Rating: 
Summary: Superb
Review: Brozek writes clear sentences free of hysteria and melodrama, allowing what could be see-through okay, Oprah hyperbolie to insinuate itself into places many folks would rather not recall they possesed. A superior effort--alternately rewarding and in its clear-headed way, even a bit dangerous.
Rating:
Summary: A Terrifyingly Brilliant First Novel
Review: Harrowing, raw and painful in its sheer honesty, Sleeveless is The Bell Jar for this generation - at times cringe-worthy to read (Many women and girls can find themselves echoed through Lisha, almost like a shattered mirror we can see our own adolescence reflected in) , at other timers, deeply, blackly funny. Joi Brozek doesn't take us quietly through her debut novel, she slams us to a wall of consciousness, forcing us to question what is real, what is imaginary, and what it means to be a teenage girl. I wish I could have read this book when I was 16, listening to Joy Division and Nick Cave, smoking clove cigarettes and drinking black coffee with fake sugar -- Then I could have spent the last 16 years of my life recommending it to everyone I know. A fierce, brave and stunning first novel, I wait in anticipation to see what she writes next....
Rating:
Summary: Powerful and Haunting
Review: I picked up Sleeveless with many ideas from people talking about it around me. I have to say the writing style is brilliant. It is a great reflection of a lot of teenagers growing up in America and how they see their surroundings. It answers why kids are the way they are in today's society because of all of the craziness of the world. `
The decadent imagery reminds me of "Maldoror" by Comte de Lautreamont. Rich in image as well in mood, the powerful scenarios makes quite an impression on ones mind and makes you realize what western culture might be doing to younger minds.
Rating:
Summary: A dark and honest account of the outsider
Review: Joi Brozek writes with a gripping and inviting style that opens the door into the life of a young woman driven to cut herself in order to feel the world. Brozek's narrative voice is filled with a hells'a'poppin' vitality and fiery energy you don't see much in these "hip to be apathetic" days. She's a courageous experimenter yet has a deft and controlled sense of craft tha will draw you in even while it slaps you upside the head. The various threads, plot elements, sub-plots and stream of consciousness whiplash anecdotes all form a complex yet fully-realized single story. Most importantly, she never trades truth for fictionalized drama--here you'll see a raw, honest, sincere, candid, painful, hysterically funny account of a hyper-intelligent and sensitive girl on the edge just reaching out to take you with her. Go now, embrace her.
Rating:
Summary: A dark and honest account of the outsider
Review: Joi Brozek writes with a gripping and inviting style that opens the door into the life of a young woman driven to cut herself in order to feel the world. Brozek's narrative voice is filled with a hells'a'poppin' vitality and fiery energy you don't see much in these "hip to be apathetic" days. She's a courageous experimenter yet has a deft and controlled sense of craft tha will draw you in even while it slaps you upside the head. The various threads, plot elements, sub-plots and stream of consciousness whiplash anecdotes all form a complex yet fully-realized single story. Most importantly, she never trades truth for fictionalized drama--here you'll see a raw, honest, sincere, candid, painful, hysterically funny account of a hyper-intelligent and sensitive girl on the edge just reaching out to take you with her. Go now, embrace her.
Rating: 
Summary: An excellent debut
Review: Reading this first novel by Brozek in one sitting was not good for my mind. It has left me feeling as though I have been standing barefoot on an oversized razor blade and slowly split in two by my own weight. Half of me is real and the other half I can only assume exists in some other place where darkness and light have reversed roles and everything exists in shocking negative. Sleeveless is a deeply affecting book. A book of the car crash on the freeway variety but, rather than slowing down and taking discreet sidelong glances, it is pedal to the floor as there's another one coming up and then another, tearing full on through the pages from one fascination to the next and wondering where it is all going to end. The story of Sleeveless is told by Lisha, a twisted slice of the teenage America of the late 80's, who is attempting to come to terms with the accidental death of her younger sister following a disastrous DIY abortion. She turns her creativity towards her own body and begins to carve designs into her skin. This self-abuse becomes a school trend leaving Lisha uneasy in the role of trend setter as her original vision is hijacked and transformed into something she never intended. Lisha shows the world her detached disdain but internally she is desperately attempting to deal with the cancerous guilt she feels from her part in the death of her sister and the mock religious fervour of her needy mother. Brozek adopts a number of different styles and methods throughout the book which give the voyeuristic feeling of reading excerpts of a personal journal, stolen from beneath a pillow and poured over before being slipped back at the sound of approaching footsteps. Lisha's mind is slowly revealed like a flap of skin being pulled back over muscle, it is equally captivating and revolting and impossible to turn away from as we sink beneath the skin and enter her blood stream on a mission to examine the unravelling threads of her mind. Here is where the boundaries between what is real and what is not merge into each other in psychotic acid trip narrative. This is hard and dark book, disturbed, disturbing, gripping. It is also extremely clever and perceptive, playing by its own rules and succeeding in taking the reader on a guided tour of dark hearts and darker minds. It is an always uncomfortable but strangely appealing place to travel. The blurb on the back cover of Sleeveless states, "a stunning debut by this gifted writer." For once, I have to agree.
Rating: 
Summary: hard to get into
Review: This book has a wildly complex structure that takes quite a while to begin to understand. Brozek uses some very poetic writing at times but i thought this book fell short of expectations. I had a very hard time getting interested in this book, the characters are interesting but there wasn't anything that made me want to keep reading.
Rating:
Summary: A glimpse inside a mind in pain
Review: This book is a whirlwind, an avalanche, an express train hurtling through the psyche of a teenage girl. Brozek shifts styles fluidly from chapter to chapter, never letting you find a groove, keeping your mind engaged. Each page is a fresh twist of the knife. This is not an easy book to read. If you're looking for quiet contemplation or relaxing escapism, look elsewhere. But if you'd rather find tortured truths, razorblade kisses, and a bomb in the watermelon, look no further.
Rating:
Summary: A glimpse inside a mind in pain
Review: This book is a whirlwind, an avalanche, an express train hurtling through the psyche of a teenage girl. Brozek shifts styles fluidly from chapter to chapter, never letting you find a groove, keeping your mind engaged. Each page is a fresh twist of the knife. This is not an easy book to read. If you're looking for quiet contemplation or relaxing escapism, look elsewhere. But if you'd rather find tortured truths, razorblade kisses, and a bomb in the watermelon, look no further.
Rating:
Summary: The girl you only thought you knew.
Review: This book is honest, intense, and quite a wild ride. I finished it in two sittings because I just couldn't let it go.
There are no pat answers, no Hollywood endings, and the book is certainly not for the sqeamish. That said, it is an incredible view inside the psyche of a girl who most people would never even try to understand. Sleeveless relentlessly questions perception and reality in a way that will have you squirming in your seat.
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