Impulse by Ellen Hopkins

Three teens who have hit rock bottom meet in a psychiatric hospital for their suicidal or self-destructive behavior. Speaking in the first person, all of them reveal the events and family situations that put them in this place. The voices are haunting, funny, sarcastic, and real.

Tony, Connor, and Vanessa connect with each other at a time when their lives seem devoid of hope -- will that connection help them heal, or just drag them down?

Students always responded to these books, but I, frankly, avoided them, believing that they were too raw or that they exploited serious issues for sheer dramatic impact. After reading the mesmerizing Identical, I saw the light.

Bibliotherapeutic value: A book that describes extreme psychic pain, the book provides the assurance that connecting with others over painful experiences can help the healing process.

Hopkins, Ellen. Impulse. New York: Simon & Schuster, Inc./Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2008.

ISBN:1416903577.  $9.99.

Cut by Patricia McCormick

Because she cuts herself, Callie finds herself at "Sick Minds" (aka Sea Pines), a rehabilitation facility. She's surrounded by young girls who engage in risky behaviors -- from drug use to anorexia -- but no one even knows why Callie's there. Wandering from activity to activity like a sleepwalker, Callie refuses to speak at all -- thus earning her the nickname "S.T." for Silent Treatment. Will Callie ever connect with the other girls and her psychologist to express why she landed there in the first place?

A delicate, careful novel about the forces that motivate kids to hurt themselves. McCormick, who studied kids who cut for three years for this book, delivers a thoroughly believable world. The main draw is the desire to know the mystery behind Callie's hard-to-comprehend behavior and the charming yet flawed girls around her. A very real-feeling book with a lot of heart and hope.

This tiny book always seemed pretty off-putting to me, from the topic to the raw cover design, but teens in my library kept begging for it. Now know why.

Bibliotherapeutic value: Valuable for both kids who engage in risky behaviors and the ones who don't understand them, this is a book that sheds light on a very difficult topic with care and grace. Encourages talking and connecting with others for healing.

McCormick, Patricia. Cut.  Pennsylvania: Front Street, 2000.

ISBN: 1-886910-61-8. $16.95.