Rating: 
Summary: It's "okay"
Review: Recovering from self-injury myself, I greatly know the struggles that you are faced with in inpatient treatment and in giving up this coping mechanisim. This book protrays self-injury in a way that the non self-injurer can understand and breaks some stigma, which I give it credit for. But it doesn't really "show" you what trully goes through a persons mind- a person who would actually hurt themselves for temporary relief. And although the protrayal of the residential treatment program DOES show some resembalence to most residential treatment programs, but not a lot. Normal residential treatment programs are unpleasent having just-out-of-college staff who don't know what they're doing and the extreme, almost sickening, structure of a treatment program. It also doesn't go into the normal parrels of quick revolving door inpatient treatments which USUALLY happen before someone goes to the extreme of a residential treatment facility. It also goes so much more into the graphics of self-injury instead of the EMOTIONS of self-injury. It's not a book I would recomend for someone in recovery, but I would recomend it to someone who does not have a history of psychiatric problems or self-injurious behavior.
Rating: 
Summary: The most sensitive novel about self-injury that I've seen!
Review: In this young adult novel about self-injury, fifteen-year-old Callie is sent to a residential treatment facility after her cutting habit is discovered by the school nurse. Although Callie's reasons for cutting herself are not revealed until the end of the story, the reader is quickly drawn into Callie's troubled world through a first-person narrative that is both gripping and sensitive. When Callie first enters the Sea Pines treatment home, she is not only vulnerable and apprehensive but also mute. The emotions that plague her are so overwhelming that she does not even trust herself to voice them. Though the girls around her also have troubles, Callie is fearful of opening up to anyone. She is embarrassed to have a disorder that she thinks no one understands, but what's more is that she feels immense guilt for a crime whose fault she believes is her own. What is remarkable about this novel is the authenticity of Callie's voice. Author Patricia McCormick creates a character whose sensitivity and compassion are quickly apparent to the reader, but in whose own self-image these traits are absent. To cope with the guilt and self-loathing she feels, Callie inflicts small cuts on herself. The physical pain brings her relief in that it draws her mind away from the mental anguish she cannot explain. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is dealing with emotional problems, especially self-injury. However, Callie is such an engaging character that anyone who has suffered through a moment of insecurity will likely become engrossed in her story. And considering that self-mutilation is becoming an increasingly common phenomenon, especially among adolescent girls, I think we owe it to Callie and to those like her to become aware of this topic. "Cut," in its tender and deft portrait of self-injury victims, is the novel with which to begin.
Rating: 
Summary: All Too Real
Review: I read this book because I have had a friend who cuts herself. I realized what kind of thoughts she was going through and I knew what she was thinking. It really scared me in some parts but in others I was glad I knew that kind of information. This book is really good in how it can take something like a year into a very short book. The only thing I would have changed was the length of the book. It could have easily been longer. But I have to hand it to her. The thoughts that the character had are oh so true.
Rating:
Summary: Great novel!!
Review: Cut is a powerful book about the self-loathing and confusion that seems to be such a part of adolescence. Callie, the main character, is "staying" at Sea Pines, a rehabilitation unit for teenagers. Reluctant to discuss her problems, she finally discusses her habit of cutting herself with her counselor. This painful outlet seems the only way Callie can release any of her inner turmoil. Her relationship with her mother, father, and her sickly younger brother all play a part in her illness. While she decides to work at getting better, it is only when she runs away from the facility that she starts to see the truth of her situation; sometimes other people make mistakes and we pay for them. Highly recommend to anyone who felt out of control as a teenager (most of us at one time or another) or anyone who has a teenager.
Rating:
Summary: "Cuts" to the Heart of the Issue
Review: Fifteen-year-old Callie has a rare problem. She's not anorexic, she's not on drugs, and she's not bulimic. But she cuts herself. Soon she finds herself at a "residential treatment facility", Sea Pines (or "Sick Minds", as she calls it) and her hurt shows its face when she refuses to talk. Nothing seems to break the silence coming from Callie, and sometimes she just gets the urge to slice her skin, to see the blood...and it's like she's determined never to talk to her therapist. This book is a masterfully written story chronicling (in detail) the thoughts that whirl around in Callie's mind. It is filled with vivid and poignant emotions, and Patricia McCormick develops her main character well. Callie's relationships with the other girls at the treatment facility add subtle insights about human nature and the universal need of friendship. I enjoyed how Callie's family life and her reasons for "cutting" were slowly explored and explained in this novel-in a very natural and empathetic way, without being contrite. But the best thing about this book was its hopeful ending that leaves us with the feeling that Callie has emerged from her treatment stronger, wiser, and able to overcome the temptation to cut herself. I hope to see more from this author.
Rating:
Summary: A book I could really relate to
Review: Once I started this book, I could not put it down. Without saying too much about my personal life, I was really able to relate to a lot of this book. For any young adult going through any tough times, I reccomend this...definately!
Rating:
Summary: Speechlessness
Review: Cut, a powerful story by Patricia McCormick. Words cannot express what I feel about this story, but I'll try. This story about a 15 year-old girl is absolutely moving. It made me cry in some parts, smile in some parts. I cannot tell you what this story is about, ... the synopsis, and the book itself that can tell you that. This story is amazing. All I can say is ... wow.
Rating:
Summary: Good Story, But Lacks Information
Review: This was the first book I have read on the subject of self-mutilation, and I think it aptly describes this phenomenon which mystifies professionals to this day. Callie is a fifteen year-old girl receiving treatment at a psychiatric treatment center, Sea Pines, spitefully known as "Sick Minds". Resistant to treatment and sharing any of her secrets, Callie refuses to speak at all. As she makes her way through treatment, we learn a great deal about her peers and routines at Sea Pines, as well as the staff and treatment policies. Even when Callie is threatened with expulsion from the program due to non-compliance, she refuses to divulge what is troubling her. It is only when she cuts herself so deeply that she fears she will bleed to death, that she calls on a staff member for help, and then decides to confide in her therapist. We soon learn that the roots of Callie's problem lie in feelings of guilt and responsibility toward her younger brother, as well as a distant father. The ending leaves us with the promise that Callie will battle and overcome her behavior. This book was pretty good. It did a very good job of describing what life is like in a psychiatric ward and how the various illness populations relate to each other (ie: drug-addicts, anorexics, overeaters, and self-injurers). Ironically, I found that this book had the opposite problem of many others: while we met many interesting and thought-provoking characters: the staff and the girls on the ward, I found Callie to be rather flat and uninteresting. I also agree with other reviewers that the plot-line was a little too cliche--a girl refusing to speak about her problems and then being won over by a therapist or trusted other. I also do not feel that this book really explained why people like Callie self-mutilate, in fact, it did not really deal with the behavior much at all. The ending, although hopeful, was a bit unrealistic. I do not think a psychiatric hospital would really act so kindly in such a situation. In general, I would say this is a pretty good story, and a good reference for life in a psych. ward, but does not give a lot of depth into the issue of self-mutilation.
Rating:
Summary: Recommended for teens who cut and their families
Review: an engrossing, well written book that provides some insight into the mind of self inflicted violence.
Rating:
Summary: A strong and powerful book
Review: All I have to say if Wow. The way Patricia writes this story is amazing. I found myself crying at many parts of the book. This is written in first person, where a girl was sent to a group therapy place for cutting. She encounters girls with drug abuse, anorexia and etc. She withdraws herself form everyone and dares not to expose her secret which would be the cutting. Throughout the book, she talks about the way she feels in the therapy place, what she sees, how she acts to many things and what made her start cutting. I have to say it is a strong book. The style in which is written can make you imagine as if you were Callie. I say that you would have to give this book a try. You get into it after the first few pages.
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