After the Wreck, I Picked Myself Up, Spread My Wings, and Flew Away (by Joyce Carol Oates)

common sense media says

Raw look at loss & addiction best for older teens.


parents & educators say
  • 33% say sexual content is an issue
  • 33% say violence is an issue

What parents need to know

Parents need to know this book deals with heavy issues: a parent's death, addiction, depression, gang rape, and recovery. A description of a car wreck is particularly graphic and various drugs are abused, bought, and sold by teens.

Positive messages: Teen characters in this book use drugs, drink, cut class, and steal. A teen girl is bulimic. Adults are shown out of control with anger and drunkenness. There are drug dealers and crimes committed. However, most bad behavior has appropriate consequences. There are models of love and support in the form of family.
Violence: A mother and daughter are in a horrific car accident, it is described, including the severe injuries sustained. A father hurts his daughter, she remembers him shaking her when he was angry. A girl is gang raped after a drug and alcohol-fueled party. A girl is intimidated by several older teens and is fearful of retaliation for reporting a crime. A group of young men fight, blood splatter is described.
Sex: Teenagers are sexually active and there is sexual innuendo. A high school boy has a young son.
Language: Average teen swearing.
Consumerism: Not applicable.
Drinking, drugs, & smoking: Oxycotin, marijuana, meth, alcohol, drug dealers -- it's all here.

More on After the Wreck, I Picked Myself Up, Spread My Wings, and Flew Away

What to talk about

Talk to your kids
Families can talk about any of the biggie topics presented here: dealing with the loss of a loved one, the dangers of prescription medication, dangerous friends, rape, and recovery. In what ways did Jenna punish herself for her mother's death? What do you know about the dangers of prescription medicine abuse? What deaths in the news can be attributed to prescription medicines?

What's the story?

What's the story?
Once popular, athletic, and "normal," Jenna Abbott isn't the same after a near-fatal car crash. Now she feels totally alone and sickly and fights to forget the accident in a number of self-destructive ways. Two friends come into her life, one who can help her recover and another who offers even more dangerous forms of self-punishment.

Is it any good?

Is it any good?
 
Moving. Groundbreaking. Raw. Joyce Carol Oates finds a way to reach inside the soul of a teen and bring out every painful, joyful, and confused feeling, laying them out for readers to digest. Jenna Abbott is in a horrible car crash with her mother. After the crash, she is a completely different person and finds herself trying hard to cope and forget everything that happened.

Oates takes readers "into the blue" -- the drug-induced haze Jenna finds herself in after the crash -- and then pushes us "into the raw" -- real life, up close without drugs as Jenna experiences it. It's a heartbreaking, painful, encouraging, and ultimately beautifully crafted story of loss and recovery.

Book themes & details

Book Details
Author: Joyce Carol Oates
Publisher: HarperTeen
Publication date: August 22, 2006
Number of pages: 304
Paperback price: $7.99
Read Aloud: 14
Read Alone: 14

This review was written by Terreece Clarke
 
 

Review It

 

Review After the Wreck, I Picked Myself Up, Spread My Wings, and Flew Away





Hang on! You need to be a member to post your review.
A safe community is important to us. Please observe our guidelines.
 

What parents & educators say

15
Based on 3 parent & educator reviews:
  • 33% say sexual content is an issue
  • 33% say violence is an issue
  • 33% say there are positive messages
  • 33% say language is an issue
  • 33% say there's too much drinking, drugs, or smoking

Most useful reviews by all members

 
this book is a very good book i had just picked it for a project and i would like to say that this book is good for kids who have abused drugs to take away pain or someone that has lost a parent and has issues or withdraws from drugs. This book also has alot to do with drugs and violence and sexually content. I had seen my dad uzse drugs and i never had done anything because i have seen my dad go threw it and this book has supported me in so many ways

 
It was greta and contained a great message. For some younger teens it may not be apprpiate but the majority are reading much worse stuff and are mature enough to get the lesson out of this book. And compared to what we see everyday it was not grapic at all. Plus at any regular high school there are drugs and drinking, not that every kid is involved but they know all about it. Plus the majority off book swe read contain worse things about love and stuff and very bad messages. this is from a teenagers point of view by the way. This book had a intense topic but the rest was less than normal. No one gets what we get faced with evry day sooo. And it was an incrdibly well written book.

kiRaYagAmI
teen, 17 years old
 
a good compliment for teens and gives educational values especially in life aspects of a teenager life

norderik29
teen, 16 years old
 
Being Exposed Can Be GOOD!
I really liked it and it shows kids and teens what really can go on in the world. Although you dont want to expose your kids to some of the things in this book such as alcohol, sex, violence, rape, and gangs, being exposed to these things can help teens know to stay away from people like this. It also shows them the negative consequences that came out of the situation.

 
Loved it!
Great book, I couldn't put it down! I suggest this book!

An independent voice for families
Age-appropriate reviews
 

vote now

Will you read After the Wreck, I Picked Myself Up, Spread My Wings, and Flew Away?


Already read it? What do you think?

 

Great alternatives handpicked by our editors


About our rating system
ON: Content is appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child, some content may not be right for some kids
OFF: Not age appropriate for kids this age