BRUISE

by Desiree Bissonnette

17 year old Sara Hale has spent most of her teen years struggling with depression. Through most of her school years she has had to deal with bullying and isolation from her classmates and from her former childhood friend Alison Parker.

Ali Parker is a popular senior in high school. She's big headed and vain, and thinks little of the feelings of others. That is, until the day her life changes forever.

The death of Sara Hale comes as a shock to many kids in her high school but the person most impacted is her former bully Ali Parker, who suddenly finds herself able to see the cuts and bruises of everyone. She soon realizes that the marks that appear blue are those that she personally has caused; be it from physical or emotional trauma. This new power forces Ali to see the real impact she has on the emotions and bodies of others, and the true part she had to play in the death of Sara Hale.

Genres: Mental Health, Young Adult, Fiction, Psychology

128 pages, Paperback

First published September 12, 2014

About the author

Desiree Bissonnette has always been a writer, from the moment she could pick up a pen. Whether it was poems, short stories or passive aggressive notes to her babysitters; Desiree has always been writing.

When she's not writing she's watching TV, working at one of her two jobs and procrastinating becoming an adult.

She plans to go to college and do something, but despite high school trying to help her find a career path she has no idea what for.

Reviews

[Nicole*bookaholic* · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was horrible. You can tell this author never lost anyone to suicide. There would be an investigation into bullying and Ali would have gotten in trouble. I lost my son to suicide with no bullying and there was still an investigation to make sure.

[alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25⭐️!

This was a great short book about a girl who struggles with depression, self harm and being bullied. This was a very difficult and heartbreaking read. The plot of this book was very intriguing and interesting, and it was very fast paced.

It was great to see the girl who bullied the fmc realise what she was doing had to change and that she couldn’t stand around and watch everyone else be assholes and such.

Overall this would’ve been a higher rated book if not for the cliches at certain points that felt very cringey and made me visibly ick, and there were a couple typos; but overall for 120 pages this was a great book.

[Hannah Orenstein · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book has a very intriguing plot, however the writing is hard to read. There are spelling and grammar errors and no fluidity in the sentences. It sounds like it was written to sound edgy, interesting, and quirky but it’s really quite messy. I wish I could just go through and fix the wording and grammar errors because then it would be a good book.

[Emily Allison]

This is an awesome book. I first thought this book was going to be a sad story. But as I got into it more, towards the end it started to make more sense to me. I began to realize it was to tell us a story, and also teach us something.

[Elizabeth Joyce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bruise be Desiree Bissonnette is about a teenage Girl named Sara and her ex best friend Ali. Sara is a seventeen year old who has been struggling with depression her whole life and Ali made it worse. At the end of middle school Ali decided that Sara was weird and wasn't good enough to be her friend anymore. That was the day that broke Sara's heart. When Ali ditched her everyone did. She had no one throughout all of school. Her life was rough. When she couldn’t handle the stress of school, friends, and home life she decided to kill herself. The death of Sara was a surprise to everyone but the person who took it the hardest was Ali. After the death Ali really took a look at herself, she learned that she was the cause of Sara's death. She made her life miserable through all those years. Someone dying is never a good thing but Ali did learn a very important lesson. The rest of the book Ali tries to spread Sara's life story so hopefully others can learn the lesson she learned as well. I can’t find a lexile range but this book is recommended for ages thirteen through seventeen.

Bruise is a book that tells a very important story that more people need to know about and be aware of. The story of Bruise is something that happens everywhere. Millions of people all over the world struggle with depression and in the year 2018 over 48,000 people lost there lifes from suicide. Bruise not only makes people aware of the reality of depression and suicide, it also shows us how others react to them. Brusie is the story of how a teenage girl reacts and learns to live with knowing her best friend killed herself. The overall theme in this book is amazing… such a wholesome message. The theme develops throughout the whole book, as do the characters. For example in the beginning of the book everyone was a bully including Ali. No one cared about anyone else, they all just wanted to be popular. As they adapted to life without Sarah they became better people. They learned from their mistakes and each other, to treat people with kindness. At the end of the book everyone was a better person and the person who changed the most was Ali. In the last chapter Ali finally gets the guts to go visit Sara (at the cemetery) and what she does screams “reveals something about a character”... “Sara… I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry for everything. I’m a jealous idiot and I lost sight of who we were. You are my best friend– the best thing that ever happened to me, and I abandoned you. I was so selfish and I thought I was above you… I’m trying really hard to change that” (p.119). That shows me that Sara's death had a huge impact on Ali as a character and it was really fun to read about the journey. I think the overall message of this book is people can change, Ali did.

I really enjoyed reading this book but there are some things that I was not expecting. I would not recommend this book to anyone under the age of thirteen because of the language they use and the suicide attempts throughout the book. It was overall very dark and sad and if that's not what you are looking for I would skip this one. A good thing about Bruise was it was a very nice length. It took me about a month and a half to read and the author definitely kept me attached the whole time. If you enjoy realistic fiction I would also recommend this book. That is the just of Bruise. I hope you enjoy this book if you decide to read it!

[Alison Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Felt all the feelings with this one. If you are sensitive to the subject of suicide this may not be the book for you.

“We are all mean at heart. Humans are the meanest creatures in the world. We shit on anyone we think is below us and cause wars over skin colour and money and who we fuck.”

[Reading_is_decent · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute story but very cliche.

[Celine Pierre · Rating 5 out of 5]

“You’re worthless. Get over it. Kill yourself. You’re worthless. Get over it. Kill yourself. You’re worthless. Get over it. Kill yourself. You’re worthless. Get over it. Kill yourself. You’re worthless. Get over it.”(72)

Sara is a teenage girl in high school suffering from depression. “If I told her what I was thinking I’m sure she’d slap me. You didn’t raise me to be depressed either but here I am.”(19) She defines everything a teenager would do during high school. “Talking to people, loud music, drunken teenagers sneaking in. Drugs probably. Social interaction and having to dress up formally. Missing the next episode of Doctor Who on Netflix.”(20)

Along with dealing with depression Sara sealed with many other things like having an overbearing friend that seems to think being in a romantic relationship with Sara would help cure her depresion. “ You think that you’re the cure for the way I feel about myself Colten? You think you can remedy this just because you love me?”(65) Everyday I come to school just to deal with this I don't why I put up with it anymore. “ I’ve been tired since the day I became the laughingstock of the school. ”(58) “ Well I’m embarrassed, I have a puncture wound on my side, my neck hurts from sleeping against the bathtub, it hurts to walk because I cut my thighs.”(55) “(Why DO you put up with that, Sara?”(31)

I trusted Ali. I never expected her to be the way she became. “ He’s the only person who doesn’t hate me to my core. Years ago that would have been Ali. But she’s not the same anymore. She’s become the leader of the wolf pack in the halls that started the first rip in my flesh and ignited the feeding frenzy on my body.”(66) I would love to seek comfort in her just like it used to be when we were younger. “ I wish I could curl up on her lap like I did when I was a kid and have her brush my hair back.“(66)

Bruise is a book laid to be predicted exactly how you think it would go. Grief, sorrow, pain, anguish, regret, are all but what you should expect. It moves us as readers to truly understand what the meaning was and what message was being delivered. You are put to the test to see whether or not you met the qualifications and if you ask yourself what qualifications needed to be met then you already test. You have to know what's going on, what's being, and what was the reasoning.

[Tiffany N · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked this up because I haven't delved into many books that tackle mental health but unfortunately didn't feel that this was that great of a book. The story was extremely cliche and gave Wattpad sometimes. It felt like a very distant, disconnected representation of bullying that was pulled from different teen movies and not real life, this includes the relationships Sara, the main protagonist had.
It felt like it was written by someone in the start of high school that had to hand in a story for an English class but reading the writers bio it seems that she was in high school at the time of writing this anyway. It would be nice to see her revisit this story and revamp it.
At first I didn't like the repetitive negative inner thoughts but I ended up really liking that aspect as it brought some insight into the reality of how constant and debilitating mental health is/can be. If it was frustrating for me to read, imagine how much worse it is living with it.
I liked the characters, especially how real Sara Hale felt, although I worry some of the references to her interests will date the book a little (more of a preference than an issue though) but they made her relatable. The argument between Sara's parents was one of the most intriguing parts to me so kudos to thay dialogue.

[Cindi · Rating 1 out of 5]

Spoiler Alert.

Ugh. So disappointed. The first half of the book was very good and I was so hooked. I really felt invested in Sara and the writer definitely made me root for her. The writer also did a good job of villifying Allison and made me despise her.

So...what the hell??? Now Sara is dead and all the sudden I'm supposed to feel sorry for the bully?????? No. Nope. Not gonna happen. It was absurd that the writer tried to make Ali suddenly become the good guy. Oh boo hoo hoo her mom was a crack whore. How cliche. Most kids who grow up that way do not become the "queen bee". The QB and head bitch of most schools are spoiled rich girls who make everyone's life hell just because they can. So that whole story line was quite laughable to me. Also the cat...ridiculous. The whole bruise and cutting thing....very very poorly done the 2nd half of the book.

Based on the 1st half of the book, I would have given it 4 stars (even with all the errors, one of which was a whole chapter misspelling the main character's name). But the 2nd half RUINED it. So 1 star it is because the bully doesn't deserve to come out as the hero!

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was not an easy book to read, and by that, I mean it's such an upsetting subject matter. Obviously, I knew it would be tough, as I knew what was going to happen to Sara. I can't exactly say I enjoyed it, but I did find it a compelling read. The reason I gave it four, not five stars was due to the way all the adults treated Sara's bullying. I found it tough to believe that in 2014 (when Bruise was published), all the adults in Sara's life would ignore the way everyone bullies her mercilessly, and turns a blind eye to her depression. I do feel it's very important to know that so many teenagers are suffering from mental health issues, and that needs to be taken seriously. I do feel that in the end, this was shown, albeit too late to save Sara.

[Weekend Reader_ · Rating 4 out of 5]

My rating is really 3.75

The first half of the book was powerful where the reader is mostly in Sara's head. It was scary to read the negative self talk. But the transition to Ali felt to nicely wrapped up. My guess is what happened to Sara could be burden enough to change the bullying but idk if it was as "believable". Other than that I think its important to talk about how bullying can exsebrate depression.

TW: cutting, bullying, suicide and suicide ideation, child molestation, violence, drug use, parent abandonment and parental manipulation.

[Georgia Godenschwager · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such an amazing book! Going into it I thought it was just going to be another sob story about a teen girl who hates high school. It's so much more than that in the end. The author does an amazing job of keeping you on your toes, not knowing what the character's next move will be. It's beautifully heartbreaking in all the right ways.

[Callisto Adalwen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Here's the thing: This book definitely has the potential to be good. I say potential because to be honest, I liked the idea of the plot, but there were a bunch of errors that made it hard to read. For one thing, there were a lot of typos and missing commas and other things like that, and yes, this wouldn't bother me much if it was a few times just spread out through the book, but this was like every page. Perhaps I'm being a bit too harsh, but when you miss a comma from a direct address practically every time, it begins to irk me, and I'm just not able to focus on the plot anymore. There was also that perspective switch in the middle of the book, which, as I read the blurb, I was prepared for, but my main issue with this was that it was with no warning. None. Not a name at the top of the page, not a "Part Two" or anything like that. Just one chapter from one character's perspective, and then another right afterward where the whole book changes perspectives.

TL;DR: Very cool concept, though with disappointing execution due to typos and perspective change with no warning.

[Kei Kei · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn’t even finish the whole book. It had a nice story behind it but one thing that ruins a book is the horrific grammatical errors and writing. I tried to go as far as I could but just couldn’t. Would’ve been a fantastic story if it weren’t for all the grammatical errors. I almost feel bad putting at as I’ve read it but I read enough to understand what was happening.

[Miss Una Begley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Excellent premise not excellently executed

This book could have been amazing but needed further editing and development - and desperately needed more proofreading. Littered with grammatical errors and misspellings.

[s y d · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were countless spelling and grammar errors throughout the book. Though it has a good storyline to reflect how your words and actions towards people can affect them, even if it's not physically visible.

[Rachel · Rating 1 out of 5]

So many typos... Like enough to make me think it was a rough draft. There was even a paragraph that spelled the main character's name differently. Story is good idea, but the book is very poorly executed. I skimmed the end because it got boring. The whole thing was predictable and not well written.

[Anne Gamache · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting idea, but text full of errors.

This book was an impulse buy based on the preview. I found myself constantly distracted by editing errors throughout that, at times, made it difficult to understand. Aside from the errors, it was an okay read.

[Justice · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book!!!

This was a great book it got me crying at times and it made me realize how glad I am to be living this life I have.

[Lyrin Trotter · Rating 4 out of 5]

this book is very emotional and makes you begin to think about your actions

[Marissa Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

This books genre is suspense. Have you ever felt like you don't have a purpose and just struggle with the whole life thing? Well this is how Sara Hale feels about her life. You may think this sounds depressing and dark. Well, that because it is. Sara has spent most of her life in the dark with the feeling of worthlessness. Sara is the girl that gets bullied on the daily. She doesn't get the full teenage experience with all the fun road trips and vacations with friends as most teens get to do. Due to her at home and school life, she doesn't get to do that. Something that I found interesting is that Sara's childhood best friend is now her enemy. Her ex best friend, Ali Parker, is the school's most popular girl and she doesn't want to risk her reputation by being friends with Sara again. It just seems like the ironic chick-flick where the best friends turn into enemies. I really enjoyed this book. It touched a lot of real life problems which is something that teens these days need to understand. I would recommend this book to teens ages fifteen and up because it mentions harder stuff for some to hear.
Marissa B.

[svrhld · Rating 2 out of 5]

IF this was my first read of "books that deals with mental health/depression" i'll probably give it a 3.5 stars. But i've read too many of these books that i think this one is definitely clichè.

[Jessica]

Unique story with a very good understanding of mental illness and a great perspective of how the effects of bully effect all

[Valerie · Rating 4 out of 5]

9/10

[lia · Rating 3 out of 5]

putting aside the few spelling and grammatical errors, this was an alright book. the first half of it being in sara’s pov i found very relatable the other half, not so much.

[Caroline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bruise by Desiree Bissonnette is an intense emotional page turner.

[Corrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story was interesting, but the grammatical errors drove me bananas.

[Colleen Byrnes · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a bit of a tough read having a teenaged girl, but good. It really makes you think about how your actions effect others. Bruise really fives into the teenage drama and situations.

[S. · Rating 2 out of 5]

The point of the book is good but there’s multiple grammatical errors that made it hard to focus.