Strange, Lucy Secret of Nightingale Wood

Strange, Lucy Secret of Nightingale Wood Scholastic/Chicken House    2017   288p   16.99  978-1-338-15747-5            ms/jr  Realistic Fiction            E-BN   

After the death of her beloved brother, Henrietta is left to grieve alone when her mother becomes emotionally ill.  In desperation, her father goes abroad to work, leaving Hen to try to bring the family back together.            

Sometimes the comments on the book jacket are spot on and sometimes, a stretch of the imagination.  Readers recognize that critics come in many sizes and shapes, often offering generic, shining comments to entice readers to purchase a book.  In this case, Pam Munoz Ryan said, “From the first page, I was entirely smitten and compelled to read on until I finished this mysterious and poignant story.”  Spot on.  The poetic style of Lucy Strange pervades this debut novel, embracing a beautiful, yet nearly tragic, story of young Henrietta who is forced to become an adult at age 13.  Father leaves home, unable to face his wife’s deteriorating mental state.  Nanny Jane has her hands full with an ill mother, a baby and 13-year-old Hen, especially when Mother becomes a bedridden patient of Dr. Hardy and to Hen, seems to grow more distant by the minute.  Henrietta has taken to wandering the woods, especially after meeting a reclusive type, a witch-like woman in both actions and appearance.  Lucy Strange masterfully weaves a subplot into the main plot:  apparently the previous owner of the house lost her son in the war and took her own life by disappearing at sea.  Could Henrietta’s witch, Moth, be the woman who disappeared?  Meanwhile, Henrietta watches helplessly as Dr. Hardy takes her baby sister away, at the same time he is plotting to put Mother in an insane asylum to receive experimental treatments that seem to Hen to be torturous.  Just as Henrietta is poised to watch her family fall apart, she becomes empowered, but not without help.  As if the drama of this story were not enough for a reader, it is the way Strange tells the story that contributes equally to the power of this novel.  There is a fine line between sanity and insanity, sometimes, and Strange finds the words to convey this line exquisitely.                          Squaresky, Martha          Mama’s depression consumes her after Henrietta’s brother dies

Lieberman, Leanne . The Most Dangerous Thing.

Lieberman, Leanne .  The Most Dangerous Thing. Orca   2017 225p $14.95  Paperback  ISBN 978-1-4598-1184-3        hs/adult  Realistic fiction  VG        

Lieberman has ventured into territory that is both thought-provoking and educational.  First, she presents her protagonist, Sydney, a teenage Jewish girl, who cannot face life normally.  She wakes up daily in a fog that can render her helpless, but that can lift if she uses the techniques that she has developed through participation in sessions with Dr. Spenser.  The support cast includes her sister Abby, whose current objective is to help the world recognize that women are not just vaginas, grandfather Zeyda who is not facing the loss of his wife, much less his own dissatisfaction with growing older, her best friend Sofia, who encourages Sydney using love and common sense, and Paul, a lab partner who has more than a crush on Syd.  What Lieberman has accomplished with this myriad cast is a book that will hold readers’ attention and at the same time offer them ideas on how to deal with both anxiety and depression.  Lieberman’s message to her fans is the importance of making changes in one’s life, and it will resonate with anyone who faces the angst of growing up and trying to ensure her own happiness.  On the other hand, do we have control over our happiness?  Sydney feels happy when she bikes with her friend Fen, or when she helps her sister figure out how to present her play based on “The Vagina Monologues”.  It happens when Sydney helps her grandfather cope with loss and aging and when she accepts a new way to present Passover.  Readers of any religion and background will enjoy Lieberman’s writing style, her character development, and the ins and outs of her plot as it moves forward to the resolution.  Orca rarely disappoints, and Sydney’s story will not disappoint either.  With more mature vocabulary and topics, this book is best for high-school readers and higher.  Fearless in presenting topics that are controversial, it is so much more than just a love story.

Summary: Sydney’s depression makes building relationships difficult.    This novel features an original pairing of the topics of depression and sexual awareness.  Sydney deals with both as she faces her inability to function normally from day and also learns to accept herself as a sexual being who can develop a meaningful relationship with a young man.

Depression-Fiction                                          --Martha Squaresky

Higgins, M.C. Falling Out of Place.

Higgins, M.C.     Falling Out of Place.   Saddleback  191p  $8.95 978-1-62250-021-5   2013      hs    VG          Realistic Fiction

Gabby Herrera feels like an outsider in her own family, especially in relation to her perfect sister.  She feels the family does not understand that her trying hard sometimes just isn’t enough.  Through a series of her own mistakes and poor choices, drinking and partying too much, fits of temper and outbursts, her favorite uncle’s suicide, and her own attempted suicide, Gabby learns the hard way that she is a victim of depression.

Part of the Gravel Road series of books from Saddleback, this little book will hit home with anyone who knows someone suffering from depression, or is himself depressed.  With the limited vocabulary found in many high-interest/low-level books, the author still manages to bring Gabby’s emotional turmoil to life.  This book brings to the fore a subject that is still stigmatized in our society, making the topic of depression come sadly to life for the reader.              

Depression–Fiction, Suicide–Fiction                   --Lynn Fisher