Glenn, Mel. Split image; a story in poems - Brief Article - Young Adult Review - Book Review

Kliatt, July, 2002 by Paula Rohrlick

HarperTempest. 154p. c2000. 0-06-000481-9. $6.95. JS *

To quote KLIATT's March 2000 review of the hardcover edition:

In the eyes of the Tower High School community, popular student Laura Li appears to be perfect. Most of her peers see her as bright, kind, and beautiful, and she is desired by the boys and envied by the girls. She works in the school library, where the librarian treats her like a daughter, and she cooks and cares for her crippled, sickly elder brother at home, as a dutiful Chinese daughter is expected to do. But Laura is deeply unhappy, and resentful of the pressures her family puts on her to do well at school and to be responsible for her brother. Laura is not allowed to date, but she sneaks out at night to dance, drink, and flirt at clubs. She rarely sees her father, and her mother beats her when she asks to go to the prom, angry at her American ways-but ironically, when Laura submits an outstanding essay to an American Legion contest, the prize is denied her because she is not an American citizen. Frustrated by her "broken dreams," feeling trapped by family rules and expectations, Laura Li commits suicide in the library at school, shocking everyone.

Her story is told through a series of one or two-page blank verse poems by various people who knew her (or thought they knew her)--other students, the school librarian, family members--as well as by Laura herself. The reader must piece together Laura's life from these varying views. In the process readers learn something about the writers of the poems, too, and the ways in which people can be different from their images. Glenn's trademark style of telling a poignant tale through poetry and multiple viewpoints, as in his Foreign Exchange (reviewed in KLIATT in May 1999), is unusual and effective; English teachers may want to suggest it as a technique for their students to try. This is a quick and engaging read. and a good pick for reluctant readers, too. An ALA Best Book for YAs. Paula Rohrlick, KLIATT