|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
QUIT IT by Marcia Byalick. A freelance writer and author of self-help and children's books, Byalick's first novel for Delacorte Press centers on Carrie, a seventh-grade girl who has just been diagnosed with TS. Targeted to early teens, Quit It explores Carrie's struggles to cope with TS while trying to fit in with her peers.
Educators - See TSA's School Reading Program and Sample Lesson Plan Using Quit It
A review in Kirkus Reviews, August 1, 2002: "Byalick pens a readable story about a young girl living with Tourette's syndrome. While she doesn't skimp on any unpleasant details, she doesn't make it seem as if having the illness is the worst thing in the world either. The heroine of the piece is a likable Long Island seventh-grader named Carrie Kravetz. She has a pretty typical life---if you don't count her involuntary head twitches, facial tics, and compulsive throat clearing and sniffing, not to mention the extraordinary lengths she must go to sometimes to suppress these outbursts. Yet in many ways Carrie's life is like any other girl's. She's got loving parents, for one thing. By trying to hide their pain and annoyance about Carrie's symptoms, however, they're dishonest about their feelings and pretend the disease doesn't exist. She also has a good relationship with her older sister. Furthermore, Carrie excels in school drama and jazz dance (interestingly, Tourette's seems to vanish altogether during these pursuits). Carrie also has a best friend, Clyde, who's got his own problems (a terror of mosquitoes and the West Nile virus; this boy sees epidemic everywhere) yet who has steadfastly stood by Carrie through all of her tics over the years. Then Rebecca, a new girl in school, enters Carrie's sphere. the two girls grow close right away, but at the expense of Clyde's friendship, since Rebecca wants nothing to do with him. Though the three are all part of the "Lunch Bunch" at school, three's a crowd and the new girl's monopoly of Carrie drives a wedge between the two former best friends. How this is all resolved---and how Carrie gets her parents to listen to her and accept her, through the offices of a kind, understanding teacher---makes for thought-provoking and satisfying reading. A helpful list of FAQ's and answers about Tourette's syndrome are appended. (Fiction 8-12)"
Booklist, October 1, 2002, Books for Middle Readers, review by Shelle Rosenfeld: "Gr.4-7. Seventh-grader Carrie dreads the end of summer: "For a kid newly diagnosed with Tourette's, worrying about sitting still, disturbing the class, annoying teachers, and a million other possible humiliating moments can make you nauseous." She cringes when she thinks about other people's reactions to her symptoms. Just as hurtful is her parents' pretense that everything is normal. Then Carrie joins Lunch Bunch, a voluntary peer-support group. She is delighted when lively Rebecca befriends her, but she soon learns that people aren't always as they seem, a discovery that forces her to reevaluate what matters most about people and life. Carrie is an engaging character, whose descriptive, first-person narrative balances a matter-of-fact tone with wry observations and lively commentary. Other characters are credibly developed as well, and underlying messages about the value of knowledge and communication are clear without being preachy. Byalick skillfully personalizes a syndrome rarely dealt with in children's literature, at the same time telling an appealing story of a likable protagonist whom readers with sympathize with, root for, and learn from. Some general information about Tourette's is appended."
Click here to read the first two pages of Quit It.
Quit it is available in our Online Store. Click here.
©2007 Tourette Syndrome Association, Inc. 42-40 Bell Boulevard / Bayside NY 11361 / 718-224-2999