Featured YA Book: Red Rage by Brigitte Blobel

Red Rage
by Brigitte Blobel
translated by Rachel Ward
Annick Press, 2007
ages 13+
248 Pages
softcover $10.95
hardcover $21.95

Sometimes 15-year-old Mara loses control. She strikes out at people, then runs. Often, she can’t recall what she’s done. She knows losing context is dangerous, but she also feels the rage protects her, making her invincible.

Then she meets Tibor, a sweet guy who’s not put off by her attitude or her messed-up home life. There’s also a teacher at school who sees a better future than Mara’s ever imagined for herself. The teacher even gets Mara a volunteer job in a preschool.

But the anger is never far away. The day she spots Tibor on his motorcycle with another girl, the rage takes over. Mara tracks the girl down and beats her senseless.

Horrified, Mara finally seeks help for her behavior. But salvation isn’t that simple. The injured girl is Tibor’s sister. Devastated by the news, but determined to make amends, Mara takes her first steps toward a life free of violence.

Filled with raw emotion and unflinching honesty, Red Rage is a vivid portrait of one teen lost in a vortex of her own violence.