Friend, Natasha. Where You’ll Find Me.

Friend, Natasha.  Where You’ll Find Me.  Macmillan/Farrar Strauss  2016 264p  $16.99  ISBN 978-0-374-30230-6  ms/hs  Realistic Fiction  VG-BN     

Anna’s parents only split up a year ago, yet her dad is already remarried (to a 24-year-old named Marnie) and has a new baby. When Anna’s mother’s depression spirals out of control and she attempt to take her own life, Anna (who found her mother that way) is forced to live with her dad, Marnie, and baby Jane. Her best friend, Dani, has dumped her to hang out with the popular crowd, and Anna just can’t bring herself to talk about her mom. All she wants is for things to go back to the way they were. She is forced to sit at the weirdo table at lunch and can’t talk to her dad. As the weeks go by, and her mother’s diagnosis is corrected, things start to take a turn for the better. Maybe the “weirdos” are actually really nice girls who bring Anna out of her shell. Maybe her mom really needed help and can’t be the mom she needs right now. And maybe Marnie can be a real friend to Anna, and can help Anna and her dad reconnect. This book is a solid read and relatable for anyone who has suffered with mental illness or had a family member who has done so. Everything does not turn out the way a fairy tale would, but very realistically instead, and Anna is able to discover who she is and what she can contribute to the world. There is some rough language, so keep this in upper middle schools and high schools. Overall, it would be a great addition to any library.

Summary: Anna is suddenly living with her dad, her new 24-year-old stepmother and a half sister, baby Jane, after finding her mom passed out next to a bottle of pills. To make things worse, her best friend since kindergarten has dumped her for the popular crowd, and Anna is stuck at the weirdo table at lunch. Can the new year bring positive changes?
     

Mental illness-Fiction, Divorce-Fiction               --Erin Daley

Gardner, Scot. The Dead I Know.

Gardner, Scot.  The Dead I Know.    Houghton Mifflin  2015 201p $17.99  ISBN 978-0-544-23274-7  hs  Realistic fiction  VG-BN

Aaron’s home life is so out-of-control that his apprenticeship at a local funeral parlor makes the day-to-day activities of the funeral parlor resemble normalcy to him.  Much of Aaron’s life is upside down.  Aaron, a loner by choice, and his new mentor John, the funeral director, achieve a father-son relationship.  At home, Aaron is the caretaker for Mam, an increasingly unstable woman who suffers from dementia and mental illness.  Their flimsy trailer is located in a seedy part of town, and the ruffians who live nearby torment Mam and Aaron.  Aaron has vivid nightmares that seem more like memories, and he sleepwalks.  He worries that he may be caught in the same chaotic downward spiral that grips Mam.  The Barton family becomes his lifeline to reality and a safe haven as Aaron attempts to cope with situations that adults would find daunting.  

Despite its grim themes (death, mental illness, coping, bullying, family problems), The Dead I Know ends on a hopeful note.  Gardner’s spare prose is straightforward and compelling.  The characters in this darkly humorous novel are believable and authentic.  The plot may be a bit too convoluted for some readers’ tastes, but the emotional impact will linger with the reader.

Summary: Aaron’s out-of-control home life makes apprenticeship at a funeral home seem normal.        

Mental illness-Fiction, Families-Fiction              --Hilary Welliver

Halpern, Julie. Have a Nice Day.

Halpern, Julie.  Have a Nice Day.   Macmillan/ Feiwel & Friends   2012  325p  $16.99      978-0-312-60660-2   ms/hs  (Grades 7-12)  Realistic Fiction      VG   

In this sequel to Get Well Soon, Anna is fresh out of a three-week stay in a mental hospital to which her family committed her when she showed erratic behavior linked to depression and panic attacks.  Concerned about how she will be received at school and how she will make up her school work, Anna hesitantly reenters school and suffers some of the same symptoms that landed her in the mental ward.  With the understanding of her best friend Tracy and her younger sister Mara, Anna slides into a new “normal” and continues her recovery.  Her parents’ divorce, group therapy, reading Catcher in the Rye in English class, and the usual high-school activities associated with the homecoming dance all provide insight into her life while she was a patient, as well as her current life as a typical high-school student.  Romance, at the mental hospital, at her outpatient group-therapy sessions, and in high school, creates a chain of healthy emotions that will lead Anna into feeling better about herself.  Humor, often tinged with scatological references and typical teenage sexual innuendo, show Anna to be a brash, outspoken, and yet sometimes insecure person, who yearns to have a normal life, whatever that means.  For those who read the first book in the series, Anna’s journey comes full circle.  Those new to the series will discover unique characters that become endearing by the book’s end.

Mental illness - Fiction                                    --Lois McNicol

Weatherly, L.A. Watcher.

Weatherly, L.A.  Watcher.               Stoke Books (Lerner)    51p         $17.00   978-1-78112-107-8         2012  ms               VG-BN      Realistic fiction                                 

This very brief novel is about Sarah, a teen-aged girl who does not understand why her mother left and seems to want no contact with her.  While hacking into her father’s e-mail, Sarah learns that her mother has moved to the next town, and yet she has made no attempt to contact Sarah.   One Saturday Sarah travels to the town and spots her mother’s old car.  Sarah is very angry about her mother.  As she remembers little incidents from her childhood, she visualizes her mother loving her and some great times they shared, but also recalls that her mother would sometimes suddenly become angry, and at those times she was afraid of her mother.  With these very conflicting memories, she confronts her mother with the goal of punishing her, but she finds out that her mother had been in a mental hospital for five years, and had left to prevent herself from hurting Sarah.  Not yet fully understanding all the implications, Sarah and her mother agree to meet occasionally.

A second story line concerns Sarah making a friend.  She has always been a loner and rebuffs the friendly advances of another loner.  The story ends with Sarah transcending her anger at her mother and accepting the possibility of friendship.

This brief text will be satisfying for reluctant readers.

Mental illness-Fiction, Friendship-Fiction                                                                                              --Joan Theal

 

James, Brian. Life Is But A Dream.

James, Brian.     Life Is But A Dream.    Macmillan/ Feiwel & Friends   235p $17.99 978-0-312-61004-3       hs          E-BN      Realistic Fiction

In an in-patient mental health facility, Sabrina, a schizophrenic teen, and her new friend Alec make the decision to live life as they are, without medications to keep their illnesses under control.  What are the consequences of the choice that Sabrina and Alex make?  How do the people surrounding them cope? These are just two of the questions that are answered in this very well-written novel about the difficult topic of mental health, and specifically schizophrenia.  The characters are all well developed.  Readers can empathize readily with their illness, treatment and consequences.         

Mental illness-Fiction                                      --Lynn Fisher