Walking Naked

A little over four years ago I found this book in a bookstore in Hobart, Tasmania. Since I teach high school English, I asked the owner of the store what high schoolers were reading and loving in Australia; without pausing, she walked down an aisle and stopped at this book. I started reading it on the long plane ride back to the United States and finished it in less than two hours. I'll never forget my kids asking me what was wrong when I finished it, as tears were streaming down my face, and I didn't even know it. That spring it wasn't being published in the United States yet, but I had to "test" it on my freshmen at the private school where I work, so I ordered a class set from Hobart. Even though it is a "girls' book", my male students easily took to it. It was the perfect book to teach before beginning my poetry unit, too, as we discussed the many awesome poems that Brugman includes. Since then, it has been, hand's down, the most memorable book that my freshman read each year. I even have them find the "Perdita's" in their grade and spend a week reaching out to them as part of a personal project that is shared with no one but me. There is no better book about the importance of being AUTHENTIC, even when it is not the popular thing to do.

I bought this for my daughter as required reading for English and it ended up being her favorite book.

Walking Naked is a excellent book. Its about Megan whos popular befriending the school outcast Perdita. Megan is soon faced with a choice to chose between her friends in the cool crowd or being an outcast with Perdita. That is one part in the storyline were Perdita acted like a lunatic in front of one of Megan's friends. The ending is shocking and sends a wake up call to Megan. I loved this book. Any teenage girl between the ages of 13-19 should definetly read it.

hello, i have read this book, and i think its the best book in teh world. after reading this, powerful, exciting, emotional book, i cried for about 5 days afterwards, it felt as if i acctually knew the characters really well! thank you for such a beautiful, aspiring, heart toughing book! ashlea mansfield

Alyssa Brugman's debut novel in the United States, WALKING NAKED, is an extremely powerful piece of literature. Brugman accurately and horrifically portrays the high school scene and the peer pressure that is faced while in high school.The protagonist, Megan Tuw, has always been part of the in-crowd. This popularity gives Megan a sense of security and sometimes gets her into trouble, as is the case when she is kicked out of a class for talking. Megan's attitude earns her detention, where she spends time with "the freak" of the high school, Perdita. Megan realizes, through the writing assignments that they are required to do while in detention, that Perdita is an intelligent and complex person. She begins to spend time with Perdita, keeping these outings a secret from her friends. Megan knows that the in-crowd would ruin her status as a popular figure if they knew that she was becoming friends with "the freak."At some point within the novel, Megan is faced with a difficult choice: Perdita or her popular crowd. Brugman realistically portrays the turmoil that Megan goes through --- her fears of losing popularity and hurting her friends, her jealousy of being replaced, her feelings of inferiority when spending time with the more intelligent and knowledgeable Perdita, and struggling to figure out how to be true to herself.Readers of WALKING NAKED will be able to relate to the pressures of being popular and of needing to have the right clothes, the right friends and the right looks. The characters here talk and behave as real-life high school students would. While disturbing, this is an important book that should be read by a majority of teenagers. --- Reviewed by Melissa Palmer