Synopses & Reviews
“Mad crashes into happy and sad bounces off of guilty until they all live in a big smoky heap in my mind.” Fourteen-year-old Cameron Galloway of Lexington, Washington, understands that he has schizophreniform disorder and needs to take pills to quiet the voices in his head. But he likes the voices, especially the gentle, encouraging voice of The Girl. Conflicted, he turns to his friend Nina Savage, who is clinically depressed and can relate to his horror of the numbing effects of medication. They make a pact to ditch the pills. At first they feel triumphant, but soon Camerons untreated mind goes haywire—to disastrous effect.
Review
"Without passing judgment, Averett addresses the issue of free choice versus protective care. . . Readers will have no trouble recognizing the impact of Cameron's hallucinations and his burning need for independence."
—Publishers Weekly
"Cameron's first-person narration allows access to an absorbing glimpse of schizophrenic behavior. . . . Thoughtful and eye-opening."
—Booklist
"This is a well-written, taut, and empathetic novel that provides readers with an unnerving vicarious experience."
—School Library Journal
"This novel is a nuanced treatment of a difficult topic, sustained by narrative drive."
—Horn Book
"Averett does a good job of developing Cameron's situations in a way that helps the reader understand the true depth of the struggle that Cameron is facing; he uses language that makes the internal conflict explode off the page. This is a raw, real, quick read that looks into darkness of mental illness."
—VOYA, 4Q 3P J S
"[Averett's] accessible writing makes Cameron and his struggle vivid to young readers, and they'll find this an eye-opening walk in somebody else's shoes."
—The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
Synopsis
Zach Wahhsted is used to hearing these brutal words. But today he isn't the only one in danger of dying.
A busy coffee shop -- a robbery gone wrong. Two gunmen, nine hostages, flash-ing lights, itchy trigger fingers. And Zach, a seemingly ordinary teenager, is caught in the middle of the mayhem.
But nobody realizes that Zach -- who has no gun and no knife -- has a mind more dangerous than any weapon.
Never what he seems and always on the edge, Zach is an unforgettable character in a new book by Terry Trueman that is filled with the same shocking power and heartbreaking compassion as his Printz Honor Book, stuck in neutral.
Synopsis
Zach Wahhsted is used to hearing these brutal words. But today he isn't the only one in danger of dying.
A busy coffee shop -- a robbery gone wrong. Two gunmen, nine hostages, flash-ing lights, itchy trigger fingers. And Zach, a seemingly ordinary teenager, is caught in the middle of the mayhem.
But nobody realizes that Zach -- who has no gun and no knife -- has a mind more dangerous than any weapon.
Never what he seems and always on the edge, Zach is an unforgettable character in a new book by Terry Trueman that is filled with the same shocking power and heartbreaking compassion as his Printz Honor Book, stuck in neutral.
Synopsis
A contemporary YA drama about a young man suffering from Schizophreniform disorder, who falls into a love triangle with a girl in his class...and a girl in his head.
About the Author
Terry Trueman was born in Birmingham, Alabama. He attended the University of Washington, where he received his B.A. in creative writing. He also has an M.S. in applied psychology and an M.F.A. in creative writing, both from Eastern Washington University. The father of two sons, Henry Sheehan and Jess, Terry Trueman makes his home in Spokane, Washington, with his wife, Patti. His previous books are No Right Turn, Cruise Control, Inside Out, and Stuck in Neutral, a Michael L. Printz Honor Book.