Walking on Glass

by Alma Fullerton

Book Overview

Your mother's suicide attempt has left her in a coma from which she's never waking up. You know that she wouldn't want to live like this, but could you really help her die? Here you are, making the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060778512
• ISBN13: 9780060778514
• Release Date: January 2007
• Publisher: Harper Teen
• Length: 131 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.3" x 7.4"
• Age Range: 14 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 9 and higher

Customer Reviews

Short but haunting...

Teens looking for a quick, superficial read should NOT pick up this book. Although it is short, only 131 sparse pages of free verse, the depth and range of emotion expressed by the main character is heartrending and poignant. The theme of the book is about being caged -- by dreams, by choices, and by circumstance. I actually read through this book several times -- it doesn't take long as there is really not much on the pages. It's only when I stopped to think about it that I started having questions. Our unnamed narrator tells the story of the day he came home to find his mother swinging from the chandelier, broken glass all around. Nearly dead, she is rushed to the hospital where she lies day after day on life support. Meanwhile, the young man tries to go to school and continue on with his life though he feels trapped by his mother's suicide attempt and his father's inability to deal with the situation. He starts to question whether turning off the machines that keep her heart pumping is really murder, and he analyzes how he missed the important clues and ignored the needs she had even as he mourns her loss. For a moment I wondered if there was the best friend Jack mentioned in the novel -- or was Jack really our narrator -- used to convey behaviors and thoughts that our narrator was too frightened or embarassed or ashamed to admit to. The tale left a lot more questions than it answered. Resolution was not simple. The reader is left wondering, "what would I do?"

What would you do?

A teenage boy's mother's suicide attempt has left her in a coma. He knows she wouldn't want to live like this but others, including his father, refuse to let her go. Alma Fullerton does a good job showing how hard it is for this teen to make a very difficult decision. Would this be murder? Or freedom? Told in free verse, the sentences are short but pack a powerful punch. You can't be help but wonder what you would do in a similar situation.

Courtesy of Teens Read Too

A mother on life-support. A father who keeps pretending that his wife will get better. A young man, torn between doing what is right and taking the easier path of least resistance. Alma Fullerton paints the story of one family's turmoil in WALKING ON GLASS, a short tale told in free verse. When one teen arrives home one day in June, he finds his mother near death after an attempted suicide. Although he saves her life, the only thing keeping her tethered to this world are the wires and equipment forcing her to take each breath as she lies in a hospital bed. "Mom's mood swings always coincided with whatever Dad and I did. Up and down. Up and down. Pulling our strings, like big yo-yos. And even now, when she can't move or talk, she's still pulling those strings." As the teen's father lives in a world of denial, as the teen himself realizes that his best friend's life of crime and anger is beginning to rub off on him, he realizes that if there is ever to be an end to the torment he suffers, the decision will have to be his alone. As he struggles to learn why his mother wanted to die, as he rages with anger over his father's lack of acceptance, and as he faces the knowledge that life will never be the same, we fight the fight right along with him. Ms. Fullerton has written a heartrending, emotional story that will stay with you long after you turn the last page. Reviewed by: Jennifer Wardrip, aka "The Genius"

POWERFUL & POETIC!

WALKING ON GLASS, although a short book, is a powerful and beautifully written novel that will linger in reader's mind long after the dramatic last page. This is a story about a teen walking the dangerous edge of life and death decisions. Should he join a gang? Should he pull the plug to end his mother's life? Each powerful sentence is a small piece of a puzzle that slowly unfolds. WALKING ON GLASS is sad, bold and brilliant. It would make a great read-aloud in middle schools/high schools for discussions about gangs, friendship, families and the traumatic issue of euthanasia. Teachers, librarians, parents, teens -- do NOT miss this amazing book!