Teen Fiction

Izzy, Willy-Nilly

Name: Izzy, Willy-Nilly
Author: Cynthia Voigt
ISBN: 9781416903390

by Cynthia Voigt

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Overview

Izzy's never been one to complain. Izzy's the nice girl, from a family that believes good manners and a stiff upper lip are key to facing any situation. Even after a car accident leaves her disabled, she's determined not to show how much she's hurting. It takes Rosamunde, a girl who seems to care nothing about good manners, to forcibly disrupt Izzy's life and help her face her changed existence.

A car accident causes fifteen-year-old Izzy to lose one leg and face the need to start building a new life as an amputee.

Synopsis

One moment can change a life forever.

Fifteen-year-old Izzy has it all — a loving family, terrific friends, a place on the cheerleading squad. But her comfortable world crumbles when a date with a senior ends in a car crash and she loses her right leg.

Suddenly nothing is the same. The simplest tasks become enormous challenges. Her friends don't seem to know how to act around her. Her family is supportive, but they don't really want to deal with how much she's hurting.

Then Rosamunde extends a prickly offer of friendship. Rosamunde definitely isn't the kind of girl Izzy would have been friends with in her old life. But Rosamunde may be the only person who can help Izzy face her new one.

Publishers Weekly

In one of the Newbery Medalist's most poignant novels, a teenager learns to accept the changes in her life after she loses her leg in a car accident. Ages 12-up. (Oct.)

About the Author, Cynthia Voigt

Cynthia Voigt won the Newbery Medal for Dicey's Song and the Newbery Honor Award for A Solitary Blue, both part of the beloved Tillerman Cycle. She is also the author of many other celebrated books for middle-grade and teen readers, including Izzy, Willy-Nilly and Jackaroo. She was awarded the Margaret A. Edwards Award in 1995 for her work in literature, and the Katahdin Award in 2004. She lives in Maine.

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Editorials

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

In one of the Newbery Medalist's most poignant novels, a teenager learns to accept the changes in her life after she loses her leg in a car accident. Ages 12-up. Oct.

Children's Literature - Susie Wilde

Izzy begins the story as a "perfect" young adult. She's a cheerleader, pretty, popular, and loved by her family. All that changes one night when she accepts a date with a boy she doesn't even really like. The boy drinks too much at a party, runs his car into a tree, recovers unscathed, but Izzy loses a leg. She is no longer the girl she once was and must re-learn not only how to live her life, but redefine herself and her values.

School Library Journal

Gr 6-9-Izzy, Willy-Nilly by Cynthia Voight (Atheneum, 1986) is the story of a 15-year-old girl coming to terms with the fact that she has lost her leg in an alcohol-related car accident. Actress Mandy Siegfried brings the story to life for listeners. She brilliantly captures the character of Izzy as she struggles with the realization that her life has been changed forever, and gives voice to Izzy's family, friends, and various members of the hospital staff. The narration is accomplished with just the right amount of emotion and articulation. This thought-provoking story easily gives rise to opportunities for serious discussions of numerous issues affecting teenagers today, such as drinking and driving, friendship, popularity, and disabilities.-Darlene Ford, Dauphin County Library System, PA Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

School Library Journal

Gr 6-9 Before, Izzy's life had been colorful as a pretty, popular cheerleader, but grayness swallows her up after a car accident results in the amputation of her leg. Her trio of girlfriends are too uncomfortable to be around her, but the void of their friendship is filled by unattractive, blunt Rosamunde, who bounds into her life, providing bolstering support. It's Rosamunde's persistence that helps Izzy over the hurdle of returning to school. Several expedients effectively convey Izzy's stages of reaction: the miniature Izzy visualized in her head that does back flips expresses her true feelings; the way denial is demonstrated by Izzy not looking at the empty leg space until 30 pages after the doctor tells her he has to take it off; the cool reserve of the black therapist which makes her ``examine'' herself. As with other Voigt characters, the perspective is from within. Readers see the mental anguish and self-pity through Izzy's eyes. Consciously, the pace is slow, as is the healing process, and the tone is ponderous throughout. The story is about learning to balance: physically as Izzy maneuvers herself on crutches and emotionally as she sorts out her friends and a new self-identification as Isobel. Work on the school paper, the prospect of a prosthesis and Rosamunde's staunch support start to mend her crippled life. No one will be able to finish this story without understanding the psychological trauma an amputee faces. The message is not Willy Nilly.Julie Cummins, Monroe County Lib . System, Rochester, N.Y.