Bent Not Broken: Madeline and Justin

One-2-one

by Lorna Schultz Nicholson

Book 3 of the One-2-One series. Meet Madeline and Justin. Before Madeline's bike accident left her with a traumatic brain injury, she and her twin sister were inseparable. So were her parents. But now, Madeline's parents are divorced and Becky has become rebellious, angry, and sneaky. Even worse, she doesn't seem to want Madeline around anymore. At least Madeline knows she can always rely on the miniature therapy horses she visits every week. Justin is a senior and the president of his school's Best Buddies club. Before his sister died, he used to take her to the barn to visit her beloved therapy horses. Now, with Madeline, he goes there to escape the gloom of his mother's grief at home and the pressures of his final year in high school. Together, Justin and Madeline help each other to reconnect with the important people in their lives -- and with the lives that they thought they'd lost.

Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary

224 pages, Paperback

Published March 8, 2017

About the author

Lorna Schultz Nicholson is an award winning author who has published over 50 books, including children's picture books, middle grade, YA fiction and sports non-fiction. Lorna divides her time between Edmonton and Penticton, where she and her husband share their homes with their Mexican rescue dog.
http://www.facebook.com/lorna.s.nicho...
www.lornaschultznicholson.com
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Reviews

[Hadeel Othman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got this as a Goodreads giveaway and I finished it in one day!
I'm probably a little biased since I found out the author is from my city (I loved the part about the Oilers actually winning) but really I can't remember a contemporary fiction book that deals with such important content and is so well written. The plot is not too dramatic or exciting but the characters are so realistic and enticing you'll be drawn in from the start. Honestly, I felt like reading this helped me become more empathetic.

[Gabriele Goldstone · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book because of a family member's brain injury. The story successfully grasps what brain injury can be. (It's different, of course, for every victim.) Using the speech impediment of long vowels throughout Madeline's dialogue works really well. A page turner of a book, told through alternating viewpoints. My only concern...the character of Justin seemed almost too good to be true. But the book shines nevertheless.

[PakTung · Rating 4 out of 5]

BENT NOT BROKEN by Lorna Schultz Nicholson was an influencing book about Madeline, a 14-year old with a traumatic head injury and how she meets Justin, a high school senior that was still mourning over his sister's death. They meet as part of the Best Buddies program at school and quickly became best friends despite Madeline and Justin's differences. I loved the happy ending quite a lot.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book, the book definitely has valuable lessons about family, friends and honesty. The characters in this book will make you wonder what's going to happen next. This book was a page turner and hard to put down. I hope there is a sequel or something to the book, I would very much enjoy to read what happens with Justin and Anna along with Becky and Madeline. This is a very compelling book that can be emotional at times and the lessons in this book are the bonus to the reading of it.

[Joanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the next story in the series BUT my students enjoyed it even more. One of my grade 8 boys read it in one night! I feel it should be required reading for everyone in grade 8 before they go into high school so they are aware of the changes that may occur with their friends. Hopefully, this series will inspire students to create a Best Buddies program in all high schools.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this up at the ALA convention this weekend. I was intrigued because i have a friend who has TBI and loves horses. Ms. Nicholson filled the pages with complex characters that revealed the many sides of what people experience.

[Zoe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I totally understand Justin's struggles and Maddy I cry for you. Becky I cry even harder for you. Even though Becky has a normal life she is always standing in Maddy's shadow. She tries so hard to be awesome.

[Randy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book, third in the Best Buddies series, made me smile. Madeline's view of the world, her ability to find pleasure in simple tasks, is refreshing. The problems encountered by her, and the other characters, were also written in a way that made them realistic and easy to relate to for the reader.

[Guneet · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book Bent not Broken, Madeline and Justin; is about a girl named Madeline who was left with a brain injury from a bike accident. Madeline had a twin sister, her name was Becky and throughout the entire book, Becky kept a big secret from everyone. When Becky kept this secret it impacted her very negatively because she had started stressing that someone was going to find out and that's when Becky started becoming into someone she wasn't. Becky had become friends with the means girls, being rude and started smoking cigarettes but when her mom would ask about the smell of smoke from Becky, Becky never admits it and blamed it on her friend's dad.

Madeline also had a friend named Justin. Justin's younger sister had died and she had a love for horses and barn animals and Madeline did too and that's when Justin and Madeline started going to the barn together, Becky was also invited but she had started spending more time with her friends and forgot about her twin sister. In this book, Justin represents character traits of a true friend which are being supportive, caring and also thinking about how Madeline feels and he had also put himself in her shoes. Throughout the book, Justin was there for Madeline when her own twin sister Becky wasn't, that's a true friend.

I think this book was supposed to teach us that instead of hiding something you should much rather open up about it because in this book Becky had a kept a huge secret (read the book to find out) and that had impacted her negatively and that isn't the ideal thing you want. Overall I recommend this book because the storyline is something many people would be interested in because there's a lot of cliffhangers and suspense which would get the reader to keep reading. Another reason why I recommend this book is because this book is written in 2 perspectives which makes it even more interesting to read, not only that Becky's big secret is revealed at the end of the book which will be very shocking to many readers.

[Amy Polegato · Rating 4 out of 5]

Imagine going for a harmless bike ride with your sister, not knowing that it would change your life or imagine living with the fact that your sister died, and having a mom who never leaves her room because of her depression. That is exactly what happened to Madeline and Justin in the book, Bent Not Broken written by,Lorna Schultz Nicholson. In this book Madeline had a biking accident that left her with a brain injury, not only that, Madeleine also has to live with the fact that her twin sister Becky has gotten in with the wrong group of people. Justin is struggling with being a positive figure for Madeline, he has trouble staying happy when he is almost always plagued with his sister's death, his mothers depression, and with figuring out his future. In my opinion this was a really good book I would rate it four out of five stars. I loved how this book lets the reader get a deeper connection with Justin and Madeline because of how it alternates chapters. I thought that it was well written, and that the characters had a lot of dept. I would suggest this book to people who love books about life, and that are just overall enjoyable.

[Janna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Third book in the series gets a thumbs-up from me. I find it weird that in these books the characters always say that they "hold up their thumbs" instead of giving thumbs-up. Anyway. This is well-done. I really appreciated how strongly the difference between Madeline's speech and her ability to communicate in writing was painted. It makes it really clear that a lot of her cognition etc. wasn't harmed and largely she has trouble speaking her thoughts. One of the problems I had with the earlier books was in the way the disabled characters were presented (Harrison in the first book and Erika in the second); sometimes I feel like authors don't quite grasp how thought processes actually work for people with disabilities like autism and Down syndrome. But I think in the case of this author, she is actually working very carefully to ensure that her disabled characters are individuals with well-rounded characterizations and that their voices in the books are authentic.

[Ahmed Hawamdeh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Get ready to pick up the tissue box because this book will make you ball your eyes out. Bent not broken takes you inside the life of two twin sisters who live totally different lives. Madeline fell off her bike and had brain damage. While the other is a total mess. Becky is acting out, sneaking out late and smoking. Before the accident these two were so close. Will they make their way back to each other?

This series is outstanding. It brings us into the lives of two teens one having a disability while the other who is their best buddy. But this book specifically talked about the comparison in lives and who and what Maddie lost after her brain damage. However also Becky, her life after the accident, the guilt and trying to forget. While Maddie’s best buddy Justin is having problems at home, his mom is depressed and upset after her daughter committed suicide a year ago. This is a book full of emotion, love, and forgiveness. I’m sure it will blow your mind.

[Peggy Lalor · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a great book to explain the unseen, un-talked about, consequences of brain injury and there are over 52,000 deaths per year, 275,000 hospitalizations, 1.365 Million Emergency dept visits yet very little is known or talked about brain injury. All the characters came to life and were dealing with many issues that parents, siblings, friends deal with, as it happens to more than just the injured.

[Rebecca Mckenzie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the third book by Nicholson in the One-2-One series where kids are paired up in the Best Buddies Program. Madeline who has suffered brain damage resulting from a bike accident is paired up with Justin whose autistic sister passed away. I like how Nicholson's characters find therapeutic ways to find resolve in their situations - even the parents and siblings.

BOB: In which book does Madeline convince Justin to come help out with miniature horses that were part of her therapy after a bike accident left her with a brain injury?

[Allison Mclean · Rating 5 out of 5]

Madeline and Becky are twins. Madeline sustains a brain injury and Becky turns goth as they go through the early high school years. Madeline finds her life with horses and a buddy Justin. Justin is dealing with his own issues of his autistic sister who died, her mother who cannot cope with his sister's death and where to go next year after high school. A really good YA read.

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

What I especially liked about this book was how it shows that what a person thinks can be very different from what they're able to say out loud. I also had never heard of a Best Buddies Club before--what a great idea!

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great read for teens focusing on acceptance, friendship, mental health, and the typical stresses of high school life. The author did a fantastic job at portraying what it's like to have a brain injury through the narration of Madeline. I'm looking forward to reading more from this series!

[Cami · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the book, I think it has to be my favourite out of the series! I love how both Madeline and Justin have their own problems and in a way they relate and make each other better! Red maple 2018! A must read an definitely recommend!

[Jia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I just love this book, I don't know exactly why, I just like it. I love Harrison's awkward conversations with Maddie, It makes me laugh and cringe at the same time, but in a good way. Id love to one day play with miniature horses, they sound so cute!

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a nice YA book and definitely a great book looking at disabilities versus abilities.

[Rainbow · Rating 5 out of 5]

i think that this was a really good book because every event was described really clearly. i was able to imagine the story the whole way through.

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is really moving.

[Leyi He Lavender · Rating 3 out of 5]

meh

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the way this book was written, and how it told the story of a girl in high school who had brain damage. This is a story that everyone should read sometime in their life

[Ella K · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an amazing book!!! Would definitely recommend!

[Kristina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this story, lots of suspense and a great way to see through eyes of a disabled person !