I is for Izzy, Willy-Nilly

(For the 2013 A to Z Blogging Challenge, I will be featuring one book each day, that begins with that day's letter, that made an impression on me.  This means that for some reason, I didn't just read that book and forget about it.  No, I still think about it after some period of time has passed.) 

Title:  Izzy, Willy-Nilly

Author:  Cynthia Voigt

Original Publication Date: 1985

Date I First Read: August 1987

Basic Category: YA/Teen Fiction

Basic Summary: Izzy is from a “nice” (this word is used often in the book) family, but she is 15 and has been invited to a party by a popular guy.  Well, he’s been drinking at the party, and he drives Izzy home.  They never made it home.  Marco is fine, but Izzy is not.  Her leg ends up being so destroyed in the accident that it has to be amputated.

What I Remember About the Book:  I was 12 and about to enter seventh grade when I read this.   I remember being in the back seat of our old brown ’76 Plymouth Valarie on the way home from the library and reading the very first page.  I was confused . . . and then finally, it dawned on me that Izzy had been in an accident – and Izzy was confused, too.  I also remember Izzy making new (and better) friends.  And Izzy takes up cross stitch, something I’ve always liked to do.   It all made quite an impact on me.  See below.

This was the first Cynthia Voigt book I had ever read.  Over the next year and a half, I read just about all of the rest of her books that were out (and at the library.)  The Callander Papers is my other favorite of hers, both then and now.

What I Took Away From the Book:  Never, ever get in a car with someone who has drunk.  Never, ever drink that much myself, either. I would tell myself, “I don’t want to be stupid like Izzy. She should have gotten a ride home with someone else.  Or called her parents.”   And I did not.  That said . . . I am quite a lightweight when it come to alchohol, and beer makes me nauseous (the half a beer that managed to drink when I was 22 made me vomit – and I had heartburn for hours after.)  Needless to say, even as an adult, I don’t drink much or often. 

Rating (1-5 stars):  4.5