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The Impossible Knife of Memory
Author:
Anderson, Laurie Halse
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Class:
Fiction
Age: 12-19
Language: English
Demand: Moderate
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LC: PZ7.A543
Grade: 7-12
Print Run: 250000
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ISBN-13: 9780670012091
LCCN: 2013031267
Imprint: Viking
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Pub Date: 01/07/2014
Availability: Out of Stock Indefinitely
List: $18.99
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Hardcover
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Physical Description:
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391 pages ; 22 cm
H 8.56",
W 5.81",
D 1.25",
1.1125 lbs.
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LC Series:
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Brodart Sources:
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Brodart's For Youth Interest: Popular
Brodart's Insight Catalog: Teen
Brodart's TOP Young Adult Titles
Brodart's YA Reads for Adults
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Bibliographies:
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Booklist High-Demand Hot List
Florida Teens Read Award Book lists
Nevada Young Readers' Award Nominees
New York Times Bestsellers List
New York Times Bestsellers: Children's Middle Grade and Young Adult Books
Publishers Weekly Bestsellers
Senior High Core Collection, 19th ed.
Senior High Core Collection, 20th ed.
Senior High Core Collection, 21st ed.
Senior High Core Collection, 22nd ed.
Texas Tayshas Reading List
Young Adult Fiction Core Collection, 4th ed.
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Awards:
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BCCB Starred Reviews
Best Fiction for Young Adults
Booklist Editors Choice
Booklist Starred Reviews
Horn Book Guide Titles, Rated 1 - 4
New York Times Notable Books
Publishers Weekly Annual Best Books Selections
Publishers Weekly Starred Reviews
School Library Journal Best Books
School Library Journal Starred Reviews
VOYA's 5Q Picks
Young Adults' Choices Reading List
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Starred Reviews:
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Booklist
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
Publishers Weekly
School Library Journal
~VOYA (Voice of Youth Advocates Magazine - Retired Journal)
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TIPS Subjects:
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Social Issues
Family Life
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BISAC Subjects: |
YOUNG ADULT FICTION / Social Themes / Depression
YOUNG ADULT FICTION / Historical / Military & Wars
YOUNG ADULT FICTION / Romance / Contemporary
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LC Subjects:
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Dysfunctional families, Juvenile fiction
Family problems, Fiction
Fathers and daughters, Fiction
Fathers and daughters, Juvenile fiction
Post-traumatic stress disorder, Fiction
Veterans, Fiction
Veterans, Juvenile Fiction
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SEARS Subjects: |
Family problems, Fiction
Father-daughter relationship, Fiction
Post-traumatic stress disorder, Fiction
Veterans, Fiction
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Reading Programs: |
Accelerated Reader Level:
4.7
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Points: 12.0
Lexile Level:
720
Reading Counts Level:
5.4
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Points: 20.0
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| Annotations |
| Brodart's TOP Young Adult Titles | 01/01/2014 |
| Hayley Kincaid prays that her and her father's recent move back to his hometown will help him heal from the toll that Iraq took on him. Hopeful to start fresh when she meets a hottie named Finn, Hayley starts to fall for Finn even as he guards a secret. Hayley only hopes her father can find the same kind of happiness and overcome his tortured memories. 400pp. |
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| Starred Reviews: |
| Booklist | 11/15/2013 |
| Grades 9-12. There's a compelling theme running through Anderson's powerful, timely novel, and it's this: The difference between forgetting something and not remembering is big enough to drive an eighteen-wheeler through. Hayley Kincaid won't allow herself to remember the happy times in her life, and why should she? After five years on the road with her trucker father, Andy, the two are finally staying put in her grandmother's old house in upstate New York. But military tours in both Iraq and Afghanistan have left Andy racked by nightmares of gunfire and roadside bombs, and alcohol and drugs are his means of coping. Short, gripping chapters presented in italics appear on occasion and are told from Andy's point-of-view as the war rages around him. As her father's PTSD grows worse, and the past is ever present, 17-year-old Hayley assumes the role of parent. But there's a good part of her life, too: Finn. He's got dreams for his future, and, as Hayley lets him in to her own scary reality, she tentatively begins to imagine a future of her own. Unfortunately--or fortunately--memories have a way of catching up, and as each hits, it cuts away at Hayley's protective bubble like a knife. This is challenging material, but in Anderson's skilled hands, readers will find a light shining on the shadowy reality of living with someone who has lived through war--and who is still at war with himself. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: A major marketing campaign, including a national author tour, backs up this latest from multiple-award-winning Anderson. Kelley, Ann. 304p. AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION, c2013. |
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| Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books | 01/01/2014 |
| R. Gr. 9-12. Spending senior year in an actual high school instead of on the road in her dad's rig wasn't Hayley's idea; she's not thrilled about trying to fit in at school, and she's deeply worried about leaving her alcoholic, PTSD-ridden father alone while she's out. School turns out to have its compensations: some good friends, some teacherly recognition of her writing talent despite her undisciplined approach, and appealing, geeky Finn, who's trying to convince Hayley to write for his projected newspaper-and to go out with him as well. Guarded Hayley gradually falls for Finn, even letting him know the truth about her family, but her anxiety about her father's downward spiral begins to take over her life. Anderson depicts with lacerating clarity Hayley's secondhand PTSD, with threat assessment a part of her daily life; Hayley's lucid yet emotional narration ensures the experience is immersive rather than didactic (the book never actually diagnoses her), so readers will begin to share her defensive reactions and self-protective thinking. Her father is both infuriating and fearfully broken, making Hayley's blend of frustration and hypervigilance absolutely plausible, while interspersed flashbacks to her father's wartime experience add a further dimension. Anderson never limits her characters to being merely a type, and the growth of Hayley's romance with Finn takes its own interesting path; the subplot about her stormy relationship with her father's ex-girlfriend, essentially a stepmother to Hayley, demonstrates the fragility at the heart of her defenses. The book offers an eloquent portrait of the effects of both war and family legacies, and many readers will find reflections of their own struggle to keep family connections while obtaining their independence. DS. 304p. THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE UNIV. OF ILLINOIS, c2014. |
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| Publishers Weekly | 10/21/2013 |
| Ages 12-up. As in Speak, Anderson provides a riveting study of a psychologically scarred teenager, peeling back layers of internal defenses to reveal a girl's deepest wounds. Her heroine, 17-year-old Hayley, is no stranger to loss. Her mother died when she was small, and she was later abandoned by her father's alcoholic girlfriend. Now the only family Hayley has left is her father, a veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan, whose horrific flashbacks have brought chaos into their lives. After traveling the country in a "dented eighteen-wheeler," the two of them have settled down in her father's hometown. Hayley feels like an outsider at a high school populated by "zombies," and, at home, it's becoming increasingly difficult to pretend that her father is getting better. Then Hayley is drawn to Finn, a boy who seemingly likes her for who she is. Hayley's anxiety about her father's unpredictable behavior reverberates throughout the novel, overshadowing and distorting her memories of better times. It's a tough, absorbing story of the effects of combat on soldiers and the people who love them. Agent: Amy Berkower, Writers House. (Jan.). 384p. PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, c2013. |
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| School Library Journal | 01/01/2014 |
| Gr 9 Up. Hayley is the daughter of a veteran, and his PTSD colors every aspect of their lives. After serving his country, Andy is trying to rebuild some stability for himself and his daughter, but each day is a challenge for them both. Hayley lives with the constant threat of her father harming himself or others while also dealing with feelings of abandonment after essentially losing her parental figures. She copes through snark and skepticism but begins to let her guard down when her charming, easygoing classmate, Finn, gives her a much-needed taste of normal teenage life. A relationship with Finn opens the door to the possibility of trusting again, but it's not easy. Through Hayley's tenuous search for balance, Anderson explores the complicated nature of perception and memory, and how individuals manage to carry on after experiencing the worst. Readers will be thoroughly invested in this book's nuanced cast of characters and their struggles. Hayley's relatable first-person narration is interspersed with flashbacks of Andy's brutal war experiences, providing a visceral look at his inner demons. The endearing Finn and Hayley's bubbly best friend, Gracie, add levity to the narrative, even as they, too, grapple with their own problems. With powerful themes of loyalty and forgiveness, this tightly woven story is a forthright examination of the realities of war and its aftermath on soldiers and their families. One of Anderson's strongest and most relevant works to date. Allison Tran, Mission Viejo Library, CA. 384p. SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL, c2014. |
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| ~VOYA (Voice of Youth Advocates Magazine - Retired Journal) | 02/01/2014 |
| 5Q 4P S. Hayley Kincaid and her father have been traveling as he looks for a place he can settle after returning from Iraq. As they try to settle down in his hometown, Hayley attempts to balance a normal teenage life including school, friends, and a new boyfriend with constantly worrying about worst-case scenarios she and her dad could face. She is always worried about her father doing drugs and keeping company with drug dealers, but she is more worried about what her father will do to himself when left on his own to deal with his depression. As Hayley comes to terms with her own losses, including her mother and grandmother, she struggles to help her dad face his demons so they can move on together. An incredibly relevant story for today's teens, Anderson's novel supplies another poignant and compelling realistic fiction selection for young adults. The conflicts Hayley has with her dad are not played up for dramatic effect, and Hayley's own issues are not overly dramatized. Anderson has brilliantly made all of the characters realistically flawed, suffering through their own dysfunctional families and providing imperfect foils for Hayley and perspective for the issues being presented. This is a must-have for any library serving teens. It is Anderson at her absolute best, providing significant and touching realistic fiction.--Blake Norby. 400p. VOICE OF YOUTH ADVOCATES, c2014. |
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| Journal Reviews |
| BookPage | 01/01/2014 |
| Ages 12-up. After four tours in Iraq and Afghanistan and an injury that ended his military career, veteran Andy Kincaid "could turn into a werewolf even when the moon wasn't full," according to his daughter Hayley, a high school senior. Hayley and Andy have just returned to Andy's hometown after several years on the road, with Andy driving trucks in an attempt to chase away his demons and Hayley home-schooling herself from the front seat. Now Hayley is attending high school for the first time, theoretically to prepare for college. But she's not entirely sold on the idea of classrooms and homework, let alone college applications. What's the point, she wonders, of trying to build a future when she's constantly rescuing her father from drowning in his past? Between checking to see if Andy has gone to work that day (or even if he's gotten out of bed to take a shower) and attempting to manage her own sense of constant panic, Hayley appreciates being aloof. But she can't help becoming friends with her neighbor Gracie, and then becoming more than friends with attractive but enigmatic Finn. And just as Hayley and Finn are sorting out their feelings for each other, Andy's former girlfriend Trish--whom Hayley hates for a reason that no one else knows--comes back to town. Margaret A. Edwards Award-winning author Laurie Halse Anderson doesn't shy away from difficult subject matter, as with rape in Speak and anorexia in Wintergirls. In The Impossible Knife of Memory, she applies her considerable talent for writing intense, authentic narratives to the timely and moving topic of a teen coping with a parent's post-traumatic stress disorder. And like Speak, The Impossible Knife of Memory interlaces its serious content with threads of dark humor. (For example, Hayley's high school is, according to her, populated exclusively by zombies and freaks, interacting with each other according to a well-defined and completely absurd social order.) Longtime Anderson fans won't be disappointed, and readers newly discovering her work will understand why she's earned a reputation as one of the most honest authors writing for teens today. Jill Ratzan. 400pg. BOOKPAGE, c2014. |
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| Horn Book | 03/01/2014 |
| High School. Hayley Kincain has spent the last five years riding shotgun in her father's rig, discussing fractions and evolution -- an on-the-road version of home schooling. Constant movement has helped keep the past at bay for both Hayley and her dad, a recent veteran plagued by graphic flashbacks and screaming nightmares. When they settle down so Hayley can attend her hometown high school for senior year, the dangerous memories threaten to overtake them both. Hayley's caustic observations about the "fully assimilated zombies" who swarm the halls and the oxymoronic "required volunteer community service" are trademark Anderson. Old friend Gracie shares childhood memories with Hayley, but her stories draw blanks. What Hayley does remember, and can't forgive, is her father's girlfriend Trish walking out on them. Now Trish has reappeared, and Hayley blames her for making Dad's drunken rages and blackouts even worse. How can she possibly care about math? Sweet, "adorkable" Finn offers to tutor her; he is smart enough to take it slow, and as she falls for him he even coaxes her to dare to think about a future. As ever, Anderson has the inside track on the emotional lives of adolescents; she plays high school cliches for laughs but compassionately depicts Hayley's suffering as well as the hurts of Finn and Gracie, whose families are struggling with their own demons. The novel's theme is woven artfully throughout as both Hayley and her dad fight the flashes of memory that are sure to tear them apart unless they confront them once and for all. lauren adams. 371pg. THE HORN BOOK, c2014. |
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| Horn Book Guide | 11/01/2014 |
| 2. Hayley Kincain has spent the last five years riding shotgun in her father's rig. Constant movement has helped keep the past at bay for both Hayley and her veteran dad. When they settle down so Hayley can attend high school for senior year, their memories threaten to overtake them both. As ever, Anderson has the inside track on the emotional lives of adolescents. la. 371pg. THE HORN BOOK, c2014. |
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| Kirkus Reviews | 11/01/2013 |
| A family struggles to hold itself together in the wake of war. Hayley Kincain and her father, Andy, a decorated veteran, have returned to their small upstate New York hometown after years of unschooling and long-haul trucking. Ostensibly, they're back so Hayley can have a typical senior year of high school, but it's clear that Andy's untreated PTSD has made it impossible for him to make a living as a trucker. Both Kincains are bright, sarcastic loners plagued by agonizing memories that won't quite stay repressed, despite their best efforts, and that punctuate the narrative in counterpoint: Andy's experiences during his four tours in Iraq and Afghanistan appear fully formed, while Hayley's childhood recollections are more fragmented and less reliable than they at first seem. As Andy's mental and physical health deteriorate, Hayley is forced deeper into the role of caretaker. It's a part she's been playing so well for so long she doesn't even realize how much she resents the unfairness of it all until her sweet, bantering boyfriend, Finn, points it out. Anderson sensitively addresses the many problems--physical recovery, grief and survivor's guilt, chemical dependency, panic attacks and suicidal tendencies--that veterans can face when trying to reintegrate. This is less a bravura performance than a solid one, but Hayley's strong, wryly vulnerable voice carries the narrative toward a resolutely imperfect, hopeful conclusion. A characteristically honest and deeply felt exploration of the lingering scars of war. (Fiction. 14 & up). 384pg. KIRKUS MEDIA LLC, c2013. |
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| Library Journal | 04/19/2018 |
| Fans have waited five years (since 2009's Wintergirls) for Anderson to explore again the depths of teen trauma with her distinct brand of wit and intelligence. Seventeen-year-old Hayley has been equal parts companion and caregiver to her father, Andy, since his return from four tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. Now wracked by alcoholism and PTSD, he nevertheless attempts to give Hayley a "normal" senior year, turning their beat 18-wheeler homeward. After years on the road, Hayley finds herself out of step with her small-town classmates, haunted by worries of what could happen to her father when she is not there to care for him, and battling her own memories of better and worse days past. Nevertheless, she warms to the kindnesses of Finn, a boy who patiently scales her sarcastic defenses. Anderson is best at fleshing out the psychological undertow of issues (e.g., rape in 1999's Speak and anorexia in Wintergirls) that would be mere problem novels in lesser hands, and Hayley's story is no exception, giving voice to the frustrations of soldiers and their families everywhere by creating flawed, likable characters that persist in our memory long after the last page. Angelina Benedetti. 391p. LJ Reviews Online Review. LIBRARY JOURNAL, c2018. |
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9780670012091,dl.it[0].title
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