Both Sides Now - Hardcover

Pennebaker, Ruth

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0805061053 ISBN 13: 9780805061055

Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR), 2000

Synopsis

Witnessing her mother's battle with breast cancer, a teenage daughter finds her own strength.

Liza's mother has just completed an exhausting, but promising, treatment for breast cancer and her future looks bright. Liza takes the same approach to her junior year of high school--work hard, think positively, and keep everything under control. When tests reveal that a riskier, more painful treatment is needed, it seems Liza's mother has given up. But she hasn't. Her mother's courage shows Liza that life isn't about control, it's about living.

Drawing on the author's own experiences with breast cancer, this unforgettable novel reveals that positive thinking is not always the answer to tragedy, but that facing pain can bring great strength.

About this title

About the Author

Ruth Pennebaker is quickly becoming a young adult favorite for her first two novels, Don't Think Twice and Conditions of Love. Don't Think Twice was named both an ALA Best Book for Young Adults and a "Quick Pick" for Reluctant Young Adult Readers. A regular contributor to the Dallas Morning News, Ruth Pennebaker now lives with her husband and two teenaged children in Austin, Texas.

Reviews

Grade 8 Up-Liza, 15, handles life with a confidence unusual for one her age and believes that she can deal with any hurdle placed in her path. Even her mother's bout with breast cancer seems just an obstacle that can be overcome with determination and a positive attitude. However, when the cancer reoccurs, her world begins to fall apart. Her mother's decision to forego a devastating treatment that might save her life leaves her husband and children frightened and angry, and the teen no longer feels in control of the situation and her emotions. She finds herself alienated from her friends while at the same time reaching out to her new boyfriend, but nothing alleviates her pain and sense of betrayal. Liza is an especially appealing character; her first-person narrative sounds at times like a diary or stream of consciousness. Her emotional journey from control to weakness and vulnerability to resolution enables her to recognize both her mother's strength and her own dependence on others. Her mother's inner thoughts, printed in italics, are interspersed within the narrative, giving truth to the title of Both Sides Now. Despite the starkness of the subject, this novel is ultimately hopeful and realistic.
Janet Hilbun, formerly at Sam Houston Middle School, Garland, TX
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Pennebaker's (Don't Think Twice) bittersweet novel about a 15-year-old's attempt to cope with her mother's breast cancer combines convincing characters and near-perfect pacing. When her mother's follow-up exam reveals that her cancer has returned, Liza follows the example of her positive-thinking father who tells Liza and her younger sister, Jane, that everything will be fine and that they must all be strong. Readers will quickly see what Liza, the narrator, cannotAthat she uses what she calls her optimism to hide her fears and feelings, even from herself. But Liza's behavior shows the effects of the strain. She flunks driver's training and, worse, neglects to edit a controversial article for the school paper (which results in the resignation of her favorite teacher). Pennebaker skillfully builds the tensions in her plot, so that readers can practically pinpoint the moment that Liza will have her meltdown. From this moment of crisis Liza begins to learn to express her emotions. She begins to appreciate her mother's quiet strength, realizing that her mother is not, after all, weak or overly sensitive or high-strung. Liza's mother periodically weighs in with short narratives, chronicling her own search for a voice and her gradual acceptance of her disease. Through these passages, readers hear another perspective on the characters and realize how truly complex they are. Moving and realistic, this taut novel trades a happy ending for one both honest and empowering. Ages 12-up. (June)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
• Publication date: 2000
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0805061053
• ISBN 13: 9780805061055
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 208