Imogen, a black belt in Tae Kwan Do, freezes up when she's a bystander in a hold-up at the local diner and blames herself for not acting before the gunman is shot and killed by the police. She always believed that her black belt made her better than everyone else -- more responsible, more capable. Now that this belief has been challenged, she has to rebuild her life, including her relationship with her family and with the boy who was at the diner with her during the shoot-out. It's unique, emotionally affecting and confidently written. Plus, it features a strong, unique protagonist who's passionate about martial arts, something many kids study and a topic not frequently covered in YA. With romance, action and a complex protagonist, Bruised will appeal to teens and any readers looking for a great story. It will include an excerpt of Sarah's next book, High and Dry.

 

 

This book is the winner of numerous awards

This book has been graded for interest at 10-13 years.

There are 304 pages in this book.

It is aimed at Young Adult readers. The term Young Adult (YA) is used for books which have the following characteristics: (1) aimed at ages 12-18 years, US grades 7-12, UK school years 8-15, (2) around 50-75k words long, (3) main character is aged 12-18 years, (4) topics include self-reflection, internal conflict vs external, analyzing life and its meaning, (5) point of view is often in the first person, and (6) swearing, violence, romance and sexuality are allowed.

This book was published in 2014 by Abrams .

Sarah Skilton is the author of Bruised, which received a starred review from Publishers Weekly and which The Horn Book called "nuanced and honest. "