The File On Angelyn Stark (2011) - Plot & Excerpts
Catherine Atkins writes heart-staggeringly good books. WHEN JEFF COMES HOME and ALT ED earned their place on my favorites shelf. Thus, I held THE FILE ON ANGELYN STARK to an extremely high standard. I don't think THE FILE ON ANGELYN STARK lives up to Atkin's two previous novels, but it's still an excellent (if tough) read.Fifteen-year-old Angelyn Stark begins her day smoking in the bathroom with her best friends Jacey and Charity. No one messes with them. She's got a boyfriend, Steve Coslow, who keeps pressuring her for more. He always wants to have sex. She's got a mother who is never on her side. She's just met the new girl in school, who knows someone from her past she'd rather forget. She's also just been told by her World Cultures teacher, Mr. Rossi, that she's smart. That she could do better.The first person narration doesn't occlude the things Angelyn doesn't think about. Even when she doesn't understand herself, the reader has a sense of her emotions. She's a complex, absorbing character. It's interesting to see how her interactions with others change throughout the novel as she grows more confident in her ability to judge character.Atkins wisely doesn't make Angelyn a victim. She's affected by the sexual abuse she sufferer at the hands of her stepfather, as well as the emotional abuse by her mother, but it's not her defining quality. Nor is it her only problem. I really rooted for her, because she did have so much potential she'd been taught to ignore.Parents may want to read THE FILE ON ANGELYN STARK with younger teens and have a frank discussion about sexual abuse, bullying, and street harassment. Fans of Laura Wiess's SUCH A PRETTY GIRL will also enjoy THE FILE ON ANGELYN STARK. I didn't think that a book so simply written could have so much depth. By "simple" I mean that it was about 95% dialogue.Angelyn is a girl who represses and denies everything that happened to her as a young girl and begins searching for the respect and love she feels she deserves from her boyfriend who just doesn't quite live up to what she wants. Then there's Mr. Rossi, a teacher who seems to get too close to her and she takes his intentions and turns them into feelings she shouldn't have. Searching for that love. She pushes too far sometimes, and as a reader I wasn't sure how far she'd go and how far Mr. Rossi would let her go. I was constantly on edge.When a new girl, Jenni, arrives at her school, Angelyn doesn't want anything to do with her until she realizes the girls she thought were her friends begin to push her away. In Jenni, she learns what it means to have a real friend and someone who cares about you. I loved Jenni's character, she was there for Angelyn even when Angelyn wasn't there for herself.I felt anger and disappointment towards Angelyn's mother. She seemed like the kind of mom you see around the poorer parts of town who seem to have nothing but negativity in their vocabulary, rage in their eyes & hate in their eyes. But, believe me, she turned my views on her around.Angelyn's boyfriend, aggravated me, and even with his mild change of heart at the end, I still couldn't stand him and wished Angelyn would completely let him go. He seemed like the worst kind of person in her life.I'd rather she would get to know Nathan again--after his true telling of what he saw while they were 13.I'd recommend this to someone who wants to read something that has impact yet isn't 500 pages of words. It's a very very quick read that brought out every emotion possible. I may have shed a tear or two...!
What do You think about The File On Angelyn Stark (2011)?
Really good stayed up till it was finished. Was a page turner. Read it if you can.
—jamesrhyan
I ate it in one bite. Never looked up. Amazing, amazing, amazing.
—Rose
I have a lot to say about this book, but will write more later.
—lina
