her friends saw the condition she was in, they ignored her. They thought she was now an "outcast" because she was disabled and different from everyone else. Izzy felt betrayed. She thought she had real friends but she didn't.
Later on Izzy met a girl named Rosamunde. She wanted to be friends with Izzy and thought that Izzy needed a friend at this time in her life. Rosamunde wouldn't be someone Izzy would be friends with if she didn't lose her leg. Eventually, they became best friends. Rosamunde helped Izzy through her battle and was one of the only people who helped her face her new life. Izzy's parents were there for her although they were very busy, they still gave her all the attention she needed.
This book is supposed to teach its readers that, being above the influence is very important because it can prevent bad things from happening and it makes certain situations much safer. Also people shouldn't take their lives for granted because in one day your life can possibly change forever like with Izzy.(less)

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Apr 15, 2013 Dorothea rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

It's always a bit strange re-reading a YA book that I first read in middle school or perhaps the first year of high school, because when I was 12-14, a 15-17-year-old character seemed so adult! Even more so when the character in question is conventionally attractive and popular -- all through my teens those characteristics seemed unattainably remote. So my old impression of Izzy, Willy-Nilly was of a tragedy befalling an exotic, sophisticated life. I don't think I related at all.

This is pretty f...more It's always a bit strange re-reading a YA book that I first read in middle school or perhaps the first year of high school, because when I was 12-14, a 15-17-year-old character seemed so adult! Even more so when the character in question is conventionally attractive and popular -- all through my teens those characteristics seemed unattainably remote. So my old impression of Izzy, Willy-Nilly was of a tragedy befalling an exotic, sophisticated life. I don't think I related at all.

This is pretty funny now because now I'm able to see what Voigt was going for -- she made Izzy pretty and popular because that let her emphasize the social stigma of visible disability; she made Izzy's personality so bland and dependent on her social status partly to make Izzy's emotional growth more apparent and partly, I think, to allow readers to insert themselves into Izzy's story. Heh.

And Izzy's not sophisticated at all. She's the kind of naive that comes from being safe and privileged; other people's good assumptions about her have always allowed her to get by smoothly without having to think about what she, herself, really wanted to do and be. Now I think Voigt did a good job showing this, but when I was a young teenager (even though I had a lot of that kind of naivete myself), I didn't pick up on it at all -- I just went from "pretty, cheerleader, goes on dates" to "not like me" and missed out on basically all of Izzy's real personal growth. Oh well.

Anyway, of course, Izzy is a popular girl who defines herself as "nice" and never really has to think about it, who is driven home from a party by a kid who was drinking, doesn't wear her seatbelt (don't do that, kids!!), and has to have half of her leg amputated after the resulting car crash. So the story is about how she reacts to that -- about her physical healing and adapting to her disability, of course, but mostly about her emotional and social recovery.

Voigt actually has a pretty light touch with the drunk-driving part, I think. What's a lot more uncomfortable is Izzy's internal ableism. I can believe that it's exactly what she's thinking, and I can also believe that the people around her respond in the ways that they do, but I wish Voigt had included some more positive angle. I agree with what Colin says in this review -- in some places Izzy's pessimistic thoughts (e.g. that romance is now out of the question for her) really do seem to be validated by the narrative.

This is pretty bad and I would like Izzy, Willy-Nilly much less if it weren't for one important factor -- Rosamunde. She is a dorky girl from Izzy's Latin class who liked Izzy when she was popular, but didn't try to be friends until after Izzy's accident. Rosamunde is blunt and brilliant and truth-telling, and she has her finger on exactly what's truly good about Izzy. Learning to appreciate Rosamunde, in turn, makes Izzy figure out what's really important to her. They remain very different people who delight in each other's quirks.

Frankly, I know it's way too much to expect of a YA novel published in 1980-something (I can just imagine the publisher saying "This is a book about disability! One issue at a time!"), but the development of Izzy and Rosamunde's relationship easily reads like a romance plot. This is really adorable to contemplate. Minus that, though, at least we've got one really good female friendship.(less)

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Nov 28, 2012 Nelson Zaragoza rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

It's sad how one tragic event can change someone's life when it has just begun. Izzy was only 15 years old when her crush ask her to go out to a party and immediately said yes. At the party her crush named Marco's had too much to drink and was Izzy's only ride home. When they were heading home Marco's was too drunk to see here he was going and crashed against a tree. Luckily Marco's wasn't seriously injured but Izzy unfortunately was not so lucky. Izzy paid the consequences for Marco's actions b...more

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Jun 18, 2012 Jenny rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Ok so this book is a little outdated for the YA market today, but it has such sentimental value I had to read it again.

Some good points are that Izzy is a genuine character. She offers no pretenses to having the right answers or being a model for how to be an amputee. She is just a girl who deals with this problem in her own way, even if in our times it may not be the best way.

This book deals with several underlying themes such as drunk driving, responsibility of the person driving, social sta...more

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Oct 26, 2009 Colin rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: youngadultlit, fiction, disabilitystudies

I'm a bit torn on this one. On the good side, Cynthia Voigt is extremely good at characterization. She writes in a compelling, interesting way; I am invested and interested in her characters.

Now for the complicated/I'm torn parts: On one hand it seemed a pretty realistic story about how someone might deal with suddenly becoming disabled. There was a lot of spewing of internalized ableism, she loses all her shallow "popular" friends, and has to make new ones. My problem with the book is that now...more

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Jun 02, 2013 Brenda rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The book "Izzy, Willy-Nilly" by Cynthia Voigt is about a life changing experience of a young girl named Izzy. She had a crush named Marco which she said yes to when he asked her to go to a party with him. Izzy thought she would have a great time and everything would turn out to be perfect but it was the complete opposite. She was on her way home with Marco but he was drunk and she wasn't. Suddenly, Marco crashed into a tree. Izzy became severely injured and Marco was fine. The crash left Izzy di...more

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Mar 09, 2009 Ashley rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book should be required reading for every high school student. Izzy is a normal fifteen year old girl. When a popular senior ask her out, she is thrilled. Who wouldn’t be? Most people want to impress others, whether they admit it or not. Middle school and high school are the hardest times to stand up for yourself. Besides, it couldn’t happen to you, could it? So Izzy goes out on a date with this senior and has an okay time, but he drinks too much. She knows he is drunk and gets in his car a...more

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Mar 03, 2011 Kate rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Kate by: Teen Book Club selection

Shelves: age-ya, teen-book-club, 2011

Izzy wakes up in the hospital, groggy and confused. Finally she remembers what happened: she had gone to a party with her date Marco, and when the time came to leave he was drunk, but still attempted to drive her home. After they crashed into a tree, both of Izzy's legs are broken, and one of them has to be amputated.

At first Izzy avoids even thinking about her leg. She's a nice girl, and she doesn't want to cause anyone any trouble or make them feel uncomfortable around her. Too bad her friends...more Izzy wakes up in the hospital, groggy and confused. Finally she remembers what happened: she had gone to a party with her date Marco, and when the time came to leave he was drunk, but still attempted to drive her home. After they crashed into a tree, both of Izzy's legs are broken, and one of them has to be amputated.

At first Izzy avoids even thinking about her leg. She's a nice girl, and she doesn't want to cause anyone any trouble or make them feel uncomfortable around her. Too bad her friends barely talk to her. Then Rosamunde, a girl from Latin Club, shows up. Izzy never would have hung out with Rosamunde before... but there is something about Rosamunde's direct way of confronting Izzy's new handicap that helps her through it.

I was excited to read this due to my love for the Tillerman books by Cynthia Voigt (A Solitary Blue is one of my favorite books). This wasn't quite as good as those, I thought, mostly because Izzy is just too damn nice. I doubt many teen readers will be able to identify with her unless they've actually lost a leg themselves. She starts out as the nice, perfect, popular girl, and even after the accident and everyone is being weird around her, she never calls them on it or tells them that it makes her feel like crap. Many of the details were also very old-fashioned, the way it was unusual for Rosamunde to want to be a lawyer and Izzy's desire to meet a husband (perhaps at college), and be a housewife. I also found lacking the parts where Izzy believes she will never get a husband now - there is no hopeful resolution there except one small incident. I think back in its time, Izzy, Willy-Nilly would have been a great heartwarming young adult novel about a girl struggling to deal with a disability, but in the world of YA publishing today I'm not sure it holds up. Shark Girl, for example, was a much more interesting and modern take on the same idea.

There are a couple of minor swears, so this is not an entirely clean read, but it's very close.(less)

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May 10, 2012 Sara rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

When fifteen year old Izzy’s date drove her home after a night of drinking, they get into an accident and Izzy’s leg must be amputated. She finds herself forced down a long hard path towards recovery which includes both regaining her strength and coordination with only one leg but also learning how to accept her body in its new condition and dealing with those who cannot see past her disability.

When most of us think of loss, our thoughts tend to go towards the loss of a friend or family member....more

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Jun 06, 2010 Ella Perkins rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 8th-grade-books-senorita-michan

This book is about a girl, Izzy, who decides that when a senior boy asks her out, you have to go for it. Well let’s just say that she has regretted that decision her entire life. The senior boy, Marcus, turned out to be the worst drunk driver ever. When he thinks that he will be ok to drive Izzy home, she ends up with a half fake leg and so much sympathy.

I can make a text to world connection. I can relate this book to the world because so many new drivers and people of the drinking age abuse th...more

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Dec 10, 2012 Sarah rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2012

After reading Homecoming, another book by Cynthia Voigt, I thought I'd check out this book I read as a young teen. I was probably in 7th or 8th grade, and I remember thinking Izzy was pretty sophisticated with her dates and cheerleading and flip haircut. Now I can see that she's just a 15-year-old girl. It felt more real to me as a result.

Some of the messages are kind of heavy-handed, as you might expect from a YA novel, but the characters rang true. It's not an afterschool special--she doesn't...more

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Jun 05, 2011 Kristen rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2011, re-read

i read izzy willy-nilly back in HS and saw it at the library & decided to revisit it.

the book was pretty much as i remembered it. i still enjoyed reading it as an adult. it makes me realize that YA has come a long way - while this book can stand on its own in my memory as a book i enjoyed in HS, it's a differnet kind of writing from YA of today.

surprisingly, this book didn't seem as dated as i thought it might be, which is pretty cool considering it was published in 1986.

i think it's a gr...more

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Feb 22, 2009 April rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: educ-7701

I remember reading Izzy, Willi-Nilly during middle school. I had a friend that read a lot recommend it to me, so I decided to read it. I remember it being about a girl who lost her right leg in a car accident. Since it was almost 10 years ago, the basic storyline was the only thing I remembered. This time around I choose this book to read because I remember it being very interesting and thought it would fall under the category of “Being Different”. I knew I wanted to read it again because it was...more
I remember reading Izzy, Willi-Nilly during middle school. I had a friend that read a lot recommend it to me, so I decided to read it. I remember it being about a girl who lost her right leg in a car accident. Since it was almost 10 years ago, the basic storyline was the only thing I remembered. This time around I choose this book to read because I remember it being very interesting and thought it would fall under the category of “Being Different”. I knew I wanted to read it again because it was a story that I had thought about frequently since the first time I read it. I expected to be refreshed about the story, the situation in which Izzy’s accident happened and to better understand why in the story she had initially acted as if losing her leg was not a significant event. The first time I read the story, I had struggled with understanding how someone could lose a limb and act as if nothing had happened.
Izzy is a character that the reader is immediately curious about. Throughout the first six chapters, she does not look at her “stump” of a leg. Before she takes a look at it, she spends her time being cheerful about the fact she is still alive. Her parents are incredibly relieved that she is optimistic about it. It seems as though she will react as if nothing happened which leads the reader to wonder how she could possibly feel that way and if there will be a severe reaction later in the novel. Eventually, that is what the reader finds. After Izzy has seen that the leg is not there anymore, she begins to sink into a depression and finds herself envisioning a “miniature Izzy” in her head. The miniature Izzy reflects how she feels inside versus the show that she puts on for everyone. Izzy spends her day acting as if everything is fine, and she is adjusting well. However, at night, she weeps and slides in a deep depression. She does not once reveal this to her family because she does not want people to pity her. The only person she reveals this to is her new found friend Rosamunde. Rosamunde is the only true friend she has after the accident has happened. Izzy’s previous friends act different around her since she can no longer be a cheerleader with them, and she has an amputated leg. While reading this, I thought of a documentary that I saw in a class just a few weeks ago. The clip was of a man who had been in a motorcycle accident and was paralyzed from his waist down. Throughout the clip, the man was shown as being depressed and how he was depending on his family. He felt he was a burden on his family because he had to depend on them for everything. Izzy goes through a these episodes as well while she is adjusting to being home after spending a great deal of time in the hospital.
It is interesting to see the affects that a major life changing event would have on a fifteen year old girl. However, I do not think a fifteen year old would be so courageous about the event. Teenagers are very absorbed with themselves. Izzy spends a lot of time thinking of how she should present herself in front of her family and the doctors and nurses that come into the hospital. This would be a feat to accomplish for a fifteen year old that just had her entire life turned upside down. I question whether there is any person, not just a teenager, who is able to be that brave as to think of other people’s feelings and reactions when in front of them and to hide her true feelings.
I believe that the idea of having students read such a text would be good for them to view how someone their own age may react to a major life changing event. Again, since teens are self absorbed, it would be interesting to see their opinions on what if it happened to them. It would be interesting to see what they think of Izzy’s selflessness as well. Izzy lost her leg in a car accident because the driver was drunk. Izzy does not press charges. I believe it would be insightful to see how students reacted to that. It would be a very nice way to tie in challenges of the teen world because the reason Izzy gets into the car with him when he is drunk is because she doesn’t want to be looked down upon by the rest of the people who are at the party simply due to her turning his offer for a ride down. I always thought it was a good idea to be able to connect the student’s lives to the texts they are reading because it is easier to capture their attention if they believe it relates to them. This text is one that can be directly related to their lives and issues that may come up daily. 3Q, 3P
(less)

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Aug 18, 2011 Catherine rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: adolescent-books

This book brings up a lot of important issues; one being that all of us should decide what to do if we are ever faced with getting into a car with a drunk driver. I thought the emotional roller coaster that Izzy felt was realistic. I liked that she was able to hid her depression - it shows that we don't really know what other people are going through - we only know what they tell us.

I loved Rosamunde. I felt Izzy's mom was a snob, but she was still a good mom. I loved that Izzy's brothers accep...more

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Jul 16, 2011 Amanda rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I'm not sure why I picked up this book again. I read it in 6th grade and remember really liking it. Re-reading it as an adult, it didn't impress me. Izzy is a nice girl without ambition who loses a leg during a drunk driving incident (she's the passenger). There's nothing at all compelling to me about Izzy. Near the end of the book when she's supposed to have changed and look at people differently, just about all she's concerned with is getting a makeover for her new friend. You're not really di...more

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Jul 28, 2011 Flash Mitchell English added it · review of another edition

I expected this to be a better book, since Cynthia Voigt is such a celebrated writer of young-adult literature. There's really so little to the story, and Izzy has ridiculously mature thought processes for a 15-year-old.
Plus, the book dwells on how Izzy will never be attractive again, never be invited to a party again, never dance with a boy again, and so forth, ending before she's even rehabilitated enough to have her prosthetic leg fitted.
One of my students has a prosthetic leg, and she is a...more

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Jan 01, 2012 Frederick Bingham rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Isabel Lindgard is a normal 15-year-old in high school. She is on the cheerleading team and has a number of popular friends. She is asked out to a party by a senior boy one night. There is alcohol consumed. On the way home, her date, drunk, smashes the car into a tree. She ends up in the hospital having to have her leg amputated. The story is of her recovery and her coming to terms with the fact that she will never be the same. Her "friends" abandon her and she becomes friends with a less popula...more

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Oct 13, 2010 Adam rated it 4 of 5 stars

Required reading for Freshman English in High School. A foreshadowing of all the typical problems of high school, relationships, peer pressure, popularity, etc etc. Suddenly Izzy finds herself crippled in a car wreck with the popular guy that she had eyes for. He walks away and continues with high school life and participating in sports. She learns to adapt to life with a prosthetic leg, wheelchair and being different.
Drunk driving -- the type of stuff that kids think won't happen to them.
Also...more

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Jun 17, 2013 Kendra Merritt rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: disabilities, feature, young-adult

Full Review: http://kendramerritt.com/living-as-an...

Plot wise this book was a little slow. Not a lot happened. And yet, I loved it. I loved Izzy’s journey, her realizations. I loved the way she learned more about herself and her relationships with her family and friends through her trials than she ever had before. Sometimes it’s only through struggle that we can really know ourselves.

Cynthia Voigt did a fantastic job portraying Izzy. So many of her feelings and her reactions echoed my own. And...more Full Review: http://kendramerritt.com/living-as-an...

Plot wise this book was a little slow. Not a lot happened. And yet, I loved it. I loved Izzy’s journey, her realizations. I loved the way she learned more about herself and her relationships with her family and friends through her trials than she ever had before. Sometimes it’s only through struggle that we can really know ourselves.

Cynthia Voigt did a fantastic job portraying Izzy. So many of her feelings and her reactions echoed my own. And Izzy is a teenager, only fifteen, so she’s already a mess of uncertainties and crises. She’s still trying to learn who she is and who she wants to be when the process is interrupted by tragedy.

That was one of the things that made Izzy feel so real. Her emotions were not simple or straightforward. Most of the time, she didn’t know what she felt or thought, and that’s so true of life. What goes on in our heads is not black and white. I loved the line: “I was wishing I could leave the table, because – because my being there, in the family, was making demands, and they were acting like I wanted to make them or had no right to make them.” Voigt puts words to a feeling I’ve never been able to properly express. How do I give voice to such a confusing mix of emotions? Even when people try to anticipate your needs and accommodate them, or try to do something nice for you, you still feel like you’re in the way. Even when they’re nice about it and you know it’s no trouble to them, you still feel like you’re an imposition. And being an imposition is not a comfortable feeling.

Although, Izzy was really good at hiding what was going on inside. When someone asks “How are you?”, it’s so much easier to say “I’m fine”, even when you’re breaking up inside and absolutely nothing is right. And that’s where someone like fellow outcast, Rosamunde, makes all the difference. You need someone to counteract both extremes. Someone who won’t pretend that nothing has changed but also won’t coddle you. My someone wasn’t as perfectly tactless as Rosamunde, but he was a lifeline. He knew and acknowledged that my life had changed, and at the same time, he was there beside me the whole way.

Also, I thought Voigt had some interesting things to say on how disability can change the nature of friendships. In reality, disability makes most people uncomfortable on some level. I know. I used to be one of them. Being uncomfortable isn’t a crime, but the real friends are the ones who stick around despite the awkwardness. The ones who try to make the effort, and who occasionally screw up and say the wrong thing. I’ve realized how blessed I was during my recovery to have the friends I did. And do. Thanks guys.(less)

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Aug 13, 2011 Meera K. rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

For Marco, Izzy's accident could ruin his life if she chose to tell. He would have a criminal record, no college acceptance, and most importantly, no girlfriend.
For Izzy's group of friends, her accident is a tragedy indeed, yet disgusting. Nobody wants a cripple around, and certainly being friends with one would lessen their status on the high school popularity pyramid.
For Izzy's family, Izzy's accident is horrible and embarrassing... but could be dealt with. Izzy was a nice girl, so she wouldn'...more

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May 02, 2010 Allison rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: yaclass, ya-fiction

Whether or not teens will relate to this book will all depend on the teen that reads it. On the one hand this book would be “good for” teens to read so that they have an understanding of what it’s like to feel physically abnormal and to face life-changing challenges. On the other hand, what teen doesn’t know what it feels like to feel physically abnormal and to face life-changing challenges? The novel focuses on Izzy, who just-so-happens to be in the passenger seat of a popular drunk kid when he...more

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Aug 02, 2010 Ashley rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: edwards-award, blog

This book was originally reviewed on my blog, Books from Bleh to Basically Amazing

Cynthia Voigt has been one of my favorite authors since I read her Tillerman Saga in elementary school. After those 7 books, I was eager to read more, because that's what you do with an author you love, right?! I read several more of her books before I lost interest in a lot of my old favorites in favor of Mary Higgins Clark and Agatha Christie. Real life drama, trials and pain didn't hold a candle to trying to fig...more This book was originally reviewed on my blog, Books from Bleh to Basically Amazing

Cynthia Voigt has been one of my favorite authors since I read her Tillerman Saga in elementary school. After those 7 books, I was eager to read more, because that's what you do with an author you love, right?! I read several more of her books before I lost interest in a lot of my old favorites in favor of Mary Higgins Clark and Agatha Christie. Real life drama, trials and pain didn't hold a candle to trying to figure out the mystery before someone else died. However, as I've gotten older, I find myself drawn more and more to those stories I loved when I was younger- stories of people facing terrible obstacles and learning to overcome.

Izzy, willy-nilly by Cynthia Voigt is a novel I skipped over as a kid that I now wish I had not. It was painful, gritty, realistic and honest. How is it all of those things you ask? Because of Izzy (Isobel). Izzy is a great character. Although the book begins with her in the hospital after her car accident, we learn through interactions with other characters and Izzy's own thoughts that before the accident she was a nice, well-liked, intelligent person. She was one of three sophomores on the cheerleading squad and learning Latin, she gets along well with almost everyone and has a lot of friends. So really, she was your average high schooler. Can I just add that I loved that Voigt gave us a genuine person for a cheerleader, and not those flat, stereotypical, petty awful girls most stories seem to portray cheerleaders as?! (Sometimes, a cheerleader is just a normal person too...)

Anyway, back to Izzy. She accepts an offer for a date to a party from a senior she isn't interested in simply because he's a senior, and really, how cool is that?! Turns out, when said senior is over-confident in his driving abilities while under the influence, not so cool at all. Before I get into the real meat of Izzy's struggles, I want to address one more thing- At the party, when she asks her date to take her home (she's conscious of her curfew!) she notices that he's a little bit drunk. Another senior (one she actually has a crush on) offers to take her home. Her date takes issue with that, and, not wanting to seem any lamer than she already does for needing to make it home for curfew, she blows it off as no big deal. She acts like everything will be fine, and leaves with a boy, knowing that he is too drunk to be a safe driver. Turns out- he drove the car into a tree. What bad things have happened to you because you wanted to 'save face' and what bad things have you managed to avoid?

Izzy wakes up in the hospital, broken. They try to stabilize her leg, but as another fever comes on, and the infection spreads, they are forced to amputate her right leg, removing everything just below the knee. A previously active, healthy, lovely young girl is suddenly rendered basically immobile and completely unable to do many of the activities that previously felt completely natural. At first, she doesn't realize just how serious things are. And then, she uses her walker for the first time. Izzy slips into a deep depression she tries desperately to hide from those close to her. Her family tries to be supportive and they are there for her, but they don't know how exactly to treat her. Her mother tries to act as if Izzy will go right back into the life she left behind- all her same friends, all the boys calling, everything. It's hard for Izzy, because she knows that nothing is ever going to be the same again. Already her friends are drifting off. None of them really know how to talk to her anymore, and it's obvious every time they talk to her, or come to see her that they are deeply uncomfortable with the situation, until, for the most part, they just stop coming. Enter Rosamunde. Rosamunde is a girl in Izzy's grade who doesn't seem to care what other people think. She dresses to be comfortable, and speaks exactly what she's thinking. There is very little guess work involved in a conversation with Rosamunde and this comes as a relief to Izzy. Everyone steps lightly around her, careful to avoid any subject that might upset her or make her aware of her new disability. Instead of tiptoeing around, Rosamunde laughs at the line of left shoes, all lined up together in Izzy's closet, missing their mates.

Izzy has never had to struggle with self image before. She really had everything going for her. Popularity, a loving family, an active and healthy body, etc. Right after the accident, she isn't truly capable of dealing with these changes, because anything related to this has always been so far out of her realm of experience. I don't know how Voigt manages it, with this and every other book I've read, but Izzy was so real. Her voice was powerful and authentic. I felt almost voyeuristic watching her suffer at night when no one was around, suffering in silence with all the lights turned off, so no one would suspect she was still awake. Because her suffering was so realistic, it was incredibly empowering to watch as slowly, day by day, she faced awkward situations and learned how to deal with them. Rosamunde was there for her the whole time, sticking around to push, pull and prod her into life again, and sticking around long enough to help her up when she's down.

I don't know how I would handle something as devastating as loosing a limb. It changes every part of your life and is something that never 'goes away.' It's always there, and will always remain a part of you that you need to learn to live with and accept. While I definitely hope that I am never forced to deal with something as traumatic as losing a limb, I hope that I handle it as well as Izzy. It isn't easy for her, and it takes a long time to get there, but Izzy learns how to accept her new life. And, once she stops thinking of herself in terms of 'crippled' she finds that it's easier for others to overlook that as well.(less)

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Aug 08, 2008 Janessa rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Reading Izzy made me wonder why I didn't read more Cynthia Voigt books as a teen (and less Sweet Valley High!). Izzy's voice is real and sincere, the social tension and difficult friendships so vivid and unaffected that reading it felt like being in high school again: I remembered so much that I had forgotten!

I was impressed at Voigt's ability to show us everything that happens through Izzy's eyes, even when dealing with issues like drunk driving (in which a writer might be tempted to weigh in...more

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Oct 21, 2007 iamtedae rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: fans of realistic triumph over adversity

Shelves: memorable

I had to read this book in junior high, and found it boring and depressing, despite its Newbery Medal-Winning Author. Quite possibly they required it as a way of discouraging underage drinking, or driving while under the influence at any age rather than its real value as a novel, but it's a little hard to guess at now. I say that unless the teenager is more than the usual in maturity and perception, they're going to have the same reaction I did: boring! depressing! Those young people who do have...more

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Mar 24, 2013 Els rated it 4 of 5 stars

I first discovered this book in High School, and it remained a memorable one for me, even this many years later.
That it still holds up as well for me as it did back then, is surely testament to how well Cynthia Voigt wrote it. There is a realness about her characters that transcends what could have, with a lesser author, easily disintegrated into a preachy anti-drunk driving crusade. But Voigt doesn't do that. She knows there's more of a story to be told here, and she tells it, honestly and well...more

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Nov 29, 2012 Lyndsey rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Mikayla

This book was a good change for me. It also made me think. Izzy (the main character) was paralyzed because she got in a car accident. But however, the person who was actually driving didn't get as hurt.. read the book to find out more.
Cynthia Voigt made me think and in addition she described the characters really well. Throughout the story she developed the characters traits which made the story more relatable. The ending makes me want to read more. Read the book to find out what happened.

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Jun 19, 2009 Megan Blood rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I think my expectations were too high for this book. I thought Isobel was vain, whiny, and depressing (and her little sister and mom were worse).

I thought the plotline was very typical--girl has life-changing experience and then discovers who her real friends are. Blah. But then again, I've never been in this situation. Maybe it really does make you become like an Izzy.

I do have to say, the descriptions of her friends' and family's reactions to seeing her for the first time after the accident w...more

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Jun 17, 2011 Sarah rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: young_adult

I just read all of Voigt's Tillerman Family series, and really enjoyed it, so I figured I'd check out a couple of her other books.

There were some good things about this book, including the way Voigt handled what a teen's feelings might be about losing a leg, but I wasn't very interested in most of the characters, and the book itself felt a little bit uneventful. It felt like there were some loose ends that never really got tied up, and a lot of things that never really happened.

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Jul 28, 2010 Ms. Sorock rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult-literature

I read this book when I was a teenager and still remember it! This book is about a teenage girl who gets into a horrible accident that completely changes her life. There are important lessons in this book about good making choices, but there are also a lot of lessons about friendship, survival, and other issues that teenagers face. Some students thought the title of the book was a little strange, but when students looked beyond that and read the book, they loved it!

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Dec 06, 2009 Dawn rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I think I almost cried while reading this book. It is really sad. I don't know what I would do if something happened to me that made me less able to go about my daily life as I do now. The main character in the book, Izzy, is 15, and during her senior year she is in a car crash that results in her losing her right leg.

I was really touched by this book. I think I need to re-read it now.

P.S. This is also the author who wrote the Tillerman series.

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I can't believe the struggle that Izzy is going through. With being in the hospital for so long, losing her so called friends, her family is fighting. I would never be able to go through what she did in her life.	2	7	20 de May 11:44

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About Cynthia Voigt

Cynthia Voigt is an American author of books for young adults dealing with various topics such as adventure, mystery, racism and child abuse.

Awards:
Angus and Sadie: the Sequoyah Book Award (given by readers in Oklahoma), 2008
The Katahdin Award, for lifetime achievement, 2003
The Anne V. Zarrow Award, for lifetime achievement, 2003
The Margaret Edwards Award, for a body of work, 1995
Jackaroo: Ratte...more

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