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    Bruised
    Bruised
    Bruised
    Ebook247 pages2 hours

    Bruised

    By Sarah Skilton

    3.5/5

    ()

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    About this ebook

      When Imogen, a sixteen-year-old black belt in Tae Kwon Do, freezes during a holdup at a local diner, the gunman is shot and killed by the police, and she blames herself for his death. Before the shooting, she believed that her black belt made her stronger than everyone elsemore responsible, more capable. But now that her sense of self has been challenged, she must rebuild her life, a process that includes redefining her relationship with her family and navigating first love with the boy who was at the diner with her during the shoot-out. With action, romance, and a complex heroine, Bruised introduces a vibrant new voice to the young adult worldfull of dark humor and hard truths.

    Praise for Bruised
    STARRED REVIEW
    "Offering psychological drama and an introduction to martial-arts code of behavior, the book has a meaningful message about power, control, and the internal bruises carried by victims."
    Publishers Weekly, starred review

    "Her story is compelling, and readers will stick with her as new insights bring about a believable shift in her behavior This distinctive debut will be appreciated by fans of contemporary fiction."
    Kirkus Reviews

    "This layered first novel explores the aftereffects of the trauma, convincingly depicting why Imogen blames herself for a situation over which she had no control. Skilton also sensitively depicts the bond and tentative romance that develops between Imogen and Ricky. The main story line about Imogen’s struggle to come to terms with what she did (and did not do) is nuanced and honest."
    Horn Book

    "This is a useful exploration of the difference between fantasy-style omnipotence and the complexity of real-life human strength."
    Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

    "Skilton does a fine job capturing how a psychological process after trauma can take time and might manifest in unique, sometimes unexpected, ways."
    VOYA Magazine

    "Poignant and emotionally raw at times and humorous at others, this debut novel adeptly portrays a shattered life in the wake of an unexpected act of violence and the road back to normalcy."
    School Library Journal

    "Here is a writer to watch who handles complex issues with sensitivity in the vein of Deb Caletti and Sarah Dessen."
    Booklist

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherABRAMS
    Release dateMar 5, 2013
    ISBN9781613124574
    Bruised
    Author

    Sarah Skilton

    Sarah Skilton is the author of two critically acclaimed young adult novels, Bruised and High & Dry, and was a 2019 Edgar awards judge. For adults, she's written romantic comedies as well as a murder mystery, Club Deception, set in a fictional underground magic club. Writing with Sarvenaz Tash, she is the co-author of Ghosting: A Love Story, which is available in six different languages and which Kirkus called, "An energetic romance that would make Nora Ephron proud." Sarah lives in Los Angeles and can be found on Instagram @skiltongram or at SarahSkilton.com.  

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      My year off was also interesting, in that I didn’t feel any less loved, or cherished, or wanted. Why? Because my life is already rich with soulmates, and I got the chance to behold that. You don’t have to shag someone for them to be a soulmate. We do

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    Reviews for Bruised

    3.5/5

    21 ratings5 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Due to copy and paste, formatting has been lost.For me, Bruised was an interesting change from my normal reads. The only reason that I read it was because I got it from the SARC. I would have missed out on a fantastic book, to tell you the truth. It was nothing like what I expected. The synopsis made it sound fairly boring, but there was not one dull moment!The very first scene was the scene. And I don't say that lightly. I loved the mystery behind the shooting-- Imogen is blocking it from her mind, and I really wanted to know what happened. It all unfolds beautifully towards the end, I must say.Actually, a lot of things unfolded beautifully towards the end.But let's talk about the beginning. The beginning was intense, y'all. We witness a shooting, then we witness life after a shooting for a black belt. The guilt that Imogen felt was so real and sad that I could imagine why she felt that way.I loved Imogen, I really did! When we first met her, I feel like her spirit was crushed. But over the course of the story, she starts to really gain it back-- I love that kind of development. It felt so real and natural, but I wish that she hadn't been so hard on herself. I also wish that she hadn't been so hard on Ricky.For the most part, I really enjoyed Ricky! Sometimes he said or did something that was a little off-color, but he made a great friend, and he was just so sweet and nice. I don't think that I could stress enough about his perfect mix of bad-boy and sweet-heart. He was such a gentleman!All in all, Bruised was a fantastic read about putting yourself back together after tragedy.
    • 4/5
      I have never taken any kind of martial arts class in my life. I do not know the difference between Tae Kwon Do or Karate. I thought a white belt was the beginning point and the black belt was the top of the pyramid, but I was wrong on both accounts. When I saw Bruised I thought, "Wow, that looks interesting, but would I even get it?" It turns out my worries were unfounded, because you don't have to know anything about martial arts to really enjoy this fantastic debut. Imogen is a girl who finds out that something she's worked incredibly hard at in hypothetical situations may not transfer over to real life, when situations appear without the clear rules and regulations she's become accustom to. That is not a feeling exclusive to martial arts, on the contrary, it is universally applicable to any path one chooses to peruse. A doctor first spends years with medical books and class after class filling himself with knowledge, but no matter how much he prepares in theory, he will not know how exactly things are going to work out in real life. A author spends years reading and writing stories no one will ever read, but that preparation doesn't quite prepare him for rejections and criticism before and after that book is published. But does this reality check mean that the diligence isn't worth it? That is a dilemma that everyone faces and has to work out for themselves - Imogen included. What I'm getting at here, is don't pass over this book because you labeled it with "Martial Arts", because it is much more than that. Imogen was innocently caught in an incredibly difficult situation, one that ended with death. For weeks after the incident, Imogen is having trouble returning back to her normal self. She has a black belt in Tae Kwon Do and she did nothing to stop that death from occurring. Her previous life now seems pointless, as all her years of preparation added up to nothing. So where does she go from here? Skilton's writing style is wonderful. She has a way of describing things in such an honest way, but at the same time, in a way that is new. For instance, one of my favorite quotes was this, "They're both bright and upbeat, a matched set of silverware in a catalog, and I'm the replacement knife thrown in at dinner because the other ones were in the dishwasher." This quote might just speak to me because I am obsessed with kitchenware, but I love how it at first seems odd and abstract, but it is really quite simple and relatable. The subject matter is not pretty, she deals with death, post traumatic stress, a paraplegic parent, rocky romances, tumultuous friendships and other emotionally wracking situations. Yet the words are enjoyable and incredibly relatable, even if you have never found yourself physically in any of the situations being described. Overall, I would recommend this one. Bruised is brutally honest, sarcastic, and pumped full of emotion. Sarah Skilton is definitely a debut author to watch.
    • 4/5
      Imogen's life is reeling after she has witness a robbery and shooting up close. She is having a hard time coping and her life goes into free-fall. She questions her years in martial arts as she blames herself for her failure to act in a life-threatening situation. A complex book with multiple story lines including friendship issues, family issues, and a buddy romance. Imogen needs help and she is stuck. It takes a while for the book to reveal the full extent of the events. We had a good discussion in book club about this one.
    • 3/5
      This novel is definitely more appropriate for high school. This realistic fiction novel follows a girl’s journey to herself as her identity is torn away when a gunman is killed in front of her and she does nothing.Imogen is in a diner when a gunman walks in. She hides beneath the table and sees a boy hiding as well. They lock eyes as they hope to not be discovered. The girl with her, Gretchen, is in the bathroom and calls 911. Imogen has been trained in martial arts and has a black belt. She didn’t try to save the gunman but instead hides. When the gunman is killed by the police, Imogen can’t remember what happened and feels that she could have saved him by using her training.Throughout the novel, Imogen tries to self-destruct. She already broke ties with her best friend because Imogen feels that Shelley chose her brother over her. She’s also mad at her brother. He tries to save Imogen despite her behavior towards him. When she sneaks out of the house, he follows. She also meets Ricky, the boy who was in the diner with her. He isn’t doing well either, so they form a bond. They attend counseling at school together and she agrees to teach him to fight.In her desire to beat herself up, Imogen asks Ricky to really fight her. He refuses. They date but breakup when he refuses to fight. Shelley is accepted to a ballet school in New York; Imogen’s dad is a diabetic and must be in a wheelchair and refuses to work out or eat correctly; her mother never hugs her; and, Hunter finally gives up trying to save her and leaves to stay at a friend’s house, telling his parents to help her. Imogen feels alone.This realistic fiction novel did not captivate me and I didn’t like Shelley, Imogen’s best friend. Imogen eventually remembers what really happens and can move on in her relationships with Shelley, Hunter, her father, and Ricky. This novel did not stand out to me and I couldn’t relate to any character. Those of you who like edgy realistic novels might like this.
    • 4/5
      Imogene was there the night the gunman was killed at the diner. All she can remember is blood and a boy under another table, across from her. Imogene, who has a black belt, didn’t lose her life that night, but she lost her confidence, her heart, and her purpose.

      Imogene’s character grows in amazing ways, the realizations she finally makes are hard won, and worthwhile. There is a romance of sorts in this novel but its secondary, in a manner of speaking, to dealing with the PTSD that is happening to her after the diner event. I did wish I knew what Ricky’s therapy was, how he needed to deal with his own issues from the shooting. He does to talk to Imogene at the end, but I wanted more. (He is the boy under the other table, who becomes the romantic interest.)

      I really liked this book, but I don’t like the cover, and the paper-back cover is similar to the hard-back. The broken trophy makes sense; I’m just afraid that many of my students will bypass it because of the cover. There aren’t as many karate students here as there used to be, but I’m pretty sure if I can “sell” this to the right people, it will take off.

    Book preview

    Bruised - Sarah Skilton

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