For teen victims of violence, what keeps them isolated in silence is their feeling of shame. For teen aggressors who bully and beat siblings and schoolmates, it is their inability to acknowledge and own the rage and lack of control driving them.

Nine teen victims and aggressors bravely open up and share their perspectives about growing up with violence in I Wrote on All Four Walls, developed by the Toronto Public Library and edited by Fran Fearnley, former editor of Today’s Parent magazine. At their most effective, these testimonies demonstrate to readers who’ve experienced violence that they’re not alone or horribly unique, while providing visceral comprehension for general readers.

Each narration is headlined by a summary that has the unintended effect of turning the teens into sociological case studies. A thorough introduction would have yielded a keener sense of the personalities of the teens, along with helpful basic background and context, which is absent in some of the too-abbreviated narrations. The phenomenon of the victim becoming victimizer occurs in the lives of several of the participants but is generally rushed over. The more impressionistic testimonies don’t sufficiently allow readers to fully apprehend the emotions and motivations behind their experiences.

The strongest stories, however, are enlightening and empowering, like Don’s, in which he details his struggle to make sense of why he’s hurting other people. His recollections of his bullying are raw and intimate, as are Debbie’s affecting, revelatory memories of her abusive boyfriend and Caitlin’s tale of her painful childhood with her drug-addicted mother.

The afterword, by Dr. Fred Matthews, traffics in platitudes and advice that’s sometimes contradicted by the testimonies. A comprehensive list of social agencies, resources, and readings (only two websites are noted) would have increased the book’s utility.