Blade Silver: Color Me Scarred

TrueColors #7

by Melody Carlson

Ruth Wallace knows she can only hide the scars on her arms for so long. Cutting herself doesn’t make her problems disappear, but at least it helps her cope. Ruth needs to find some way, any way, to heal her scars―the ones she hides and the ones she can’t―before something terrible happens. The seventh book in the TrueColors teen fiction series, Blade Silver deals with cutting, guilt, psychology, and healing. Includes discussion questions.

Genres: Young Adult, Christian, Fiction, Christian Fiction, Mental Health, Teen, Realistic Fiction

208 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2005

About the author

Melody Carlson is the award-winning author of over two hundred books, several of them Christmas novellas from Revell, including her much-loved and bestselling book, The Christmas Bus.

She also writes many teen books, including the Diary of a Teenage Girl series, the TrueColors series, and the Carter House Girls series.

Melody was nominated for a Romantic Times Career Achievement Award in the inspirational market for her books, including the Notes from a Spinning Planet series and Finding Alice, which is in production as a Lifetime Television movie. She and her husband serve on the Young Life adult committee in central Oregon.

Reviews

[Maren · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this in a public library one day while I was browsing the teen section. I was happy to find a book that dealt with self injury and hoped that I'd maybe understand myself better if I read the book. I thought the book was pretty good until the boy swept in to "save" her and she went to cutter rehab. I was really disappointed by the ending because they were using the traditional 12-step program for self injury which involves "putting your trust in higher powers." In the end she doesn't really do much work on herself but instead becomes a Christian and magically recovers. They also made it sound as if the ONLY way to fully recover was through religion and that just isn't true.

[--+Faith+-- · Rating 1 out of 5]

Tbh I don't like melody Carlson all her books are so freaking cheesy they end up being saved by god in every book... I'm a Christian but I think it's so cheesy

[Lacie · Rating 4 out of 5]

How can you understand the searing desire to open a vein unless you are one of the many who use SI as a coping method? For those uninitiated who wish to see into the mind of a cutter, Melody Carlson has crafted an amazing glance into one branch of SI.

Ruth Anne is a brilliant student, with a close group of friends, and a family that looks normal on the outside; however, once through the doors of her parent's ranch-style house it is revealed that her father is verbally abusive, her mother is more ghost than person, and Ruth and her brother Caleb are struggling to cope with the chaos their life has become.

As a former member of the SI community, I really enjoyed how clearly this book portrayed the emotions and thoughts that can go through a cutter's mind before, during, and after breaking skin. My single complaint with the book was the rather sudden appearance of God in the storyline; while I was aware of the fact that the book was classified as religious, I was still slightly disappointed by Carlson's need to get the message of God out as the only way to truly quit cutting.

However, I still believe that this book can be a wonderful resource for creating a bridge of understanding between a teenage cutter and their parents, and for giving all involved a sense of hope that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

[Carrie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't feel quite right putting this book on my "read" shelf as I didn't finish it, but oh well. I only got about three chapters in before I just couldn't read anymore. This book seemed more like a how-to on cutting yourself than anything else. Maybe it's because I can't relate to the self-mutilation problem that the main character has, but that's how the book came across to me, and I felt no desire to read any further. When I was reading how she swiped one of her brother's blades, how she kept it clean so it would last longer, how she knew just how to cut, how she taped a blade into the Altoids tin at school so as not to be picked up by the metal detector, how she was careful not to cut too deep at school because she was unable to change bloody clothes there, it all just came across (to me) as a guide on what to do and what not to do and way too detailed. If this book helps young women (and men) (or even adult women & men) who cut, then that's fantastic, but I wonder how many will read these details and think "oh, why didn't I think of that before?" instead of getting any other message this book might be trying to convey. And this is just what I got from three chapters. There's no telling what was to come.

[Elyssa]

I think this was a really good book. It was super sad but i loved so much it was super interesting on how everything ended up working out with ruth.

[Valerie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've gone back and forth on what to rate it so I'll say 2.5 stars.

The book was a quick read and surprisingly, it was really engaging. The writing wasn't all that great but there was something about the story itself that drew me in.

Things that annoyed me: 1.) I don't know how to explain it but I feel like Carlson could have done more with the story. Something was really lacking. It's going to sound weird but there was more she could have done with the verbal abuse storyline. 2.) Carlson didn't quite capture a teenage voice in this one. She tried way too hard and it ended up being annoying. I wish I kept track of how many times Ruth said "I mean" and "Like." 3.) I had expected this book to be really preachy about religion and God right from the beginning, so I was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't. But then towards the end it started kicking in. Ruth just suddenly believed and suddenly everything was about God. It got preachy.


My mom grabbed me a few more books by Carlson from the library so I'll probably read those and be done with the author, to be honest.

[Eri-chan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Light read. Light but has a heavy content.

Not too amazing of a book but it does give a flicker of hope. at least for people who self-harm. for people like me.

It just became a bit "preachy" in the end but I have already expected that. And some of it are too good to be true, like a whole month in Promise House stopped her from cutting, but then it's fiction. And like I said, it kinda gives hope. A little something to believe in that someday, we cutters will all be healed :)

[Jess Barakitten · Rating 2 out of 5]

Overall I think that the book is okay. I personally have delt with sef-injury for many years now,
7 this year, so I do believe that I know quite a bit in the matter. I think that she described the
cutting scenes pretty good except for one detail. The fact that she only makes one cut everytime she
cuts which is very unrealistic. I have NEVER made just one cut and I don't know of anyone who ever has!!!
In the whole 7ish years I've delt with this issue I've cut from 4-10 times in a sitting if it's a good day
to 25-50 cuts if it's a bad day. Never just one. Another thing that I didn't like about the book was how she
magically became a Christian. Never happens like that in real life. The ending itself was also very unsatisfying.
I felt like there should have been more to it. I also found this book very triggering. I had to stop in the middle
of it and cut. So yeah not the best book on self-injury, but not the worst. I really wouldn't recomend it to anyone.

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had a good message, and would probably be beneficial to young teenagers who are struggling with similar feelings of anxiety and depression as Ruth. On the whole though, the book was unrealistic and poorly timed. It failed to accurately portray a recovery from depression and domestic abuse, and after Ruth's stay in a mental health facility (which she was checked into in entirely unrealistic circumstances), made the recovery process over simplistic.

In terms of themes, and general message that help is out there and available, and recovery is possible, the book does well. However, showing the way to recovery it fell short significantly.

[Maryellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book's honest, unflinching look on the sensitive issue of cutting. It is not just something goths do. it happens to people with deeply sensitive natures. I should know. I've been there. This is a book I'd encourage anyone who loves teens to read. Excellently written, told with sensitivity. I love it!

[Ashley]

I loved this book. The only Christian books I've ever seen were good, but they were aimed for adults. I appreciate an author who writes books like this for people my age. I enjoyed this series and the Carter House Girls books. This was my favorite in the series.

[Deanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

My second favorite book in the TrueColors series. It deals with real life at its hardest and how to make it better. I felt Ruth had few options until she walked in that office. I didn't expect it to end quite like it did however the ending was better than I anticipated.

[Ozi Fah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Of the books that I have read from the True Colors series, this is the least inspirational to me. I know that Ruth was a cutter and her mom has mental issues, but there are verbally abusive parents around the United States and many of them do not get help.

[Carol McCleskey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a-friggen-mazing. I loved it. It's a must read. It doesn't take long to read at all. But it's a sad one. I didn't cry but it definatly got me thinking about some things from my past.

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book held my attention the whole way through.

[Brooke · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was very good, especially for someone going through these problems. I would highly recommend this book to someone with cutting problems or if they can relate to these family problems.

[L. E. Morgan]

A quick read I have mixed feelings on. I wouldn't give this to my child regardless of whether they were a cutter themselves or not. It inadvertently gives tips (including one which somehow I hadn't thought of), shows the main character doing something that is not safe (please, guys, do NOT use toilet paper on your wounds it will fragment into it, use a cloth or something that won't kinda dissolve in there), and polishes all that off with a come-to-Jesus moment that fixes everything. I'm not mad about that - it comes with the territory of the age and style being written for! But I kind of wish the come-to-Jesus bit was longer, maybe turning it into a duology in which the second book deals with the coming to Jesus. It was super quick.

For a child who harms themselves: I would not give, because it could be triggering, and the ending being such a quick fix could send them into a tailspin about why their own life isn't like that.

For a child who does not harm themselves: I would not give, because it could give them ideas.

The intention is good, the execution is pretty good, but I would not advise it for the age range it's meant for. Honestly, I'd advise it for either people who've been cutting a while and have a healthy degree of skepticism or unhealthy degree of cynicism (because it does have some good bits in it!), or for the parents of kids trying to work out how to help them and get a bit of an idea on what goes through some heads.

It's very sanitised and unrealistic in general as a story. Which is fair enough (again, comes with the territory), but it seems bizarre to do that to a topic like this. Oh, and some of the things Ruth looks down on of the other girls? I could see how that could contribute to people feeling down too with that if they fall into those categories.

I do not get the sense that the author has ever self harmed. The description of Ruth - sure, it's not unheard of, but it's atypical to cut in the specific ways she's described as doing. But she does get the reasoning down reasonably, I think.

So yeah, I didn't give it a star rating, because I would give it about two stars for its intended audience (and not because I don't think they should ever get books about cutting, to be clear, but about how this one handles it), but four or five for an older audience willing to overlook the extreme teen-fic-ness of it (teen as in where it's pitched, not in writing - the writing style was good). A light sort of read that I whipped through in an hour or two. Someone who isn't a cutter may take longer; I skimmed the actual cutting bits because I know them so well in my own life. Anyway, I might check out other books in this series. I'd definitely read more books by her. But as an adult. I never read it as a child but would have caused direct harm if I had done so, I think - could have made me start cutting earlier.

[TWJ Magazine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ruth has a dark secret. She’s a cutter, and if anyone saw the scars she tries so desperately to hide, it would disrupt her entire life. Not that it’s that great of a life, anyway. Her mom is completely emotionally absent, stuck in a cloud of meds , and her dad takes out his anger in cruel words directed towards Ruth and her brother. Her life may be a mess, but at least she has control over one thing. When Ruth’s problems seem too overwhelming, her ritual of taking a razor blade to her skin helps her to cope. Cutting is the only thing that eases her pain, at least temporarily. She can quit whenever she feels like it, and the scars will fade. Right?

Melody Carlson’s Blade Silver deals with the topic of self-mutilation in teens. While I haven’t personally had to face this addiction, I know it is something that many teens have struggled with and some will continue to battle for years. Melody Carlson handled the topic in such way that, I believe, will both discourage readers away from starting a cutting addiction, but also encourage those who are struggling to turn to someone for help.

Cutting is a serious addiction, just as serious as alcohol and drug addictions can become for teens. Melody shows that self-mutilation is not always something that can be overcome easily or conquered on one’s own. Ruth is admitted to a rehab facility, and during her stay at the Promise House, she learns to lean on God, instead of relying on a blade to help her through her pain. She also begins open up about her feelings though journals and her true love - art. Though Blade Silver doesn’t wrap perfectly, it is realistic. Ruth is still is on the road to recovery from her addiction, but Carlson gives the reader hope that Ruth can overcome cutting by relying on God’s healing power.

The Wordsmith Journal strives to guide readers to books of personal interest, with the understanding and respect that what appeals to some may not appeal to others. Therefore we attempt to keep our reviews focused on content, genre and style. The rating is necessary to make use of Goodreads and Amazon. It reflects the reviewer’s own level of enjoyment, but the review is intended to be informative for the benefit of all readers.

[James Crawford · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story starts with a girl named Ruth talking about how her father is yelling at her brother, Caleb. Their father has a hair trigger and virtually anything sets him off. The mother is pretty useless, not coming to the defense of her children. Her mother had tried to commit suicide. She had suffered a nervous breakdown. Her father is verbally abusive towards the mother and both children and he even hits Caleb in the nose.

She is in terrible emotional pain, of course, and so she has turned to cutting. (Cutting is considered to be a way to let emotional pain out, and to establish self-control.)

She does have a number of friends, which is fortunate. Then some guy seems to be interested in her. Abby is her best friend and eventually discovers her secret. Things get even worse for her and she ends up talking to a counselor at school that, fortunately, has had experience with cutting (her sister) and knows somewhere Ruth can go to get help.

She's shows many of the behavioral traits of people who practice self-inflicted violence
(SIV). She's depressed. She is sure that anything that just happens to go good will be quickly followed by something that goes much worse. She feels that a lot of what has happened to her is her fault.

The counselor has arranged for Ruth to go to a special therapy place for a month. Ruth is terrified of her father finding out, of course.

Then the story gets to be a little too centered on religion for my tastes. It basically becomes an evangelistic type of story with Jesus and God being thrown into every sentence or two and it changes the tone of the entire book, making the ending a little too pat.

[Jamie]

Ruth Wallace, a sixteen year old girl, uses cutting as a way to deal with the pain of a difficult family. She always wears long sleeve shirts even though it is summer, and her friends don't suspect anything at all. As her mother sits at home doing nothing, and her father yelling at her for every little thing she does, Ruth continues to cut herself. As she attempts to stop cutting she gets more afraid everyday that she won't be able to stop because of all the problems in her life. In this book I really liked that there was so many real life situations. The reasons I liked this was because the problems that Ruth has are all around us, and happens to some who are very unfortunate. It shows people signs of the problem like the one Ruth has. You could save someone's life by recognizing signs of cutting. I also like that the author added family difficulties to the book because those family problems are all around us as well. A thing in this book that I didn't really like was when the author was describing how Ruth was cutting herself. It made me really sick to my stomach to know that someone would do that to themselves. Sad but true, these situations happen and we have to deal with them, even though we dont like to
I would recommend this book to teenage girls who want a book that they can't stop reading. I would also recommend it to a teenage girl who loves to read about real life situations. This book is an excellent read, and I really suggest that you read it! I LOVED IT!!

[Caerol · Rating 4 out of 5]

As teenagers deal with changes and pressure of growing up, they also develop ways on how to cope with trials—in a constructive, beneficial way—others found the destructive way as the easier way out. Melody Carlson gives us a glimpse of self-mutilation, cutting one’s self to get rid of pain. How can a physical pain ease the emotional pain that is more incisive than a knife, than a deafening, detrimental verbal abuse?

In a lighter side of teenagers’ typical day of school to a hard brief moment of abuse, you can go through the pages with understanding and feeling the emotions of characters without putting much load on yourself, just enough to have an open mind and sympathy. Being not judgmental will soon emerge to the surface as you realize how those scars of cutting came about. Each has history and all together came into past as one found help through family, friends, institution, and the Higher Power.

Help can come in different forms yet at some point it may lead to disappointment or not having enough, missing something. We cannot do it alone. God will give us the strength to go through life in times of trials and rejoice with us in bliss. Such truth is infused in the book without much pressure for readers to assimilate all at once. Carlson gives you the time to contemplate, to be confused, and to be enlightened along with the characters as the story ends with healing of the past—and maybe yours as well that begins with realization of the Higher Power.

[Ashley]

This is the seventh book in the True Colors Series by Melody Carlson.

My Synopsis: Ruth had been cutting for a long time to cope with the verbal abuse that her father was doing to her. She always made she that her arms were covered because she didn't want anyone to know that she was a cutter. One day when her best friend saw her arms, she made Ruth promise that she would stop cutting. Ruth tried, but cutting had become an addiction to her and she couldn't stop without lots of help.

Questionable content: Cutting, mention of drinking, verbal abuse, and mention of incidents where Ruth's mother was mentally ill

Pros: I really enjoyed this book because it showed us how cutting is a major problem in today's teens. Also I really enjoyed how Ruth's friends all wanted to help her through her problem.

Cons: This book was just a really heavy book in general because of the topic.

Age recommendation: 16+

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ruth Wallace is hiding a secret. She knows she won’t be able to keep her secret hidden much longer under long sleeves as soon the school year will end and summer will be in full force. Cutting herself doesn’t make her problems disappear but for a minute she thinks it helps her deal with her internal pain. Her father is verbal abusive, her mother has checked out mentally and her brother has ran away. She now has to take care of everything.

Her best friend Abby has found out the truth and told Ruth if she doesn’t fix it she will tell someone. Ruth is tired of the hiding the truth and the feeling of humiliation that she cannot control herself. With the help of her friends, a counselor and a center for cutters she admits to her addiction and begins to face her demons.

Not appropriate for all teens as there are difficult issues to deal with.

[Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book Blade Sliver by: Melody Carlson is a very good book! The whole series is very good. The series is about teenagers not really doing the smartest things and gets them in trouble when they want someone to like them. But when they get into trouble they all find God to help themselves.
This book is about a girl that has some family problems. Her and her brother try to stick together but doesn't really work when him and his dad have a big fight and the brother runs away. Now Ruth is all by her dad that is kinda abusive. So Ruth thinks cutting her self will make everything better. But then she meets a boy and can't do everything they want to do because she always wears long sleeve shirt to cover up her cuts. Then the counselor finds out and sends her to rehab and then she gets better.

[Iamthez · Rating 3 out of 5]

As someone who works within Health and Social Services, I found parts of this book to be very realistic, and other parts that made me shake my head.

I liked how the author portrayed Ruth, and I could really get into Ruth's head. That being said, the ending just worked out so well for her, it kind of made me shake my head.

I'm not going to spoil the novel for anyone, but unless American social services are completely different than Canadian social services, I'm confused as to how things worked the way they did. I also found that her decision to become Christian magically solved everything ... I know that she did do a lot of work as well, and it is important to believe in something else when battling addiction, but still.

Well-written otherwise.

[Christina Yard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Blade Silver by Melody Carlson is a raw and real novel about a girl struggling to regain control of her family and her cutting before its too late and she becomes lost.

With a verbally abusive father,an unruly brother and a mother who uses drugs to forget her circumstances Ruth Wallace doesn't know what to do with her life.Filled with a special kind of hatred for her family and a deadly self loathing for herself Ruth leads us on her tale of self harm and the hard and well travelled road to recovery.She has to pull herself together in order to pick up the pieces of her broken family.

I loved this read for its powerful plot and for the memorable characters.Id recommend any others in the color me series.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ruth resorts to cutting to escape from her problems. The first time I read this book, I thought Ruth's friends were idiots for not realizing her problems. From personal experience I realized that this issue is actually presented very true-to-life. I cried so badly while reading this book that I had to have tissues on hand and periodically stop to wipe my eyes so I could see. This book is harsh and realistic, and helps people recognize the symptoms of cutting, what to do if a friend is cutting, and what to do if you yourself have a problem with it.

I love this whole series, but this book was by far one of the best in it.

[Courtney · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is about a teenager whose name is Ruth. She is going through a lot of painful problems. And she thought that the only way to escape that is to cut herself. But then, cutting doesn't help her overcome these problems. Instead it adds another problem, she needs to find ways to hide it or heal it.

It's a nice book. Though there are some parts that I cannot relate to though there are a lot that I can. So I recommend this book for young adult readers like me especially those who cut themselves. They can relate in this book obviously and who knows, this can be their guide to a new and more progressive life.

[Alsie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is about a girl named Ruth, who's family is quite messed up. Her father is verbally abusive, her brother runs away to live with their grandparents and her mother is "sick" (I cant really explain what is wrong with her mum. ) So, to deal with this, Ruth turns to cutting.

I kinda think this book was a little repetitive once I got to the middle. As everyone else said, Melody Carlson lost the teenage voice in this one. This was one of the books in the Truecolours series I couldnt wait to read but it was different to what i expected it to be like.
It was an okay read, I dont think I'd reccomend it to anyone though.

[Amy Peichel]

Ruth Wallace from the novel Blade Silver written by Melody Carlson lived in an abusive home and had a problem with self harm. She wanted to get out of her current situation but couldn't so she coped with it by cutting. She mainly cut because of her dads verbal and sometimes physical abuse. She then became addicted to cutting and had trouble stopping even after promising her best friend that she would stop. Ruth went to Promise House, a recovery center for young girls that self harm. She learned how to stop herself from cutting and also discovered a newfound love for God.
Trust the ones around you, they might be the ones that save you in the end.