Mental Health Book List: Part II

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In support of Partners for Mental Health's Not Myself Today campaign across Canada, I've compiled several lists of literature with characters, both main and secondary, dealing with issues typically identified as related to mental health i.e., those that impair judgement, stability, reliability, or general social or vocational capabilities.  Because of the plethora of books in the young adult category, and because I'd like to make additions to earlier lists, a third list will follow shortly.  For now, this second list focuses on young adult literature:

Young Adult

40 Things I Want to Tell You

by Alice Kuipers

HarperTrophy Canada

283 pp.

Ages 13+

2012

Bird may give advice online as "Miss Take-Control-of-Your-Life" but her life unravels when she fails to discuss issues in her own life, especially a relationship with a new boy, and her mother's mental health and her father's response to her mother's leaving. 

After
by Francis Chalifour
Tundra Books
133 pp.
Ages 13-17
2005
After years of battling depression, Francis' father takes his own life.  In the aftermath of his dad's suicide, fifteen-year-old Francis finds himself dealing with his own "Grief Monster" and searching for his own way to heal.

The Blue Helmet
by William Bell
Doubleday Canada
167 pp.
Ages 14-17
2006
Living with his Aunt Reena in Toronto and helping her out at her café, troubled teen Lee meets a wide array of characters, but his friendship with former soldier, Bruce Cutter, a man troubled by paranoia and darkness.

 

Fostergirls
by Liane Shaw
Second Story Press
256 pp.
Ages13-16
2011
Fifteen-year-old foster child, Sadie Thompson, has been in care for 12 years when she moves to her thirteenth school and a new group home.  The children at the group home - Alisha, Buffy and the K's - all have their own issues which they share or don't.  Although she claims she doesn't care what brought them into care, Sadie soon realizes that, like her, they all have stories, whether she chooses to acknowledge them or not.

The Game
by Teresa Toten
Red Deer Press
208 pp.
Ages 14-17
2001
After a dangerous episode of drinking and drugs, Dani wakes up in Riverwood Clinic, a psychiatric facility for teens with problems. But, even after she is treated for her substance abuse, Dani must deal with emotional issues that are far harder to identify, much less start to heal.

Gravity Journal
by Gail Sidonie Sobat
Great Plains Teen Fiction
162 pp.
Ages 12+
2008
Anise is an anorexic who also self-mutilates.  When she is admitted to the hospital, Anise is forced to examine herself and her motivations which finally apparent through her interactions with other patients, as well as her drug-addicted brother and her dispassionate mother.

Heck, Superhero
by Martine Leavitt
Red Deer Press
144 pp.
Ages 9-13
2004
In order to help him deal with his mother's mental illness, thirteen-year-old Hector imagines himself as a superhero and pretends things are manageable.  But, when they end up on the street and his mother goes missing, Heck only begins to recognize their need for help when he meets a boy dealing with his own mental health issues.

The Hunger
by Marsha Skrypuch
Boardwalk Books
184 pp.
Ages 12+
1999
While 15-year-old Paula struggles with an eating disorder and enters Homewood, a psychiatric facility, she "becomes" Marta, a starving teen during the Armenian genocide of 1915.  

Last December 
by Matt Beam
Puffin Canada
156 pp.
Ages 12-15
2009
With a move to a new school, trying out for a hockey team, dealing with girls and new friends, Steven's attitude and behaviour indicate a boy in chaos.  He tries to make sense of his confusion and emotions by keeping a journal of letters for his unborn sister, Sam.  He always wants her to know why he may not be around to tell her in person.

Me, Myself and Ike
by K.L. Denman
Orca Book Publishers
192 pp.
Ages 13-16
2010
After watching a documentary about the "Ice Man", a 5000-year-old body found encased in ice, seventeen-year-old Kit is egged on by his friend, Ike, to recreate "Ice Man" himself, by sacrificing himself to the cold of the B.C. mountains.  As he prepares for his ascent, Kit's thinking and life seem to become even more chaotic and troubled, manifested in rantings, paranoid delusions and hallucinations. 

Ms. Zephyr's Notebook
by K. C. Dyer
Dundurn Press
204 pp.
Ages 11-15
2007
Ms. Zephyr is a teacher in a hospital children's ward.  Her charges are required to contribute daily to her notebook; failure to do so results in loss of privileges.  Ms. Zephyr's three students include Kip, a boy with his only kidney failing; Logan, a boy with Crohn's disease and consequent shame; and Cleo, who has an eating disorder that threatens her life.

The Opposite of Tidy
by Carrie Mac
Razorbill
344 pp.
Ages 12+
2012
Junie's home is the opposite of tidy, a reflection of her mother's compulsive buying and hoarding.  To avoid embarrassing herself, Junie pretends to live elsewhere when she is taken home by Wade.  But, soon enough, Junie's lies and shame can no longer be hidden and she realizes her mother needs help.

The Perfect Cut
by Julie Burtinshaw
Raincoast Books
308 pp.
Ages 15-17
2008
The grief Bryan feels after the death of his older sister, Michelle, is so overwhelming that it leaves him emotionally crippled.  Unfortunately, he can only find relief in drink, drugs and cutting himself. 

 

Pieces of Me
by Charlotte Gingras
Translated by Susan Ouriou
Kids Can Press
144 pp.
Ages 14-17
2009
Fifteen-year-old Mira's life is less than cohesive:  her mother is overwhelmed by anxiety and delusional and paranoid behaviour, and her father is absent.  When her father is accidentally killed, Mira needs help to manage her grief and all the pieces of her life.

Scars
by Cheryl Rainfield
WestSide Books
248 pp.
Ages 14+
2010
Living with the horrific memories of sexual abuse, Kendra finds relief in cutting herself.  But, when she is "gifted" with a palette knife, Kendra fears her unknown abuser is watching her, and she must find a way to cope, even survive.

Shattered
by Eric Walters
Viking Canada
192 pp.
Ages 12-16
2006
Ian, a wealthy boy from the suburbs, is required to work at a soup kitchen in the city in order to fulfil his community volunteer hours.  After an attempted mugging and some time at the soup kitchen, Ian makes the acquaintance of Sarge, a homeless ex-soldier, whose traumatic experiences in Rwanda continue to plague his life, making Ian aware of the numerous atrocities perpetrated against others.

Skim
by Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki
Groundwood Books
141 pp.
Ages 14 +
2008
This powerful graphic novel documents Skim's teenage journey to identify herself, within the confines of her private girls' school.  Through the tug-of-war between independence and popularity, friendships, a suicide, a unorthodox relationship with a teacher and depression, Skim gains greater understanding about her own needs and wishes.

thinandbeautiful.com
by Liane Shaw
Second Story Press
267 pp.
Ages 12+
2009
Through her diary and email chats with those she meets on a pro-anorexia website, Maddie shares the struggle she has with her eating disorder. 

Tyranny
by Lesley Fairfield
Tundra Books
122 pp.
Ages 12+
2009
In this graphic novel, Anna struggles with anorexia but her fight manifests itself in a struggle with Tyranny, the version of herself that chooses not to eat. 

Ultraviolet
by R. J. Anderson
Carolrhoda Lab
303 pp.
Ages 14+
2011
Alison awakes in a psychiatric department after an incident in which she harms herself and assaults a police officer.  After her transfer to a youth facility, Alison learns that many believe she had something to do with the disappearance of a fellow student on the same day.

Unraveling Isobel

by Eileen Cook

Simon Pulse (Simon & Schuster)

290 pp.

Ages 14-18

2012

Seventeen-year-old Isobel must move away from her friends and start a new life when her mom remarries but things go from bad to worse when she has recurring visions of a young girl and cannot explain sketches she doesn't recall drawing.  With her mom and new husband encouraging her to see a therapist, Isobel begins to wonder if she is losing her grasp of reality.

The Worst Thing She Ever Did
by Alice Kuipers
HarperTrophy Canada
210 pp.
Ages 14-17
2010
While the title suggests a mystery to which the reader is not privy,  sixteen-year-old Sophie knows what she did and what it has cost.  After her sister's death, Sophie is instructed by a therapist to share herself, particularly her grief, in a journal.

Zero
by Diane Tullson
Fitzhenry & Whiteside
185 pp.
Ages 12+
2006
Kas is attending a school for the arts, hoping to hone her painting skills. When she begins to suffer from anorexia and bulimia, she tells no one, suffering greater consequences than she could have imagined.

Rocky Mountain Book Award

Currently, students in grades 4 through 7 are voting for their favourite book from a short list of twenty-titles for the Rocky Mountain Book Award, Alberta's readers' choice program for young people. The twenty nominees, which must have been published in the last two years in Canada, include both fiction and non-fiction titles which "portray a broad range of family, social, and cultural backgrounds." (Retrieved from http://rmba.lethsd.ab.ca/FAQ.html on March 27, 2012)

The shortlist for this book award is announced in November, with voting taking place from mid-March to mid-April.  The winner is announced at the end of April.

The 2012  nominees are listed here (fiction on the right, nonfiction on the left), with the announcement of the winning title coming on April 23, 2012. 

At the Edge: Daring Acts in Desperate Times
by Larry Verstraete  

Animals That Changed the World
by Keltie Thomas

Arctic Thunder

by Robert Feagan

Brussels Sprouts & Unicorns

by Robert Chaplin

Burn

by Alma Fullerton 

Case Closed: Nine Mysteries Unlocked by Modern Science
by Susan Hughes

The Cat's Pajamas

by Wallace Edwards

Dear George Clooney, Please Marry My Mom

by Susin Nielsen

Fatty Legs: A True Story
by Christy Jordan-Fenton and Margaret Pokiak-Fenton

Follow the Elephant

by Beryl Young

The Good Garden

by Katie Smith Milway

Magic Up Your Sleeve: Amazing Illusions, Tricks, and Science Facts You’ll Never Believe

by Helaine Becker

The Mealworm Diaries

by Anna Kerz

No Moon

by Irene N. Watts

Plain Kate

by Erin Bow

Prisoner of Dieppe: World War II, Alistair Morrison, 

Occupied France, 1942

by Hugh Brewster 

Robert Munsch
by Frank B. Edwards 

The Sea Wolves: Living in the Great Bear Rainforest
by Ian McAllister and Nicholas Read 

Tower of Treasure

by Scott Chantler

Who Wants Pizza?

by Jan Thornhill

                                                                              •  •  •  •  •           

I know that book award fatigue may be setting in for readers of CanLit for LittleCanadians.  However, for the readers who are voting, and the juries that are selecting, as well as the authors, illustrators and publishers, each award is a very big thing.  It is an honour to have a book nominated, just as it is a privilege for readers to critically evaluate each book, knowing that their choices make a significant contribution to the lives of others.  

Enjoy your award programs, everyone!

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Last Airlift: A Vietnamese Orphan's Rescue from War

by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch

Pajama Press

978-0-9869495-1-7

99 pages

Ages 10-15

2011

When the Americans joined to support the government of South Vietnam to prevent a communist takeover, they could not have guessed that the fall of Saigon in 1975 would compel them, among others, to participate in frenetic evacuations of military personnel and civilians.  Most surprising were the targeted efforts, by the U.S., Canada, Australia and France, to ensure that orphaned children were not left behind to face either death or indoctrination with communism.  Because of the escalating attacks by the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong, it was imminent that flight by air would soon be impossible.  As such, the rescue efforts involving both private and military transport would be seen as daring and urgent, especially for a child.

Eight-year-old Son Thi Anh Tuyet knows nothing of the machinations of the Vietnam War except the relentless pounding of bombs and the presence of soldiers.  Her only memories are of life in the orphanage (with random visits from a woman and a boy) and helping to care for the countless infants.  Last Airlift is Tuyet's true story, relating to her exodus and deliverance to a Canadian home for adoption.  Her recollections of the disquiet of war, coupled with her perception of herself as unadoptable, because of her polio stricken left foot and leg, imbue the events of her journey with the colour that is uniquely Tuyet.

From her spartan existence at the orphanage to the white Volkswagen van that takes Tuyet and countless babies (in boxes) through the turmoil of the streets to the fenced airfield, Tuyet relies only on what she knows and what she can see, believing her purpose is to be useful in the care of the infants.  When another child, Linh, joins the orphans, Tuyet learns that the foreigners are speaking English and that, since she cannot communicate with them, "No" is the best answer to give.  Through their numerous flights and eventual arrival in Toronto, Tuyet is flooded with new experiences, from seeing herself in a photograph for the first time (Did she really wear her sadness on her face for all to see? Tuyet asks herself; pg. 43), to wearing underwear, and to being gifted a doll and later a stuffed animal.   Even after she meets Mom and Dad and their daughters, Beth and Lara, Tuyet is still convinced she would be going with them only to help care for the girls and a Vietnamese toddler, Aaron, who was being adopted.  How Tuyet is able to see past her impaired foot and her orphanage experiences to become a sister and a daughter is a testament to the unconditional love of a family who saw past the qualities Tuyet believed defined her.

Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch mentions in her notes that she had initially intended for Last Airlift to be a piece of historical fiction with the main character as a composite of experiences of many orphans.  However, as Marsha Skrypuch pursued her historical research relentlessly, as she always does (see, for example, Making Bombs for Hitler, Scholastic Canada, 2012, and Stolen Child, Scholastic Canada, 2010), the real Tuyet recalled more details about her story, until the author recognized the scope was appropriate for a piece of non-fiction.  Surprisingly, readers will find that Last Airlift still follows like a fictionalized account for the reason that, as the saying goes, truth is stranger than fiction. (Okay, not always.) It seems unimaginable that a child, who had felt disconnected from those who were able, from those who were adoptable and from those who welcomed the soldiers who visited the orphanage with candies and toys, be plunged into chaotic circumstances directed by those who look and speak differently from her, into surreal vehicles, and to follow customs unfamiliar to her.  It would be a story of speculative fiction, except that it isn't.  Tuyet becomes a heroine of her own story, using her fortitude, observations, and humanity to navigate the new territories outside of the orphanage and to make herself fit in.

Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour Writing

Stephen Leacock (1869-1944), one of Canada's most famous humourists, was honoured with the creation, in 1947, of the annual Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour.

The timeline for the award is as follows:

• June - November 30: Submissions accepted

• April 1: Shortlist of five titles announced

• end of April: Winner announced at luncheon

• beginning of June: Dinner for presentation of the Medal and $15000 cash prize, and $1500 for each runner-up.

As one of the five nominated titles has been written by YA author, Susan Juby, we present the shortlist for the 2012 Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour alphabetically here:

• The Sisters Brothers by Patrick DeWitt

• On the Outside Looking Indian by Rupinder Gill

• The Woefield Poultry Collective by Susan Juby

• Happiness Economics by Shari Lapeña

• Most of Me by Robyn Michele Levy

 Congratulations to Susan Juby on her Leacock Medal nomination.  Read the National Post article on Susan Juby here. 

The Woefield Poultry Collective

by Susan Juby

HarperCollins

336 pp.

2011

Hold the Pickles

Written by Vicki Grant
Orca Book Publishers
978-1-55469-920-9
103 pp.
Ages10-14
2012

Dan Hogg, from Vicki Grant's Pigboy (Orca, 2006) is a little older but he still feels like the short, skinny guy whom girls ignore and whom guys think is weird.  But when his Uncle Hammy offers him $10/hour to wear a hotdog costume and handout samples of his new "Frank Lee Better" healthy hotdog, Dan grabs at the chance to make some money and eat free food, all in disguise.  Even better, the disguise makes him look taller and more muscular which is pretty important to a fifteen-year-old guy with braces, glasses and allergies.

Unfortunately, when a pretty girl approaches, Dan loses his balance (his center of gravity is a bit off, and his pickle feet are quite large) and knocks himself out.  Surprisingly, the girl, Brooke, sticks around and seems to enjoy chatting him up.  But, with another fall after an altercation with the nasty Cupcake Katie (who is no piece of cake), Brooke is nowhere to be found.  Then an angry guy in blue shows up, and Brooke begs Dan to help her evade Blue Boy.  Another fall, this time onto Blue Boy, and Uncle Hammy's hotdog costume isn't going to cut the mustard anymore.

Dan often has great ideas but things just don't work out very well.  For example, at this point, he doesn't relish showing Uncle Hammy the condition of the very expensive costume, or how little business he's been drumming up (most of the samples end up on the floor), so Dan decides it's best just to quit for the day.  But his plan is quickly forgotten when Brooke reappears, charming him once again, into making several very poor choices.  He's a fifteen-year-old and a girl is being nice to him.  What else could he do?

Luckily for Dan, things usually turn out all right in the end. So what if he ends up wrapped in toilet paper? It isn't as bad as running through the mall in only his white cotton underwear (that happens too). Of course, there is the theft of a lady's purse. But, like I said, Dan's hotdog escapade does resolve itself, probably just not the way he or the reader anticipates.

Vicki Grant is the "it" author for YA humour of the real world. She doesn't use supernatural elements or expect the reader to suspend belief. And she never condescends to the reader or her characters. She is frank (not furter) and empowers her characters to be bonafide teens, with many positive attributes, as well as a few foibles. Her stories are funny because they could be the anecdotes of any teen. In fact, I'm sure that somewhere a reader is remembering a similar incident to one from Hold the Pickles and laughing hysterically. For example, what guy hasn't had a friend tell him a girl was out of his league? But, when Shane tells Dan this, he encourages him with, "Don't be upset, old buddy. You'll find someone. Who knows? There's probably a nice little female meatball or chicken nugget prancing around here today who'd love to get to know a guy like you." (pg. 45) Even Dan wonders, "What guy longs to meet the meatball of his dreams?" (pg. 46).

There are many teens, most especially reluctant readers, who appreciate the hi-lo nature of the Orca Currents series: compelling characters, uncomplicated vocabulary, and contemporary plots in a short read. But it's Vicki Grant's comic stylings that make Hold the Pickles an exceptional Orca Currents book, as it elicits numerous laughs embellishing on the dilemmas of youth.