The file on angelyn stark

After surviving a suicide attempt, a fragile teen isn't sure she can endure without cutting herself. Seventeen-year-old Charlie Davis, a white girl living on the margins, thinks she has little reason to live: her father drowned himself; her bereft and abusive mother kicked her out; her best friend, Ellis, is nearly brain dead after cutting too deeply; and she's gone through unspeakable experiences living on the street.

After spending time in treatment with other young women like her—who cut, burn, poke, and otherwise hurt themselves—Charlie is released and takes a bus from the Twin Cities to Tucson to be closer to Mikey, a boy she "like-likes" but who had pined for Ellis instead. But things don't go as planned in the Arizona desert, because sweet Mikey just wants to be friends. Feeling rejected, Charlie, an artist, is drawn into a destructive new relationship with her sexy older co-worker, a "semifamous" local musician who's obviously a junkie alcoholic.

Through intense, diarylike chapters chronicling Charlie's journey, the author captures the brutal and heartbreaking way "girls who write their pain on their bodies" scar and mar themselves, either succumbing or surviving. Like most issue books, this is not an easy read, but it's poignant and transcendent as Charlie breaks more and more before piecing herself back together. Already have an account? Log in. Trouble signing in? Retrieve credentials. Sign Up.

Still, the ample white space created by long stretches of dialogue and the provocative topic make this an ideal selection for reluctant readers.

Pub Date: Nov. Page Count: Publisher: Knopf. Review Posted Online: Sept. No Comments Yet. The fact that her boyfriend abandons a dog was a good analogy for abandonment in general. Does the way someone treats other creatures and other people reflect on the way that you will be treated as well? I really wanted Angelyn to be strong enough to dump her boyfriend. She didn't need to be owned.

It would have been a stronger book if the chapters alternated between Angelyn, Nathan and Jeni or maybe even Mr. I wanted to hear about Angelyn from a different perspective especially since I liked Jeni and Nathan a lot and would have enjoyed knowing more about their lives. Feb 03, Denise rated it it was ok. She has a difficult time with friends and school, but even worse is her home life.

The gossip around town is that she's trouble and a bad girl -- is that true? And a neighbor boy contacts the authorities when he thinks he's seen something in her house that shouldn't be happening. No question, Angelyn is rebellious and acting out -- but why? Is the young, understanding history teacher, Mr. Rossi, the a 2. Rossi, the answer to her cry for help? It may be that Angelyn has lost the ability to find or fight her way out of the life she's living.

Although there is a lot of "drama" here, the characters in the novel seem flat and stereotypical and I found myself unable to feel much empathy for Angelyn and her situation because of that. The author goes for angst, but it seems forced and some of the situations require the reader to more than suspend disbelief. Though this is marketed for YA, I don't think it is for younger high school students.

I understand that some teens fight, have sex, drink beer, and smoke cigarettes, but some of the detail is a bit too graphic for this age group. I hesitate to put it on the shelves in my high school's library. I will ask a mature teen I know to read it and give a candid opinion and then may revise my review to reflect her thoughts. Aug 12, Read Between the Pages rated it really liked it. The reader travels through her life as things go from bad, to worse, to horrible, to okay.

The biggest thing I like about this book was that nothing really ever got better. It felt so real to me as I read it. In real life, things don't automatically get peachy keen at the end, and this book didn't do that.

Some parts of this story made me sad for her, 'The File on Angelyn Stark' by Catherine Atkins is a novel about a fifteen year old girl named Angelyn Stark who is a troubled student at school. Some parts of this story made me sad for her, almost making me cry sometimes.

Other points, I just didn't care, knowing that what had happened had been her fault. Angelyn has got to be the realest character I've ever read about, and I've read a lot of books.

I also liked how the book was written. It was like we were actually inside of her mind with short sentences here and there, and also how there wasn't much description. Because really? While we think in our minds, we don't usually describe everything in vivid detail. Now the reason this book didn't get 5 stars is because I wish some end points could have been wrapped up.

For instance, I wish that it hadn't ended the way it did, even though I liked it. It just left me hanging, wanting more and hoping there was a second book.

There isn't. Atkins knows how to write a good book, and she also knows how to end things so they leave you yearning for more to happen.

Jun 08, Becky rated it liked it Shelves: era-oakton , pov-female. The File on Angelyn Stark simply asks the reader to bear witness. The narrative is very clearly told by Angelyn.

The dialogue and vernacular as specific to Anngelyn and where she lives, which was very refreshing. Almost all the prose is dialogue, and a The File on Angelyn Stark simply asks the reader to bear witness. The File on Angelyn Stark has no three paragraph epiphanies. At times the heavy-dialogue format muddled the story.

There were many times the characters changed locations without a clear signifyer because there were nearly no descriptions. However, the format served to make the story very stark. With only dialogue, every painful part of the story demanded your full attention. Any writers struggling with purple prose should read this book as an example of how minimal language can be effective.

Review Posted on heyteenbookshesy. Feb 26, Diane Ferbrache rated it really liked it Shelves: family-stories , high-school. Angelyn is a girl with a bad reputation. Her mother hates her. Her stepfather ignores her. Her best girlfriends are spreading rumors about her. I liked that it wasn't too predictable, but that there weren't any outlandish surprises either. Jan 11, Dana rated it did not like it Shelves: i-own-this. ARC review Ugh.

This book was just full of awful writing, indistinguishable plot, and horrible characters. I hated this book. I felt that it could've been so much more. It had an interesting tagline, it just fell short on character development and plot and just everything.

Okay sure, Angelyn kinda changed or something. Gah I don't even remember. I could care less really. Oh right. The ONE thing that almost made me feel something other than disgust for the characters was the thing with Mr. That made me sad. See what I mean?? That's soooooooooo hilarious and sad that I forgot his name.

Ahhhhh okay. So I pretty much despised this book. At least I got it for free. Yay for free books! May 11, Tammy Leech rated it liked it Shelves: library-challenge. It really just proves two points… You never know what's going on in someone's life and Teens are cruel sometimes. The book was almost completely dialogue and interaction between Angelyn and all of the significant people in her life but somehow it sucked me in to her story.

I worried for her, wanted to scream at her mom, wanted to punch her boyfriend. I feel like Atkins did a great job of handling tough subjects and how children react to them.

That being said, it was a lot of dialogue, not much detail or depth beyond the interactions and past stories. Definitely worth the quick read that it was and one that I think I will remember.

Jan 26, Kerry rated it really liked it. For such a simply written story Angelyn Stark was a deep and complex character that I really love. She comes off as a tough 15 yr-old girl-getting in fights, drinking beer at lunch, failing her classes-but underneath is a 12 yr old thats crying out for help and love. Where she finds it is in a closs almost inappropriatly so relationship with a young teacher who gives her the support and friendship she needs to stand up for who she is.

But the real story isnt about them it's about HER-finding h For such a simply written story Angelyn Stark was a deep and complex character that I really love. But the real story isnt about them it's about HER-finding her voice. A short but great read. Nov 09, Kimberly rated it liked it Shelves: 8th-grade. This book isn't the best but I found it interesting and that I couldn't stop reading it.

Mostly because I wanted to know what really happened with Angelyn, it wasn't exactly a page turner. The book leaves you wondering what happened to Angelyn when she was younger when you first read it but once you find out, to me it sort of stopped being as interesting. This book had three stars because the plot itself was pretty good but I thought the book didn't really have anything special that it made it This book isn't the best but I found it interesting and that I couldn't stop reading it.

This book had three stars because the plot itself was pretty good but I thought the book didn't really have anything special that it made it stand out. Sep 01, Rachel rated it it was ok. I don't think I have ever read a book with a character that I truly hated and could not stand. Angelyn I felt bad for her but come on how old is she like I wish the girl acted more her age and was just more adult.

I could not stand her and just how she would not leave Mr. Rossi alone like come on. So, I rated it a 2 because some parts held my interest but for the most part I could not stand it.

May 15, Pamela rated it really liked it. Topic matter is very difficult and mature, but author handles it with subtlety. I thought the language captures the angst, confusion, and pain that such a situation would provoke from someone.

I found it interesting to get to know Angelyn Stark, to see how she pushed back in anger, and how she confused the roles of friend, father, and lover. Jun 20, Brandi Rae Fong rated it liked it Shelves: young-adult-fiction , diverse-characters. Fast-paced, dialogue heavy book Jan 06, Tarah McCue rated it it was ok Shelves: unhauled. This book covered a very serious subject matter, but I couldn't stand the characters. They all annoyed me and pissed me off.

Maybe I'm too old for this particular book. I'm not sure. I just couldn't connect with it. One day, her neighbor and friend, Nathan, saw something happen. Something between Angelyn and her stepfather. Then he told his grandmother, who was always looking out for Angelyn, and it turned into a mess. But Nathan didn't know what he was talking about then, and he doesn't know now. Three years later, Angelyn is in high school and she thinks she's getting along fine—but there's a young teacher who wants to help her.

He says she has potential she isn't living up to. Nobody has ever cared this way about Angelyn, not since Nathan's grandmother, anyway. But what does Mr. Rossi really want from her? And once Angelyn starts falling for him, does she really care? Languages English. Angelyn Stark has a secret. Catherine Atkins - Author. Why is availability limited?