Fault Line - Softcover

Tashjian, Janet

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0805080635 ISBN 13: 9780805080636

Publisher: Henry Holt & Company, 2006

Synopsis

A hard-hitting novel that breaks open the gritty world of teen relationship abuse

Seventeen-year-old Becky Martin dreams of being a stand-up comic. She also craves the affection of a boyfriend. When attractive Kip, a rising star in the San Francisco comedy club scene, comes into Becky's life, she thinks she's found her soul mate. But she soon discovers that Kip has a dark side, and control and jealousy appear to be the price she must pay for his love. Will Becky find the strength and courage to get help?

In this powerful novel, Janet Tashjian tackles the difficult subject of teen relationship abuse from the viewpoints of both the victim and the perpetrator.

About this title

About the Author

Janet Tashjian is a middle-grade and young adult novelist who's been writing books for children for over two decades. Her first novel Tru Confessions was made into a critically acclaimed Disney TV movie starring Clara Bryant and Shia LaBeouf. The Gospel According to Larry series is a cult favorite and Fault Line is taught in many middle and high schools. Her bestselling My Life As a Book series is illustrated by her son, Jake. They also collaborated on the Einstein the Class Hamster series.

Janet collaborated with fellow Macmillan author Laurie Keller on the chapter book series Marty Frye, Private Eye. Janet currently lives in Los Angeles and made her new home city the setting of the Sticker Girl series, which details the adventures of Martina who overcomes being shy with the help of her magical stickers that come to life.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Fault Line

By Janet Tashjian

Henry Holt and Co. BYR Paperbacks

Copyright © 2006 Janet Tashjian
All right reserved.
ISBN: 9780805080636

Fault Line

Take my life ... please.

Laughter is one of the only things in life you can count on to bail you out of anything. Even when you're grief-stricken, shocked, or petrified, laughter can bring you back to that place deep inside that knows there's life beyond your pain. I remember the day I learned this in my bones: my uncle Danny had just died, and my mother had spent most of the morning sobbing at the kitchen table. I was maybe four at the time, feeling more helpless than usual. My father had brought up some extra chairs from the basement for all the relatives who would be coming in from out of town. I didn't notice when I sat on one that it was missing its cane seat. PLOP--I went right through the frame of the chair onto the floor. I didn't cry; I grinned--the shock of the fall was a welcome surprise from all the sadness. My mother burst into laughter at the sight of her little girl sprawled on the rug, smiling. Which of course made me fall through the chair again. And again. It was as if I hadwaved a magic wand. Before my very eyes, she was transformed from a broken-hearted woman back into good old Mom. Because of my actions, because of me. Humor was something thunderous from the heavens, with a power to change things in an instant.

Of course, bottling something as formidable as lightning is a tricky thing. Trickier still to do it night after night. Most of the time when I'm onstage, I feel like an alchemist: mixing a little bit of this story, a slice of that detail to come up with a fresh and humorous aha for the crowd to enjoy. But sometimes you fall flat, with a joke so inert you want to hang your coat on it. Those nights, it's back to the drawing board, pure and simple.

Here's what I want more than anything: not to headline the Improv, not to join the cast of SNL. (Okay, you nailed me. OF COURSE I WANT THOSE THINGS. I'd be lying if I said I didn't.) But more than those--much more--I want to learn how to trust my instincts. It's the part of comedy I haven't gotten a handle on yet, although I work on those skills all the time. Where I intuitively come up with some thought on the spot that binds me and the audience together for a brief moment--I get goose bumps just thinking about it. During each performance, there's some connection with the audience, but I'm talking about the cathartic,spontaneous kind. The search for that link keeps me writing jokes, keeps me auditioning, keeps me hoping lightning can strike.

I'm like Ben Franklin in a storm, holding a kite, a key, and ajar.

Waiting to connect.

Copyright © 2003 by Janet Tashjian

Continues...

Excerpted from Fault Line by Janet Tashjian Copyright © 2006 by Janet Tashjian. Excerpted by permission.
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Edition details

• Publisher: Henry Holt & Company
• Publication date: 2006
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0805080635
• ISBN 13: 9780805080636
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 256