Title: The Burn Journals by Brent Runyon; ISBN 1-4000-9642-1; Vintage, New York; $12.95; 325 pp.

Genre: Nonfiction – Memoir/ Suicidal teenage boys; grades 8 -12.

Characters: Fourteen-year-old Brent Runyon is in the eighth grade. He is a popular kid, always looking for ways to entertain his friends and fellow students. He is a little girl crazy too – typical of a young hormonal boy his age. On the surface, he seems fine – the kind of kid others want to be around. Yet, a closer look reveals a darker side that finally bursts to the surface and changes Brent’s life forever. Brent’s parents are loving, constant and true in their quest to make Brent whole again. Brent’s mother even quits her teaching job to nurse him through. Brent’s brother, Craig, is understandably detached somewhat once Brent makes a life-changing decision that hurts Craig too. Many nurses and doctors parade through the book as Brent is cared for and encouraged.

Plot: Brent Runyon used to be in the Gifted and Talented program at school, but when adolescence hit, he begged to be let out of it to get away from the “geeks.” His grades dropped. He didn’t care about school except for the social drama and girl contact that school provided. He started getting into trouble, and when he finally pulled a stunt that was going to get him expelled, he panicked. He came home from school, had a snack, doused his bathrobe in gasoline, put it on and set himself on fire. The Burn Journals are Brent’s recollection of his suicide attempt and the year-long struggle back to some semblance of a normal life after sustaining burns over 85% of his body. Though he is ten years older when he writes the journals, his account is meticulously detailed as though he has been saving each excruciating moment for this cathartic expression of fact. Brent goes through numerous skin grafts and painful surgeries as well as humiliating experiences just learning to use his body again. He struggles with one tiny hope after another: from eating food again to walking someday to having a girl ever love him with his face melted the way it is. He is fighting for his life and dignity while caught between boyhood and manhood. His voice is hysterical little boy, defiant and flippant teen and courageous adult all in one. Brent fights to live, and finally returns to his old life, not a new person, but alive and fighting to be well.

Touchy Areas: This is a true story of a brutal suicide attempt. It is graphic for its reality alone. The language is bad in places, punctuating Brent’s anger and frustration. Some explicit sexual references exist, mainly as Brent’s adolescent fantasies, but young boys would probably relate to it.

Related Titles: Speak (1999) by Laurie Halse Anderson; When Nothing Matters Anymore – A Survival Guide for Depressed Teens (1998) by Bev Cobain   (an R.N. and Kurt Cobain’s cousin); Cut (2002) by Patricia McCormick

Movies: Dead Poets Society (1989); Teen Suicide – No Way Out (1987) short film w/actual interviews of teens who have attempted suicide; Investigative Reports: Teenage Suicide--The Silent Threat (1999) documentary which is part of the A&E Investigative Reports series – movie includes several notable experts in the mental health field

Music: "Jeremy" (1992) by Pearl Jam; "Help" (1965) by John Lennon and Paul McCartney; "Bridge Over Troubled Water" (1969) by Simon and Garfunkel

Photos: “Depression” – great black and white expressive photo (http://www.img63.photobucket.com)

Related Websites: (http://www.kidshealth.org) – great site for parents and teens; (http://www.teencentral.net) – site for teens by teens; (http://www.psychologyinfo.com)

Art: The Scream (1893) by Edvard Munch

Poem: "The Lake" (1927) by Edgar Allan Poe

Classic Works: The Catcher in the Rye (1945) by J.D. Salinger; The Bell Jar (1971) by Sylvia Plath

Evaluation: I found it troubling that Brent did not try to respond to his psychologists at all. He compared psychotherapy to being grilled and tortured by an enemy captor – all while remaining successfully silent. He seems frighteningly detached. His parents, too, treat his near-suicide as a terrible “accident”. I kept hoping someone would wake up. It isn’t until the four-page “Afterword” at the end of the book that some of my concerns about his mental health were answered. Also, Brent’s attitude toward women was offensive to me (a woman); I had to keep reminding myself that this was supposed to be an eighth grade boy, and most likely, other eight grade boys would like reading Brent’s sexual observations. This book has value as a true account of suicide and depression as it may manifest in young adult men. It will inspire thought and dialogue in any class as a result. I would rate it 8 out of 10.

Reviewed by: Karen Schoenberger, University of Toledo