Chinese Handcuffs
Encyclopedia
Chinese Handcuffs is a 1989
a young adult novel by young adult
writer
Chris Crutcher
. The story alternates between the two main characters, Dillon and Jennifer, both high school athletes dealing with personal issues. The majority of Dillon’s story is told via a journal
he keeps, writing about the death of his older brother.
while coping with the suicide
of his older brother, Preston, and his mother
leaving his father
after Preston’s death. Jennifer Lawless is the star of the girl’s high school basketball team coping with sexual abuse at the hands of her father, trying to keep her younger sister safe from her father. The two find a confidante in the other and attempt to confront the demons of their pasts.
1989 in literature
The year 1989 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* February 24 - Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini places a US$3 million bounty for the death of The Satanic Verses author Salman Rushdie.-Literature:...
a young adult novel by young adult
Young adult literature
Young-adult fiction or young adult literature , also juvenile fiction, is fiction written for, published for, or marketed to adolescents and young adults, roughly ages 14 to 21. The Young Adult Library Services of the American Library Association defines a young adult as "someone between the...
writer
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
Chris Crutcher
Chris Crutcher
-Biography:Crutcher was born to a World War II bomber pilot and a homemaker on July 17, 1946, in Dayton, Ohio. They later moved to Cascade, Idaho, where Crutcher grew up....
. The story alternates between the two main characters, Dillon and Jennifer, both high school athletes dealing with personal issues. The majority of Dillon’s story is told via a journal
Diary
A diary is a record with discrete entries arranged by date reporting on what has happened over the course of a day or other period. A personal diary may include a person's experiences, and/or thoughts or feelings, including comment on current events outside the writer's direct experience. Someone...
he keeps, writing about the death of his older brother.
Plot summary
Dillon Hemingway is a training for the Ironman TriathlonIronman Triathlon
An Ironman Triathlon is one of a series of long-distance triathlon races organized by the World Triathlon Corporation consisting of a swim, a bike and a marathon run, raced in that order and without a break...
while coping with the suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
of his older brother, Preston, and his mother
Mother
A mother, mum, mom, momma, or mama is a woman who has raised a child, given birth to a child, and/or supplied the ovum that grew into a child. Because of the complexity and differences of a mother's social, cultural, and religious definitions and roles, it is challenging to specify a universally...
leaving his father
Father
A father, Pop, Dad, or Papa, is defined as a male parent of any type of offspring. The adjective "paternal" refers to father, parallel to "maternal" for mother...
after Preston’s death. Jennifer Lawless is the star of the girl’s high school basketball team coping with sexual abuse at the hands of her father, trying to keep her younger sister safe from her father. The two find a confidante in the other and attempt to confront the demons of their pasts.
Characters
- Dillon Hemingway – a high schoolHigh schoolHigh school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
athlete dealing with the death of his brother. He is in love with Jennifer Lawless, the star of the girls’ basketball team, and Stacy Ryder, his brother’s girlfriendGirlfriendGirlfriend is a term that can refer to either a female partner in a non-marital romantic relationship or a female non-romantic friend that is closer than other friends....
. - Jennifer Lawless – high school basketballBasketballBasketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
player who was sexually abusedSexual abuseSexual abuse, also referred to as molestation, is the forcing of undesired sexual behavior by one person upon another. When that force is immediate, of short duration, or infrequent, it is called sexual assault. The offender is referred to as a sexual abuser or molester...
by her father, and then her step-father. Has conflicted feelings about Dillon and romantic relationships. - Stacy Ryder – girlfriend of Preston Hemingway, mother of his son, Ryan, helps Dillon in his triathlons.
- Preston Hemingway – older brother of Dillon who kills himself after being crippled in a motorcycleMotorcycleA motorcycle is a single-track, two-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycles vary considerably depending on the task for which they are designed, such as long distance travel, navigating congested urban traffic, cruising, sport and racing, or off-road conditions.Motorcycles are one of the most...
crash. His suicide might have been precipitated by Stacy’s revelation of her pregnancyPregnancyPregnancy refers to the fertilization and development of one or more offspring, known as a fetus or embryo, in a woman's uterus. In a pregnancy, there can be multiple gestations, as in the case of twins or triplets...
. - Coach Sherman – high school girls’ basketball coachCoach (basketball)Basketball coaching is the act of directing and strategizing the behaviour of a basketball team or individual basketball player. Basketball coaching typically encompasses the improvement of individual and team offensive and defensive skills, as well as overall physical conditioning.Coaching is...
, an unmarried woman who gives advice to Dillon and Jennifer.
Awards
- ALA Best Book for Young Adults
- ALA Best of the Best Books for Young Adults
- 1991 South Dakota YARP Best Books List