Goodreads Mobile | see what your friends are reading

Dec 01, 2010

Emilie rated it:

i don’t like the framing of an abuse survivor story as a suspense/thriller story. I don’t have a problem with the subject matter, it’s the way it’s done.

i feel ~~sort of~~ very guilty for not liking this book. Though it’s a work of fiction, the author has a note at the end letting us know that it’s ~~semi-autobiographical~~ pretty autobiographical. This annoyed me, though to be fair, I believe she is doing it because she believes this will offer young readers hope in their recovery.
More...

26 comments like (17 people liked it)

Oct 11, 2010

Christina rated it:

This has got to be the GREATEST book I've ever read! This book is one I could never put down. There are twists you wouldn't expect, the discripitons pull you in to the pain and emotion, the author wrote it perfectly for my tastes in books. I can't stress enough how good this book is. I've recommended it to a few hundred, how are very interseted, and can't wait to read it. Look out DeBarger, here they come!

This book caused me to be forced into her feelings and surroundings. I fe More...

4 comments like (4 people liked it)

Nov 08, 2010

Liza added it

I recently heard the following statistics: 1 out of 4 girls are sexually abused and 1 out of 6 boys are sexually abused. Scary numbers indeed! Scars is an important, emotional story about sexual abuse and cutting. It is hard to read, but even harder to put down. Whether you or someone you know has been abused or whether you want to understand the physical/spiritual/sexual/emotional impact, this novel is IT! There is a lot of intrigue and questions as the reader is led on a journey with the More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Feb 09, 2012

Nita rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 29, 2011

Kari rated it:

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. Each facet stands out, shining as brightly as its counterpart without either overtaking the other. 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. That, alone, makes this book thrust itse More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Feb 22, 2012

Danielle rated it:

Before I review this book, I would like to issue a TRIGGER WARNING. Parts of this book may be considered triggering to people who are struggling or who have struggled with an addiction to self-injury.
SCARS is at first a story focused solely on the struggles of a teenage girl who faces memories of molestation by a man whom she can not name, but it quickly develops and becomes more than that.
Living with her homophobic mother, her all-too-loving father, and confiding only in he More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 19, 2012

Maggie rated it:

As I read this book over Christmas Eve surrounded by my family that I adore, it was easy for my initial impression to be hokeyness. From Kendra's initial visit to the therapist, Scars feels too harrowing to be true. And then you read author Cheryl Rainfield's About Me page, and realize that she wrote this book from firsthand experience. Suddenly, I was riveted.

While it's not written in verse form, this book has the gritty feeling of an Ellen Hopkins novel, of a dark world seething just More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 05, 2012

MaryAnn rated it:

After seeing what Scars was first about, I'll admit I was a bit hesitant- mainly because I'm not very used to reading the contemporary genre. BUT! (yes there is a but) after I read the first chapter, I was honestly already hooked. It started off with what I assumed would be a slow start, the main character Kendra is in her therapists office, talking about the sexual abuse she went through and about her rapist. Then things got exciting. We learn that Kendra is not only partaking in self harm, but More...

0 comments like

Jan 25, 2012

Carling13 rated it:

A tremendous book for young adults to read.

Cheryl Rainfield is a feminist, queer, and a former satanic ritual abuse survivor. In her books she manages to entrance young teenagers with her fantastic stories, whilst educating them about the realities of the ritual abuse in our society - not least about how the CIA and other government agencies systematically abuse American children to create sex slaves.

The quality of her writing and her dedication should be recognised. Wit More...

0 comments like

Jan 23, 2012

Paula rated it:

I'm really interested in the different ways that teens deal with their problems and obstacles, this is why I chose to read Scars by Cheryl Rainfield. This selection is about 15 year-old Kendra who recently started to remember that she was sexually abused several times as a kid. Kendra's memories are too painful to bear, therefore she cuts herself to keep herself from remembering. The only way Kendra's memories would lessen is by finding out who her abuser was. Will Kendra be strong enough to More...

0 comments like

Jan 08, 2012

Lorca rated it:

At the risk of sounding preachy, if you do anything with teenagers in your life, even if you are just a next-door-neighbor, this is a must read. The explanations for the reasons behind self-harm are so clear when we see them through Kendra's eyes. As someone who had a charmed childhood with nothing more than the usual bumps in the road, this really helped me see why more and more teens are coming to my classroom with criss-crossed jagged scars from self-harm.

All too often, these studen More...

0 comments like

Dec 27, 2011

Stephanie rated it:

I read this book after learning a bit more about the author and her life, especially noting that the arms on the cover are her own. There is nothing bad that I can say about Scars. Scars does for realistic fiction what other books have fallen short of which is telling the complete truth, which can only be done sometimes, and regrettably, through experience.

Kendra battles self-mutilation tendencies after being sexually assaulted and then stalked by her rapist. Instead of focusing m More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Nov 30, 2011

Lauren rated it:

In the book scars, Kendra has a hard time dealing with life, from her parents not understanding what she goes through and not being there for her, to her cutting her self and to performing her art work. Kendra is a young girl who has many heart breaking memories from her childhood. She feels someone is following her around at all times almost as if she feels she is being watched 24/7. She still doesn’t and cant figure out till this day what her abuser looks like, she can see him in her head and More...

0 comments like

Sep 12, 2011

Heather rated it:

I'm not sure how to go about reviewing this book. I'm not 100% sure how I feel about it. I must admit that I can see why some people think it should be banned from schools and whatnot – but I do NOT agree with that. This book helps me see why someone might use cutting as means to cope when life is too much. I can see how it could be a release, although I'd never be tempted to do it.

Anyway, I don't want to get into talking about cutting in general. This is about the book. It's an exce More...

0 comments like

Sep 10, 2011

Danna rated it:

The constant noise makes me want to scream-people slamming their lockers shut, girls giggling with each other, sneakers squeaking down the hall, boys burping as loud as they can-but I know I’m only feeling like this because of the note. And I can’t let myself think about that. My arm is hot and stiff, every jostle sending pain through me. But it’s not the bright, hard pain that makes everything go away. It’s an annoying, irritating pain that makes me grit my teeth. I wish I could tear my nails t More...

0 comments like

Sep 08, 2011

Whatchyareading added it

This book is an intense ride. There were times I was literally holding my breath because of the suspense or anguish I felt for Kendra. My notes are full of questions, mostly asking how Kendra can stand having snippets of memories about her abuse and not knowing the identity of the abuser. (Honestly, HOW can she stand it? I get this ache in the middle of my chest just thinking about it and it didn’t even happen to me.) If it were me, I would be a mess. Curled up in a fetal ball, never coming out More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 24, 2011

Christine added it

I couldn't decide on a rating because how do you rate something like this? So I left it blank.

This book is an intense ride. There were times I was literally holding my breath because of the suspense or anguish I felt for Kendra. My notes are full of questions, mostly asking how Kendra can stand having snippets of memories about her abuse and not knowing the identity of the abuser. (Honestly, HOW can she stand it? I get this ache in the middle of my chest just thinking about it and it More...

1 comment like

Jul 21, 2011

Renae rated it:

I'm not sure what to say here. I heard so much hype about this book, and was really looking forward to it, as I love a good teen problem novel. And it started out very strong.
Somewhere along the way, though, it started to fall apart a little. Either that, or it started to feel contrived.
One thing that can really bother me about a book is when pacing is uneven, or the author makes leaps in pacing before I'm ready to buy into it. I think that's really what happened here. More on More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jun 21, 2011

Madeline rated it:

Scars is by all mean a powerful book. I normally don’t read books about cutting – the thought of people hurting themselves scares me – but the description on the back of the book drew me in. I sat down and read it all in one sitting, and I was not disappointed. It’s fast-paced, suspenseful, educational, and most of all, emotional. The pain and struggles in the book are real, but so is the triumph.
Through Kendra, the main character, Rainfield creates an emotionally real world of More...

0 comments like

Jun 12, 2011

Claudia rated it:

Leanette recommended this one, and then it was one of the 'dark and depressing' YA novels mentioned in the Wall Street Journal commentary attacking YA literature. This is one that will haunt me for a long time. Kendra has been starting to remember more and more about the sexual abuse she suffered from the age of two. TWO!! What she can't remember is the face of her abuser...is it her mother's friend? Her father's friend, and one of her teachers? Who? She's in therapy, and memories seem to be bub More...

2 comments like (3 people liked it)

Jun 09, 2011

Carla rated it:

Scars is a deep felt account of Kendra who takes us through the book in first person account of her scars both internal and external. Having a lack of true support system at home in her mother, she finds mother figures in that of her therapist and art teacher, both which she opens herself and her wounds to in a subconscious level. Kendra was abused. Now as she is putting those memories together her abuser is stalking her, leaving her messages to leave this be, to leave it alone. All this pain, a More...

0 comments like

Apr 07, 2011

Tina rated it:

SCARS is an amazing book written from the POV of a young girl who has faced tragedy nightmares of made of. As a young girl, she was sexual abused. During the book, she explores her feelings and fears as she begins to remember the torment as well as remembers clues that will help her remember her attacker.

To deal with her pain, Kristen cuts herself in order to feel something other than her fear. Ms. Rainfield gives a unique look into the thoughts, feelings, and emotions of a cutter. Th More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Sep 12, 2010

Reading added it

It's hard to talk about a book like this and say that I liked it. The subject is so overwhelming, that "like" just doesn't fit. It absolutely held my attention. I felt a range of emotions throughout the entire book. Anger, sadness, fear, sometimes hope, and always disbelief that anyone could go through what Kendra had to go through and survive. I can't imagine going through every day life with this kind of pain. How she could be expected to care about school, classes, etc. when she wa More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jul 19, 2010

Tasha rated it:

Kendra has started to remember her abuse as a child, but she is unable to see her abuser’s face in her memories. She believes she is being followed by her abuser, so she lives in fear that even as she works to remember, he is stalking her. To cope with the pressure of the memories, Kendra cuts her arm, releasing all of her stress, anguish and pain and making it something she can handle. Kendra also does amazing art work that reveals the pain of her abuse and the emotional toll it is taking on More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

May 27, 2010

Lacey rated it:

I gave a book talk on this one when I did my radio slot at the beginning of the month, and once I had it in my hands, I couldn't resist keeping it checked out and reading it. It deals with self-harm, homosexuality, sexual abuse, and repressed memories, all topics that interest me for various reasons. In some ways, that cocktail seems like a recipe for "too much going on in one story," but for the most part, it works. I especially appreciated the depiction of the client/patient relation More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

May 07, 2010

Kelsey added it

Kendra knows she was sexually abused in her childhood but she has just one problem—she can’t remember the identity of her abuser. She isn’t at a time in her life where she is strong enough to deal with memories of the abuse, so she cuts herself to forget; to make the memories go away when they threaten to overtake her.

Now, years after the abuse stopped, Kendra is getting the feeling that it isn’t over. She starts to feel like someone is following her, watching her every move. Then he More...

0 comments like

Mar 15, 2010

Lawral rated it:

This book is wonderful and powerful. It is a book I read in a day and then took two days to digest. I highly recommend it. That said, this is a book about prolonged sexual abuse and self-injury, in addition to being a book about a girl whose mother is not happy about her daughter's new girlfriend. It is not for everyone, but it will undoubtedly be really important for more than a few someones.

Throughout the course of the book, the bulk of which spans what feels like only a week, Kend More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jul 01, 2011

Diane rated it:

Kendra is in therapy to deal with the sexual abuse that she endured when she was younger. While she remembers the abuse, she doesn't remember exactly who raped her. To handle the frequent anxiety attacks, she cuts her arm to release the pain. No one knows, not her therapist, and certainly not her parents. The only one she finally tells is Meghan, a classmate who turns out to be a kindred spirit.

This is a novel well worth the 5 star rating. I started it last night, woke up this m More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 11, 2011

Nicci rated it:

Wow. Scars was such a powerful, intense read. I am not even sure where to begin writing this. Scars made me feel so much within its pages. I could feel Kendra’s terror, her grief, and her desperation. Every emotion just felt completely real. Kendra’s emotions are just laid out completely open and raw for the reader to see, and I will admit that it was hard to read at times. The book also scared me, sort of. It is scary to think about what some people are capable of doing to others. I do not thin More...

0 comments like

Feb 11, 2012

Kristi rated it:

The idea of the book is kind of wrong, the author inserts a depth into the book that is so unfathomable that you can really feel the pain that is embedded into each and every word of the book. I loved how the author showed how the main character's past experience in her youth and how deeply it scarred her life. I also liked how the author added in her own pain from her own experience from this problem and made the story all the more real.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

reviews