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Your Own, Sylvia

(2007, Non-Fiction - Biography, Written by Stephanie Hemphill)

  • Is it age appropriate?

    About our ratings

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    Not age appropriate for kids under 11, age appropriate for kids over 13; suggested age 13.

  • Is it any good?

    4.0

  • Common Sense says

    Sylvia Plath fictionalized bio wins Printz Honor.

Why We Rated This on for Ages 13 and Up

The good stuff

  • Messages:

    Not an issue.
 

What to watch out for

  • Violence:

    Plath commits suicide by putting her head in a gas oven.

  • Sex:

    References to sex, including rough sex that causes bleeding; an adulterous affair.

  • Language:

    "Bitch," "bastard."

  • Consumerism:

    Not an issue.

  • Drinking, drugs, & smoking:

    Cocaine nasal spray is prescribed for sinusitis; drinking, smoking.
 

What Parents Need to Know

About Your Own, Sylvia

Parents need to know that Sylvia Plath, the subject of this fictionalized biography, suffers from depression, possibly bipolar disorder, and commits suicide by putting her head in a gas oven while her young children sleep in the next room.

Did this review help you decide?

Families Can Talk About

  • Families can talk about Sylvia Plath's life and work (see the More Choices section for some Web sites to start with). What do you think of her poetry? Why has she remained so famous after such a brief career? Could she have written this poetry if she had been more stable? Also, what is a fictionalized biography? What do you think of the form?
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