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Two Girls Staring At The Ceiling (2014)

by Lucy Frank(Favorite Author)

3.5 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

0307979741 (ISBN13: 9780307979742)

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

Schwartz & Wade

review 1: This is a beautifully told novel in verse, with a refreshing format. The two girls, Chess (Francesca) and Shannon, share a hospital room, and are only separated by a curtain. A short note in the beginning of the book explains how to proceed with reading: the line down the middle of many pages represents the girls' hospital curtain; the text should be read straight across the page (across the middle line), instead of in two separate columns. This format also represents the lines being crossed in Chess's life. Chess is quiet, the perfect patient. She never complains or asks questions, and tries to keep her illness under wraps, even denying to herself that something is wrong. Shannon is just the opposite: loud, cursing, and outspoken. She finds out that she is plagued with th... moree same gut-wrenching (literally) disease Shannon has... Crohn's Disease. Chess has known for some time that something is not right with her body, but she's a runner, and she believes she can fix herself by trying to be as healthy as possible. Then a boy comes along. A boy always seems to come along.At first, I assumed the verse would then focus on David (the boy), but thankfully, the author's story is much deeper than that. Chess must find her voice and the courage to pretend that everything is not ok. She has to learn to accept her disease, and although her lifestyles will need to change, she can lead a normal life. I love how the author isn't afraid to describe Chess's uncomfortable moments, especially one heartbreaking encounter with David. Just before she's admitted to the hospital, she's alone with David, a boy she barely knows, but is deeply attracted to. After leaving a beach party with friends, she and David row a small boat to a small, secluded area. Battling her Crohn's Disease, Chess tries to ignore the piercing pains plaguing her stomach, but cannot control her body any longer. She has an accident and is so mortified that she tries to swim away in the frigid water. David must pull her back into the boat and drive her home. I can't imagine living through that now (in my mid-twenties, let alone at the critical age of a teen). In the end, Chess and Shannon befriend one another and Chess grows as a person. She separates from her superficial friends who, to their defense, know nothing of what true problems are. Their biggest concerns are parties and school. Chess and Shannon share a common bond that is believable and touching. Readers get to see Chess and David starting a new, honest conversation and getting to know one another. Highly recommended for all libraries, readers of realistic fiction, novels in verse, and those interested in what it's like to live with Crohn's Disease. Reluctant readers may tire of the format, but many teens may welcome this different way of reading.
review 2: I was fully prepared for this book to be all gimick. I mean it's a novel in verse...with two narrators...whose stories line up on either side of a page that is divided down the middle by a vertical line...a line that represents the curtain that separates the beds they occupy in their shared hospital room. Gimicky right? I figured it would be a quick read (there just aren't that many words in a book written this way) and since it's a new teen book it would count as professional development, too. But it turns out that even in a book with this many hooks and this few words there was still a really robust story and fully formed characters. Chess is the primary narrator and a fairly classic good-girl teen character. She gets good grades, works hard to please her parents, runs competitively and hangs out with her friends while staying out of trouble. But she is also in a hospital bed suffering from an unknown illness that has sidelined her from her running, her friendships and the cute boy she met during a summer adventure. She is scared but polite even as she shares her room with Shannon, a girl who may have the same illness but an entirely different approach to life. Loud, angry, and well-aware of what her disease means, Shannon is the Hyde to Chess's Dr. Jeckyll. The friendship that grows between these two very different girls is emotional without being melodramatic. And the ways that Chess learns to accept her situation while growing into her own strength and voice is encouraging without being heavy-handed. The whole book is well-balanced treating a serious subject with just enough levity and energy. And while I would say that this is a relatively small book, it explores a pivotal slice of Chess's life. And in that way it has something to offer readers who are trying to get from one side of a traumatic piece of news to the other. less

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