Fifteen-year-old Polarity Weeks just wants to live a normal life, but with a mother diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, that’s rarely easy. Her life gets exponentially more disastrous when her sixth-period history classmates start ogling a nude picture of her on the Internet. Polarity would never have struck such a shameless pose, but the photo is definitely of her, and she’s at a complete loss to explain its existence.
Child Protective Services yanks her from her home, suspecting her parents. The kids at school mock her, assuming she took it herself. And Ethan, the boy she was really starting to like, backpedals and joins the taunting chorus. Surrounded by disbelief and derision on all sides, Polarity desperately seeks the truth among her friends. Only then does she learn that everyone has dark secrets, and no one’s life is anywhere near normal.
Brenda Vicars has worked in Texas public education for many years. Her jobs have included teaching, serving as a principal, and directing student support programs. For three years, she also taught college English to prison inmates.
She entered education because she felt called to teach, but her students taught her the biggest lesson: the playing field is not even for all kids. Through her work, she became increasingly compelled to bring their unheard voices to the page. The heartbeat of her fiction emanates from the courage and resiliency of her students.
Brenda’s hobbies include reading, making things out of re-purposed wood, pulling weeds in the garden, and going to Zumba classes.
Author page on RAP: http://redadeptpublishing.com/#!/Vicars-Brenda/c/12029047/offset=0&sort=normal
TBird’s Review:
Copy of book gifted to me in exchange for an honest review.
The first words that I came up with while trying to describe this book was,
unique, empowering, meaningful and powerful. The author does a great job
in the synopsis to prepare you for what you will read on the surface, what
you can’t be prepared for is the power in the words that the author uses to
make the reader stop and think about reality and society in fresh new
terms. She uses a 15 year old girl who never had the chance to be a drama
queen; she was too busy taking care of her mom, changing schools and
dealing with bullies and now the horror of the system and foster care.
I have struggled to write this review for days, I knew I was missing
something important but I couldn’t figure it out, then it dawned on me this
morning…..Polarity, not the girl but the word itself. Polarity means “the
state of having two opposite or contradictory tendencies, opinions, or
aspects” and I believe that is the main message in this story. The author
shows society will judge and base opinions on what they understand through
their own moral structure and experience without asking for motives behind
actions but in this book society is going to have to take a step back, ask
questions for understanding and put themselves in the shoes of those who
are being judged and convicted.
I am sure some won’t like Polarity’s mother, but I found her to be the best
teacher in what her daughter should strive to be and what she should work
hard to never become. I don’t this teenager would have had the courage to
do what she did had she not grown up watching her mother tackled issues
head on. For her father, he was always walking a fine line between doing
what is best for his wife and his daughter. This family of three was full
of love and respect, yet because they held secrets out of fear of what
society would think of them, found that once the truth was told, society
judged them and placed unwarranted guilt on their shoulders, tearing this
family apart.
Polarity was going to have to learn early in life what the difference
between being a victim and a victor really means. Faced with what I am
sure would destroy my teenage daughter, she was like a phoenix and rose to
the occasion to defend her family and one true friend. There are so many
twists that will point the reader to what they will believe are the truths,
only to be turned onto a new path of discovery. The author deals with
racism, bullying, mental illness, courage and double standards. I say
double standards because you will see people who will rush to conclusion
based on faulty facts, yet when the tables are turned they are confused why
others are judging them before their voice is even heard.
I would recommend this book for everyone but especially teenagers, those
who work with teenagers. There is a strong message in this book that would
serve us all well to listen and learn from. I am so thankful I took time
to really think about this book before I wrote the review, the author gave
us a brilliant message I hope we all learn from.
I can’t thank you enough for your heartfelt review. I share your struggle as I reach for the right words. Thank you.
This sounds like quite an emotional read.
Sounds like an interesting novel. Thank you for hosting it.