Crazy by Han Nolan YP FIC CRAZY

Life is crazy sometimes, but for fifteen-year-old Jason life is crazy all the time. After the sudden death of his mother Jason is the only one left to care for his father who is slipping quickly into mental illness. Fortunatley, Jason has several friends to help him through. Unfortunately, they are all in his head.. The newest voice in his head, you the reader, are told all about his best friends: FBG (Fat Bald Guy) with a Mustache, Aunt Bee (yes from Mayberry), Sexy Lady, and Crazy Glue. They all help him feel better about his life and get through the day, but as his entire life falls apart he finds he’s going to need help from friends that exist outside his brain to make it through.

This is a really great look at living with mental illness. Jason uses his wit and humor to make the fear and loneliness bearable, which keeps the book from becoming bleak and hopeless. It is only as the novel progresses that the reader sees how tragic Jason’s humor is, because he is using it to deny reality just as his father is. The author has Jason’s ‘voices’ talk like characters in a play with a script layout. This was a great idea and really makes the book feel unique. Even when the book is through I can’t say for sure if Jason is ‘crazy’ or not. What is and isn’t ‘healthy’ or ‘normal’ is questioned in the book but the author allows you to come up with your own answers. I was really impressed with the respect he shows the reader in crafting some complex characters and serious situations, but not being afraid to let the reader draw their own conclusions. If you like authors that look at troubled teens with a humorous eye, then you would be insane not to read Crazy.

Swallow Me Whole by Nate Powell YP FIC POWELL

Ruth and Perry are step-siblings with a close bond. Their friendship is strengthened by their shared secrets of hallucinations. Ruth is a protector of all insect life and sees swarms of invisible insects everywhere. Perry is compelled to draw by a tiny wizard only he can see. As awesome as all that sounds, it means they are medicated for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and Schizophrenia respectively and travel through the world unsure of what is real and isn't and who they can turn to. Both find themselves pulling away from each other as they discover love and try different ways to reconcile reality in this strange and dark look at the magic and madness of adolescence.

FAIR WARNING: This is a Category Five Tearjerker. The title combined with loads of foreshadowing warns that the ending will not be a cheery one, but still doesn't lessen the impact of watching a young girl be consumed by madness. It may be one of the most genuinely creepy books I've read in a long time, because it's all based on what really can happen with mental illness. Everything about the art helps tell the story even the lettering which often forms into gibberish to show Ruth and Perry's inability to communicate with anyone besides each other. The hallucinations come in and out of nowhere so it's hard for the reader to get a handle on what is real or not. This makes it hard to read, so you have to pay close attention. This is one that may take several reads to really "get", but the art and writing is good enough that it’s worth the effort.