Aimee - Softcover

Miller, Mary Beth

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0142400254 ISBN 13: 9780142400258

Publisher: Speak, 2004

Synopsis

Aimee's dead, and everyone believes that her best friend helped her commit suicide.  After Aimee dies, after the trial, after the move to the new town, she's completely alone-paralyzed by he loneliness, guilt and anger at everyone's suppression of the truth.  Isolated, she writes in her journal, and gradually lets readers into her world.  A world where parents don't listen, therapists don't help, and best friends betray you.  In the end, she realizes that while she never could have saved Aimee, she might be able to save herself.

About this title

About the Author:

Mary Beth Miller has published two books: Aimee and On The Head of a Pin. She lives in Coudersport, Pennsylvania.

From School Library Journal:

Grade 9 & Up--Zoe is one angry 17-year-old. Having recently been acquitted of assisting her best friend's suicide, she is seeing a court-appointed psychiatrist who has suggested she write the journal that forms this book. The entries slip backward and forward in time and Zoe has complaints about 99 percent of her life. She feels that no adults have ever paid sufficient attention to her wants and needs and that when they DO pay attention they are controlling and stifling and stupid. Given that her family has moved to another town and she is forbidden to communicate with her hometown friends, Zoe has good reason to feel hung out to dry. And given that her parents seem to be hoping that she will get over Aimee's death and the trial and be a happy high school senior, it's no wonder that she's severely depressed. Bit by bit, the story of her old group-their risky behavior (including drinking and sex) and frequent challenges to authority-emerges from Zoe's writing. The lack of genuine communication between the younger and older generations provides the tragic climate for Aimee's suicide and hinders Zoe's ability to recover. Her voice is not always consistent but her unhappiness and her grittiness are difficult to dismiss. There are a lot of issues here that bear addressing, and Miller handles them in a way that teens will easily grasp. By the end, Zoe has even managed to gain some perspective and has decided to get on with her life.
Miriam Lang Budin, Chappaqua Public Library, NY
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Speak
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0142400254
• ISBN 13: 9780142400258
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• Number of pages: 276