From School Library Journal
Gr 6 Up-Taylor Drysdale, 18, suffers from bipolar disorder. During her senior year, she is reluctantly admitted to "Brick House," the outpatient program at St. Jude Hospital, where she meets other teens coping with mental illness. Together with the staff, they form a kind of family, and the teens learn to deal with conflicting attitudes and personalities. As the members prove themselves "worthy" and leave Brick House, they must confront their worst fear of all: surviving in the outside world where there are no counselors to cushion the blow. The novel focuses on the characters' interactions and on how, as Taylor comes to terms with her disorder and her family problems, she becomes ready to move out and move on. Similar to Susanna Kaysen's Girl, Interrupted (Vintage, 1994) and Wally Lamb's She's Come Undone (WSP, 1993), this is an excellent read with well-developed characters.
Nicole M. Marcuccilli, Glenview Public Library, IL
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
Gr. 8-12. Taylor Drysdale is devastated when her mother commits her to St. Jude's Brick House, an outpatient program for teens with "problems." High-strung Taylor is convinced her divorced mother is just tired of dealing with her troubled daughter. Diagnosed as bipolar, Taylor hates her condition, fights depression, has setbacks. She also begins to question the methods used to treat patients and to wonder why most of the kids seem to be going nowhere in their treatments. Finally, Taylor finds a caring boyfriend who believes in her musical talent, and a sassy girlfriend who introduces her to the Castaways, a secret club for "crazies." Then a suicide changes everything at St. Jude, and Taylor must cope with real life once more. This odd yet moving story will have appeal for teens touched by adult books such as
Girl Interrupted and
One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest, titles that also got inside the minds of the "crazies."
Jean FranklinCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
