Book
Fishtailing / Wendy Phillips.
Through a series of poems written for English class, interspersed with teacher comments and letters to and from parents, high school students Natalie, Tricia, Kyle, and Miguel describe their lives.
Record details
- ISBN: 1550504118 (pbk.)
- ISBN: 9781550504118 (trade pbk.) :
- Physical Description: 196 p. ; 21 cm.
- Publisher: Regina : Coteau Books for Teens, c2010.
Content descriptions
| General Note: | Poems. |
| Awards Note: | Winner of the Governor General's Literary Award for Children's Literature Text 2010. |
Search for related items by subject
| Subject: | Violence in adolescence > Juvenile fiction. Teenagers > Juvenile fiction. Teenagers > Poetry. Novels in verse. Violence in adolescence > Poetry. |
| Genre: | Canadian poetry. Canadian fiction. |
Other Formats and Editions
Show Only Available Copies
| Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Holdable? | Status | Due Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lillooet Branch | JF PHI (Text) | 35180000246263 | Juvenile Fiction | Volume hold | Available | - |
| Bayside Middle School | FIC PHI (Text) | BBBA1139704 | Fiction | Volume hold | Checked out | 2024-06-14 |
| Claremont Secondary School | FIC PHI (Text) | BVICL35221015283014 | Fiction | Not holdable | Available | - |
| Elkford Public Library | YA PHI (Text) | 35170000333211 | Young Adult Fiction | Volume hold | Available | - |
| Invermere Public Library | J FIC PHI (Text) | IPL043646 | Junior Fiction | Volume hold | Available | - |
| Kitimat Public Library | Y 811.6 Phi (Text) | 32665001523341 | Youth Non-fiction | Volume hold | Available | - |
| North Saanich Middle School | F PHI (Text) | BNSM910300679 | FIC, includes SC, PB | Volume hold | Available | - |
| Parkland Secondary School | FIC PHI (Text) | BNSP1364650 | Fiction | Volume hold | Available | - |
| Rossland Public Library | YA PHI (Text) | 35162000113727 | YA | Volume hold | Available | - |
| Salt Spring Island Public Library | 811.6 PHI (Text) | 33123009281305 | Non-fiction | Not holdable | Lost | 2021-11-25 |
- Booklist Reviews : Booklist Reviews 2010 October #2
Canadian author Phillips' first novel is told in free verse and features the perspectives of four different high-school students. Two (Tricia and Kyle) are traditionally troubled and vulnerable teens; one (Miguel) is a political refugee; and the fourth (Natalie, the obligatory new girl in school) is trouble. Having been bounced from school to school, Natalie is a schemer who delights in manipulating the lives of others, regardless of the cost. All four teens tell their own stories in their first-person voices. Added to these are the voices of two teachers: Ms. Nishi, a sympathetic guidance counselor, and Mrs. Farr, a burned-out English teacher whose assignments are the catalyst for many of the kids' poems. There's not much that's new here, but the free-verse voices are all nicely handled; the teens are engagingâthough occasionally one-dimensionalâcharacters; and Natalie's machinations are compelling. Copyright 2010 Booklist Reviews. - Kirkus Reviews : Kirkus Reviews 2010 October #2
Four teens fall in and out of longing, love and violence: Kyle, the motorcycle-riding musician, Miguel, the unpredictable poet haunted by a violent past, Natalie, a mischief-making cutter, and Tricia, a biracial teen uncomfortable in her own skin. Told in minimalist free-verse vignettes, their lives crash, simmer and smolder together in the science lab, on the soccer field, at the coffee house and more.ÃÂ Phillips adeptly spins complex, provocative, sharp-imaged lines of poetry in this first novel that is mostly told by the four main characters with some well-intended but pandering commentary by the school faculty, including their English teacher, who assigned them to write many of the poems for class. Though fully realized in structure, tonality and word choice, several poems lack voice, particularly those written by male characters. Readers can identify the speaker because the author has assigned names to stanzas, but any sense that the characters could be living, breathing, talking teenagers stops there. However, although much of the climatic action happens offstage, there are enough razor blades, lust, jealousy and revenge to keep readers breathlessly hooked until the very end. (Verse novel. 14 & up) Copyright Kirkus 2010 Kirkus/BPI Communications.All rights reserved. - Library Media Connection : Library Media Connection Reviews 2011 March/April
The short, verse form of this novel makes it a quick read. Four high school students' lives connect when Natalie, Tricia, Kyle, and Miguel form a bond that seems eerily unbreakable. Through their writing assignments and teacher critiques that take place in their English class, the reader easily gets a feel for the secrets that lie deep inside each character. Readers will also become aware of each character's need to belong. The novel leaves readers gripping their seats and begging for more. Some vocabulary choices will puzzle the reader and might have some reaching for a dictionary. Reluctant readers will like the quick flow of the novel, and poetry lovers will enjoy the verse form. Students will be finishing the book the day they begin. Recommended. Kelli L. Broussard, Library Media Specialist, Westgate High School, New Iberia, Louisiana ¬ 2011 Linworth Publishing, Inc. - Voice of Youth Advocates Reviews : VOYA Reviews 2011 February
Told through the voices of four high school students, a strictly structured English teacher, and a patient counselor, this novel in verse takes the reader into the side of high school that has little to do with course work. New student Natalie, a damaged and damaging manipulator, works her ugliness on everyone. She recruits the lonely Tricia and teaches her how to self-injure through cutting and bulimia. Miguel, trying to distance himself from the bloody memories of the deaths of his family during a political war in Central America, falls in love with what he thinks she is. Kyle loves Tricia, but Natalie forces Tricia to share him With the author's help, each student's verse improves, while revealing to the reader the most intimate and fragile thoughts. The poetry is touching, painful, and jarring as Phillips presents their stories through their hesitations, hopes, pains, and fears. The plot constantly twists and turns, keeping the reader guessing what will happen next.âC. J. Bott 5Q 4P J S Copyright 2011 Voya Reviews.
