Tease

Tease

YA fiction
"I couldn't stop thinking about the girls on both sides of this
story. And I couldn't stop thinking that, no matter what the accused
bullies had done, surely they couldn't have intended for anyone to
lose her life--surely no one is that vicious. But we do all have our
moments and our limits. We've each felt deeply hurt by the actions of
others; we've said things we regret."
In 2010 Amanda Maciel found the suicide of a high school student
and the trial of the six students accused of bullying and harassing
her to be deeply disturbing. She thought of the vulnerability of
teens who are seen both as mature verging on adult and as having their
whole lives ahead of them. She realized that as methods of
communication grow more complicated these young people learning how to
understand and and interact with each other face daunting challenges
unimagined by previous generations. Luckily for us, she channeled her
thoughts and feelings into writing Tease, one of the most poignant and
thought provoking debut novels I've ever seen.
As the story opens, Sara, Maciel's protagonist, meets with her
lawyer to once again go over the events that led to her arrest. Later
she'll meet with her court mandated therapist. Her life feels out of
control. It seems that just about everyone hates her. She can't even
go to the grocery store to buy a smack for her little brothers without
people calling her names. "...It's like, someone dies, so everyone
left alive is automatically guilty.
Except, in this case, only five of us are. And with all the
separate lawyers and charges, my best hope is to just avoid taking all
the blame."
If in the first few pages Sara doesn't come across as a
sympathetic figure, remember few of us would be at our best under the
circumstances. Whatever you do, don't ditch the book. Told in
chapters that alternate between the weeks leading up to the trial and
the months during which the events unfolded, it gives the reader a
very intimate look into her world and mind. You meet a girl who does
a lot of caretaking of two younger brothers, a formerly invisible girl
who achieves popularity via friendship with a charismatic and dramatic
best friend, a young woman who learns and grows a great deal under
very confusing and painful circumstances.
Tease is a must read for teachers and guidance counselors. It's
also a good choice for parent-daughter sharing. Who else should read
it? I'd say anyone who enjoys gripping, thought-provoking realism or
cares about how members of the younger generation treat one another.
On a personal note, Tease really provoked me to thinking. Maciel says
she doesn't know the answer. Neither do I. However, I know a number
of things we can do to create schools and a society in which our kids
are enabled and empowered to treat each other with decency (which I am
defining as kindness and integrity). That will be the topic of my
September Bangor Daily News op ed piece.
A great big shout out goes out to all folks striving to create a
better world for all our kids.
Julia Emily Hathaway



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