My Side. (Orca Soundings). Norah McClintock. Victoria, BC: Orca, 2013. 110 pp., pbk., hc., pdf & epub, $9.95 (pbk.), $16.95 (hc.). ISBN 978-1-4598-0511-8 (pbk.), ISBN 978-1-4598-0517-0 (hc.) ISBN 978-1-4598-0512-5 (pdf), ISBN 978-1-4598-0513-2 (epub). Grades 7-12 / Ages 12-17. Review by Barb McDougall and Linda Fontaine. ** /4

excerpt:

I walk up the stairs to the second floor, trying to ignore the shaking in my knees and the churning in my stomach. The hall is deserted. Classroom doors on both sides are shut. Everyone is already inside.

I don’t go to my locker. I have everything I need in my backpack. The classroom I’m headed to is at the end of the hall. As I walk toward it, the hall seems to get longer and longer, as if I’m in a nightmare and no matter how far I walk, I’ll never get where I’m going.

My head spins.

I am in a nightmare. I’ve been dreading this for months. I’ve been praying this day would never come. But that’s not how it works. It’s the day you wish for that never comes, not the one that terrifies you. That day rushes at you like a runaway locomotive.

Told through the eyes of two former best friends, My Side explores issues of social anxiety and peer pressure. The novel gives two grade 10 girls, Addie and Neely, a chance to each tell their version of what happened in the woods. The story initially unfolds from Addie’s point of view which clearly paints Neely as the instigator of a bullying incident in the woods. However, the second half of the novel is seen through Neely’s eyes, and readers learn how she, too, was bullied through peer pressure. The novel explores how former best friends can drift apart as they grow up and enter the turbulent world of a large high school. Having grown up together, the girls were both quiet and painfully shy throughout their elementary and middle school years, characteristics which provided the central bond for their friendship. However, as they entered grade 10 at a large high school with several feeder schools, readers can see how each girl reacts differently to her new environment and how each learned to cope. Addie continues to hide from her peers, always quiet and plagued by anxiety. Neely, in an effort to break away from her shy demeanor and reinvent herself as a social butterfly, consequently leaves Addie behind to fend for herself. It’s the pressure to fit in and the willingness to do anything to be accepted that lands Neely in a situation that ruins what was left of her friendship with Addie.

     Norah McClintock works very hard to fit the events of a few months into such a short novel. This makes for a story that jumps quickly through time and doesn’t leave a lot of wiggle-room to embellish and really explore what the girls are feeling. There is such a wealth of emotion and angst to explore when writing about teens, be it the gut-wrenching feeling of being unable to leave your bed due to anxiety and then hating yourself because of it, or the flutter of your heart when desperately trying to impress someone that you see as your social better. What is beautiful about writing in first person is that it gives readers an opportunity to truly peek into the mind of a character and understand that individual’s thoughts, feelings and biases. Addie’s feelings of anxiety and loneliness are very relatable emotions for many adolescents, but McClintock’s descriptions may come off as clinical, or even seem like the perspective of someone who has never actually experienced what Addie is going through.

     Neely’s side of the story may seem like the more standard high school experience of peer pressure and searching for acceptance. It’s in Neely’s side where McClintock hits her stride and the novel begins to make more sense and becomes more engaging, which makes it more disappointing when the novel ends abruptly. There are questions that go unanswered, secondary characters that require more fleshing out, and even the main plot is left as loose ends waiting to be tied. When Addy’s character sinks into a deep depression, the topic is glossed over. While the story briefly mentions how Addy is bullied through social media, in today’s climate this issue could have been explored in much greater depth. However, it would make for a first rate discussion in a classroom.

     My Side is ultimately a novel about two girls finding their way through the murky territory of high school, the questionable ethics of teenagers, and coming to terms with emotions that are seemingly beyond control. Overall though, the book is worth the read as it covers topics that are relevant to today’s youth and lets readers know that, if they are in a similar situation, they aren’t alone.

Recommended.

Barb McDougall is a math teacher at Argyle Alternative High School in Winnipeg, MB. She created and runs the school's lunch time "Book Club".

Linda Fontaine is a grade 12 student and avid reader from Winnipeg, MB.

To comment on this title or this review, send mail to cm@umanitoba.ca.

Copyright © the Manitoba Library Association. Reproduction for personal use is permitted only if this copyright notice is maintained. Any other reproduction is prohibited without permission.

Published by The Manitoba Library Association ISSN 1201-9364

Hosted by the University of Manitoba.

 

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