Blade Silver: Color Me Scarred

For a moment, this cut absorbs all my attention and emotional energy. It blocks out what I am unable to deal with. And for a while I am convinced that I will actually survive my life. Am I proud of my behavior? Of course not. But for the time being, it’s all I have to keep me from falling. So don’t judge me.

Book: Blade Silver: Color Me Scarred (TrueColors Series #7) by Melody Carlson, NavPress 2005

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Target Audience: Girls 14-18

Subjects: Abuse, Cutting, Family relationships, Dating Relationships, Salvation

Summary: There’s only so much pressure a person can take without breaking. Ruth isn’t trying to kill herself. She’s just trying to find a way to survive, trying to find a relief for the pressure. Her dad is emotionally abusive and her mom has totally checked out since her failed suicide attempt a year ago. Her brother’s had enough and has run away from home. So it’s pretty much all up to her now. All her dad’s wrath comes solely on her. Her friend doesn’t understand and her grandparents don’t believe her. Why should they? Her dad’s pretty good at maintaining appearances. No one is going to believe what she goes through. If it takes cutting to survive, she’ll do it.

Notes: This is one the books in the True Colors series, a set of books showing major issues teens today have to face. The character is thrown into the situation and someone in the story shows them how God would have someone respond to the situation. In this story, a girl who suffers from abuse at home turns to cutting for relief. The trouble is that it requires more and more. The more pressure, the more she needs to cut. When a boyfriend forces her to see a counselor, she finally get the help she needs. She is taken to a shelter and enrolled in a 12-step program specifically for cutters. The people running it are Christians and share about how Christ already paid the price for our sin. It’s by His wounds that we are healed.  

Spiritual Content Recommendation Scale: 5/5

Reviewer: J:-)mi

1 Peter 2:24 – He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.