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Narrated by Sarah Kelley
Beth GoobieUnabridged — 6 hours, 27 minutes
Narrated by Sarah Kelley
Beth GoobieUnabridged — 6 hours, 27 minutes
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Beth Goobie once again brings voice to the teenage outsider and victim in a way that only she can.
She hadn't told anyone. Not a single soul. Not one word about that night and what had been done to her had ever passed Maddy Malone's lips. She'd thought about it at first - had been desperate, even frantic, to tell. But then had come the shame, and the intimidation from the boys who raped her - and the one who held her down.
Now it's the beginning of a new school year and Maddy is hoping that she can continue to hide, making herself as quiet and small as possible. She is consumed with keeping the memories at bay, forcing them down through small cuts and the burn from the end of a cigarette. But when her English class is given the assignment of writing a collaborative novel about a fifteen-year-old girl, The Pain Eater, fact and fiction begin to meet up. When the boys spread rumors about Maddy, she realizes that continuing to hide the truth will only give them more control, and she slowly gains the courage to confront them.
Goobie beautifully orchestrates the evolution of Farang’s fictional tale with Maddy’s uneven healing process... Readers may note the parallels between Maddy’s story and Laurie Halse Anderson’s Speak (1999). These excellent novels complement each other, as each realistically portrays the extended repercussions of sexual assault, as well as the healing power of art. [Starred Review]
This is just the kind of book young adults need... [The Pain Eater] will resonate with a great many readers because there are so many untold stories out there. One may even be in your home.
I was propelled through the novel by its emotional intensity. I desperately wanted to know what happened to Maddy.... Classic Goobie.
This novel is an exceptional narrative which addresses some very difficult issues including rape, gender stereotypes and cyberbullying... Beth Goobie has written an excellent novel which should be read by males and females alike because of its honest portrayal of important gender issues in today’s world.
Although Goobie crafts an uplifting, hopeful ending, she does not provide a view of the world that is overly rosy... Despite the limitations of our imperfect world, the lessons in The Pain Eater can still be helpful for girls dealing with the aftermath of sexual abuse. The book can also be instructive for teen boys who fail to comprehend the pain caused by sexual bullying and violence.
While Goobie has the ability to tear her characters and readers apart with harrowing events, she thankfully also has the considerable skill to build them back up again, offering hope and unique healing in a dark situation.
02/01/2017
Gr 10 Up—Maddy Malone has a secret that is destroying her. Raped by a gang of boys in the spring of her freshman year, she lives with daily shame as she begins 10th grade. Suffering silently, she often retreats into the privacy of her backyard tree house. When one of her attackers shows up in her English class, Maddy's anxiety heightens, and she resorts to discreetly piercing her hand with her fingernails and burning her thighs with lit cigarettes. During a class collective novel-writing assignment, her fellow students compose a story that eerily parallels Maddy's own world. After finally building up the courage to reveal her trauma to friends, she starts to heal, gaining confidence and insight. While creating her chapter for the class novel, Maddy must decide how far she is willing to go and how she can use the power of fiction to challenge the status quo. Although disturbing images are evoked throughout the narrative, Goobie approaches the topic of rape with sensitivity and care. Her depiction of peer pressure, teenage angst, and bullying brings to light serious issues that fuel high school students' choices. Though the characterization sometimes falls flat and relationships within the book are not fully developed, Goobie's writing is nevertheless absorbing. Surfacing an important problem that is too often overlooked, the author succeeds in making readers think deeply about the implications of malicious teenage actions and the suffering of victims. VERDICT Recommended for teens who can handle mature material. A general purchase for large collections.—Karin Greenberg, Queens College, NY
★ 2016-12-14
A thoughtful and sensitive handling of a difficult topic.Six months before starting grade 10, Maddy Malone (a white Canadian 14-year-old) is attacked by a group of boys and raped. Following the ordeal, Maddy has become a shell of herself, trying to avoid her attackers, who thus far have not said anything. Everything changes when Maddy shares an English class with two of her attackers. The uneasy silence they've all worked to maintain begins to crumble when the class collectively begins to write The Pain Eater, a fantasy novel about Farang, a 15-year-old girl who at birth was chosen to bear the pain of her fellow villagers. As the students manipulate the story in turn to fit their own ideas and agendas, Maddy begins to see parallels between herself and Farang—and it's not long before her classmates also begin to catch on. When Maddy's secret begins to unravel and her attackers threaten her to keep quiet, she must decide whether to fight or stand down. The novel never hits readers over the head with its message, but it is not an easy read. At times heartbreaking, it honestly addresses Maddy's full range of emotions associated with the rape, from pain to crippling fear and sometimes anger. Through the device of the collectively written story and the teen characters' responses to it, Goobie sensitively and artfully tackles the problematic way rape is perceived in society. Powerfully written, this is not just a story about trauma, but also one of healing. (Fiction. 13-18)
| BN ID: | 2940172737428 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | ECW Press |
| Publication date: | 05/15/2021 |
| Edition description: | Unabridged |
