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Walking on Glass

by Alma Fullerton

Walking on Glass Cover

ISBN13: 9780060778514
ISBN10: 0060778512
Condition: Standard
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Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

Your mother's suicide attempt has left her in a coma from which she's never waking up. You know that she wouldn't want to live like this, but could you really help her die? Here you are, making the hardest decision of your life and there's no one to help you: Your father has disappeared into depression. Your best friend is becoming someone you no longer want to know. There is a girl who could help, maybe, if you'd let her. But in the end, it's all up to you.

A free-verse novel from debut author Alma Fullerton plunges deep inside the psyche of a young man faced with a life-and-death decision.

Review:

"A teen's free-verse journal reveals his raw emotions and pain, leading up to the decision to pull his mother's life support machines. 'Wires force life into a body/ left hanging/ like a marionette,' he writes. Through the entries, the unnamed narrator reveals that he was not always the most likable kid (e.g., with his friend Jack, whom his mother did not like, he beats up a peer and steals his shoes), and he must live with the fact that if 'I would have come home/ five minutes earlier,' he might have prevented his mother's suicide attempt. The author credibly traces the gradual changes in the teen. During the six months his mother has been on life support, his feelings of guilt torment him. 'I should have told her/ I loved her./ Maybe then/ she wouldn't be/ in the hospital/ today.' When the doctor explains that there is no hope, 'They ask if [my father] would/ consent/ to have the machines/ shut down/ and donate/ Mom's organs.' But the man says, 'I can't let go yet.' The narrator struggles with guilt ('The thought of my own mother/ dying/ shouldn't leave the taste of/ freedom/ in my mouth'), yet he's also ready to move forward. Never preachy, Fullerton's well-written first novel may well spark discussion about the ethics of withdrawing life support, and the meaning of the word 'life.' Ages 14-up." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

Synopsis:

In the tradition of Karen Hesse's "Out of the Dust," Fullerton's free-verse novel gives voice to an important, if controversial, issue in this story about a young man who wrestles with a horrifying decision: whether or not to turn off the machines that are keeping his mother alive.
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About the Author

Alma Fullerton was born in Ottawa and grew up in a large military family. She's lived all over Canada and in Europe and now resides in Ontario with her husband and two daughters.
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What Our Readers Are Saying

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Average customer rating based on 1 comment:
Bridget Colontonio, September 9, 2007 (view all comments by Bridget Colontonio)
Author Alma Fullerton has created a heart-wrenching story that will probably only take you fifteen minutes to read, however, the emotional weight attached to it will stay with you long after finishing it. Meet a young man faced with an ordeal most of us could not bear. Although his mother attempts the unthinkable, he's faced with something far worse than her death. He's understandably angry with her and blames himself, however, he also realizes that she has taught him a great deal about life. The enormous guilt this young man carries is heartbreaking and understandable. Throughout the story, he begins to realize that his mother's actions had nothing to do with him and that she loved him so very much. Anyone reading this story can feel how desperate this young man was to set his mother free. After realizing that this is not what his mother intended for him or his father, he then gathers the courage to finally set his mother free. His final act of love for his mother who had suffered in silence for so long before trying to take her own life. You'll never forget this story.
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Product Details

ISBN:
9780060778514
Author:
Fullerton, Alma
Publisher:
HarperTeen
Author:
by Alma Fullerton
Subject:
Mothers and sons
Subject:
Family - Parents
Subject:
Conduct of life
Subject:
Social Issues - Death & Dying
Subject:
Social Issues - Suicide
Subject:
Situations / Death & Dying
Edition Description:
Hardcover
Publication Date:
20070109
Binding:
Hardback
Grade Level:
from 9
Language:
English
Pages:
144
Dimensions:
7.125 x 5 x 0.65 in 8 oz
Age Level:
14-17
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Walking on Glass Used Hardcover
0 stars - 0 reviews
$9.95 In Stock
Product details 144 pages HarperCollins Publishers - English 9780060778514 Reviews:
"Publishers Weekly Review" by , "A teen's free-verse journal reveals his raw emotions and pain, leading up to the decision to pull his mother's life support machines. 'Wires force life into a body/ left hanging/ like a marionette,' he writes. Through the entries, the unnamed narrator reveals that he was not always the most likable kid (e.g., with his friend Jack, whom his mother did not like, he beats up a peer and steals his shoes), and he must live with the fact that if 'I would have come home/ five minutes earlier,' he might have prevented his mother's suicide attempt. The author credibly traces the gradual changes in the teen. During the six months his mother has been on life support, his feelings of guilt torment him. 'I should have told her/ I loved her./ Maybe then/ she wouldn't be/ in the hospital/ today.' When the doctor explains that there is no hope, 'They ask if [my father] would/ consent/ to have the machines/ shut down/ and donate/ Mom's organs.' But the man says, 'I can't let go yet.' The narrator struggles with guilt ('The thought of my own mother/ dying/ shouldn't leave the taste of/ freedom/ in my mouth'), yet he's also ready to move forward. Never preachy, Fullerton's well-written first novel may well spark discussion about the ethics of withdrawing life support, and the meaning of the word 'life.' Ages 14-up." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)
"Synopsis" by , In the tradition of Karen Hesse's "Out of the Dust," Fullerton's free-verse novel gives voice to an important, if controversial, issue in this story about a young man who wrestles with a horrifying decision: whether or not to turn off the machines that are keeping his mother alive.
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