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76th out of 99 books
—
98 voters
Peeling the Onion
by
Wendy Orr (Goodreads Author)
The car accident changed everything. Before, Anna knew who she was and what she looked like. But now she's a stranger to her family, her friends, and herself. She is no longer the pretty, popular girl who loves karate. Her body now betrays her, and she knows it will never be the same. All the layers that made up the old Anna -- her looks, her friends, her sport -- have bee...more
Paperback, 176 pages
Published
February 9th 1999
by Laurel Leaf
(first published April 1st 1997)
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Author: Wendy Orr
Title: Peeling the Onion
Genre: search for self novel
Publication Info: Bantam Doubleday. New York. 1996.
Recommended Age: 13 and up
Plot Summary: Anna, a 17-year-old karate-lover has her world turned upside down when she gets hit in a car accident and is seriously injured. She has broken her neck and really messed up her legs, thumb, and cognitive abilities. She will never be able to do karate again. Hayden, the driver of the car she was in, feels guilty and responsible for her pai...more
Title: Peeling the Onion
Genre: search for self novel
Publication Info: Bantam Doubleday. New York. 1996.
Recommended Age: 13 and up
Plot Summary: Anna, a 17-year-old karate-lover has her world turned upside down when she gets hit in a car accident and is seriously injured. She has broken her neck and really messed up her legs, thumb, and cognitive abilities. She will never be able to do karate again. Hayden, the driver of the car she was in, feels guilty and responsible for her pai...more
I really didn't enjoy this book at all. We had a disability unit in our English class at school with lots of books to choose where we'd have to read one, do a couple of journal entries on it, and then pick out a new one. I had just finished a really good book when I picked this one out. I had high hopes for it considering my experience with the book I'd read just before it. I was very disappointed though.
When I read the first chapter, it seemed really slow. I assumed this was just because it was...more
When I read the first chapter, it seemed really slow. I assumed this was just because it was...more
Feb 09, 2013
Kate
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
People who love sad depressing stories
Recommended to Kate by:
School bleugh
Shelves:
it-s-alright
The car accident changed everything. Before, Anna knew who she was and what she looked like. But now she's a stranger to her family, her friends, and herself. She is no longer the pretty, popular girl who loves karate. Her body now betrays her, and she knows it will never be the same. All the layers that made up the old Anna -- her looks, her friends, her sport -- have been peeled away, leaving her to face the question of who she really is, and who she wants to be.
This book is alright. I wouldn'...more
This book is alright. I wouldn'...more
A young athlete in the prime of their life, cut down by a terrible accident - a plot similar to another great book I know!
The plot is a little bit cliched, but Ms Orr manages to throw in a couple of little twists - in the back of my mind, I knew there was going to be a happy ending - the fun was finding out exactly how.
The staccato writing style took a little bit of getting used to. I think it was because I have read so many flowing novels lately. Sometimes it was hard to delineate what was supp...more
The plot is a little bit cliched, but Ms Orr manages to throw in a couple of little twists - in the back of my mind, I knew there was going to be a happy ending - the fun was finding out exactly how.
The staccato writing style took a little bit of getting used to. I think it was because I have read so many flowing novels lately. Sometimes it was hard to delineate what was supp...more
May 05, 2012
Sally
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Shelves:
friendship,
ya,
australian,
hospital,
school,
disability,
coming-of-age-and-growing-up,
car-accident
I remember my English teacher raving about this book SO MUCH when it first came out, when I was in year 10, that I thought I'd actually read it at the time. But I saw it at the library the other week and it hit me that I actually couldn't remember it, so I decided to give it "another" read and you know what? I don't think I actually read it in year 10 after all!
The story is about Anna, who has been injured in a car accident, and follows her progress as she slowly recovers. It's not the happiest...more
The story is about Anna, who has been injured in a car accident, and follows her progress as she slowly recovers. It's not the happiest...more
I first read 'Peeling the Onion' in 1997 and then I studied it at secondary school in 1998.
Even now 15 years later It is still a go to book when I feel like reading but don't know what.
Wendy Orr is a beautiful writer. You can't help wondering if a terrible accident was to happen to one of your friends would you act more like Jenny and Caroline??? And who would you choose, Hayden or Luke?
Beautiful story of friendship, families, love, courage and defiance. A must read :)
Even now 15 years later It is still a go to book when I feel like reading but don't know what.
Wendy Orr is a beautiful writer. You can't help wondering if a terrible accident was to happen to one of your friends would you act more like Jenny and Caroline??? And who would you choose, Hayden or Luke?
Beautiful story of friendship, families, love, courage and defiance. A must read :)
This is a good one for teens, I think if you've ever known anyone who has gone through trauma at such a young age it may be helpful in understanding what they are going through.
My younger sister's best friend recently fell off of a waterfall and broke her back and sustained some similar injuries to those that Anna faced in this book, some of the passages hit home because of my own life. Otherwise it was fairly good read; I probably would have enjoyed it more if I were still a teen.
My younger sister's best friend recently fell off of a waterfall and broke her back and sustained some similar injuries to those that Anna faced in this book, some of the passages hit home because of my own life. Otherwise it was fairly good read; I probably would have enjoyed it more if I were still a teen.
Anna has just won her karate competition and her sort-of boyfriend just kissed her. Things are going great--and then she gets into a car accident that changes her life forever. She is badly injured and the doctors are predicting a grim future for Anna. Her friends are reacting strangely to her and Hayden hovers, but won't ever touch her. Anna has plans for her future and makes a timeline in her head for when she can return to normal--but the time comes and she still hasn't improved. Anna must ta...more
Peeling the Onion is a bittersweet novel of strength and determination. Anna was a karate champion, and had the guy. Suddenly it all changed in a fatal car accident where she breaks her neck, and suddenly she must decide weather or not to carry on to get stronger, or just give up. But she then begins to realise, however awful, this accident may just be the jolt she needed to find herself, the right guy, and who her real friends are.
I'm not too into fiction books, but this story is based on the author's real experience as a car accident victim. It chronicles an 17/18 year old's process through grief after a life altering, permanantly disabling accident. It takes place in Austrailia (I think?). The author changes subjects and thoughts abruptly, which I didn't like at first, but it did help to make the character have depth and reality.
Two words: In. Tense. Imagine Anna's rage. She's bright, athletic, newly in love...and lying in a hospital bed with a broken neck and a breaking spirit. In Peeling the Onion, by Wendy Orr, Anna Duncan must face the reality that a random, senseless automobile accident will change the way she lives, loves, and perceives her true self.
I had to read this for English, and it was...okay? I don't know how I really feel about it. It's a well-written book, don't get me wrong, but most of the characters weren't real enough for me--other than Hayden and Anna, I didn't feel for anyone else. Other than that, it was an okay book, and a nice little read.
This is a story of a 17 year old's journey to fiding her true self after she is involved in a very serious car accident. The book is wonderful in helping appreciate a healthy body and also would be an excellent tool in helping accident victims cope with their own loss. I highly recommend this book!
This girl...she's in a car accident...and she has to deal with it. I was forced to read this for school. It's got all the emotions and jazz- wasn't ready for that- turned me off reading for years!!! What a shame!! If only they had Harry Potter when I was a kid.
I read this 6 years ago? I don't remember much about the book except that the girl got into a car accident and that she broke her neck. The book was neither horrible or superb. I wish there was more romance, but there wasn't. Read this if you have nothing else to read.
Touching, engaging, tragic, hopeful. A few things I didn't like. (Found out my daughter was given this book to read by a teacher when she was 12 - that wouldn't be age appropriate. The girl is a senior in high school in the story and the book deals with a lot of serious issues of loss and recovery.)
The car accident changed Anna’s life forever, crippling her, giving her perpetual high-level pain, and ending her future as an athlete. Anna comes back, slowly, painfully, unexpectedly, and, in the process, creates a new, better life for herself.
Peeling the Onion is a powerful book that shows pain from the inside out, and hope and healing, too. It feels real and deep. It swept me up and took me along for the ride. I've read it a few times, and I know I'll be reading it again.
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This story centers around a young Austrailian woman who is injured in a car accident and makes a slow recovery with the help of her family and new friend. It was an OK read...another book I ordered for my freshmen; hope they like it! :)
It's is a book I have read before, but it is even more good this time. It is about how you can live with chronical pain and how you can be a teenager that dependts on others.
It is a very good book that I higley recamend.
It is a very good book that I higley recamend.
May 01, 2010
Alicia
added it
Anna's boyfriend is only with her out of guilt from an accident that he couldn't save her from. Finally she decides to move on, but not after you spend too much time trying to find out why you're reading it in the first place.
Sharp and fast paced. Anna, the main character is seriously injured in a car accident and has to put her life back together. She does so, in a way that isn't preachy, self-pitying or cloying at all.
Even though the depressive feelings that the narrator experiences are the result of an accident, I think most teens could relate even without having dealt with an accident or disfigurement.
I don't remember a lot of this book. I do know that it is one of the few books I remember from 5th grade, and that I loved it.
starts of slow, develops even slower and the ending is very unsatisfying. no climax, no twists, no triumph.
http://phoenixzine.org/2008/05/peelin... - My post on "Peeling the Onion" by Wendy Orr.
This book was horrible. SHE BROKE HER LEG GTFOVER IT AND MOVE ON. Goddamn this bitch was whiny.
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17 year old Anna has to pick up life again after she is badly injured in a car accident.
Anna 17 yr life changes as she recovers from a car accident. Great
My high school english teacher recommended this book to me after I wrote a short story in her class that was similar in nature to this book. I remember liking it then and re read it recently. It was a raw, painful story. But, it was good, even the second time around.
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Jun 01, 2010 04:59pm