Crazy

From the Publisher

* "Nolan leavens this haunting but hopeful story with spot-on humor and a well developed cast of characters, and she shows with moving clarity the emotional costs of mental illness, especially on teens forced to parent their own parents."—Booklist, starred review

* "In this distinct and effective blend of sorrow and humor, Jason, once invisible to his classmates and used to the chaos at home, suffers the effects of change when he's enrolled in a lunch-hour group therapy with other wayward teens and his father is taken away...he slowly learns, with the help of his new friends and foster parents, normalcy and how to care for himself first."—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

Publishers Weekly

"Ever since the fifth grade, I've had this imaginary audience in my head who follow me around and watch me like I'm the star in a movie," explains 15-year-old Jason, who narrates this intense novel from National Book Award Medalist Nolan (Dancing on the Edge). But imagined friends can't help Jason with the problem he inherited after his mother's death: taking care of a mentally ill father, whose condition is worsening. Structured as a conversation between Jason and his outspoken internal chorus (which includes sympathetic Aunt Bee from the Andy Griffith Show, the antagonistic Crazy Glue, and even a laugh track), the novel draws readers inside the psyche of a troubled teenager to experience the chaos, panic, and isolation he feels each day. When his father disappears, Jason risks soliciting help from a group of newfound friends from school. Some readers may feel overwhelmed by the constant interruptions from Jason's internal voices, yet the cacophony underscores Jason's frustration and helplessness. Nolan balances weighty subject matter with humor, offering an intelligent portrayal of a boy's slow release of burdens too heavy to carry alone. Ages 12–up. (Sept.)

Children's Literature - Janis Flint-Ferguson

Fifteen-year-old Jason Papadoupolis has recurring nightmares about being buried alive—by his father. The truly horrifying part is that they are not just nightmares, they are a real childhood memory. Jason's father has struggled with mental illness his entire life, but for all of Jason's life, his mother has helped keep the family together. Now, with his mother dead, Jason has had to maneuver through his father's delusions without support. Jason is tired of being alone. There are voices in his head that have helped him manage his life, but Jason is now speaking out for himself and that lands him in group therapy with Haze, Pete and Shelby. Shelby is a short, freckled girl whose mother is dying of ALS and Jason finds himself oddly attracted to her, oddly because he has never before had a girlfriend or even these kinds of feelings. As Mr. Papadoupolis slips deeper into his mental illness, the four classmates band together. Jason learns more about his friends and the difficulties with which they too are dealing. But in the end, Jason needs more support than even his friends can provide. Nolan's novel takes readers deep into the world of mental illness where the conversations can seem so imaginative and the dysfunction can be so deadly. In the midst of his father's crisis, Jason is struck with the identity issues that all young adults face: "Who am I?" More frighteningly, Jason also must ask himself "Am I crazy, too?" His raw emotions and outbursts are both humorous and poignant; readers cannot help but want there to be a resolution for Jason and his father. Picking up where Sonya Sones left off in Stop Pretending, Jason's story takes readers into a darker reality where solutions are very complex. Reviewer: Janis Flint-Ferguson

School Library Journal

Gr 8 Up—At age six, Jason's mentally ill father tried to bury him alive. Now 15, Jason is left alone to care for the man. They live in squalor, and the teen is in constant fear for his father's (and his own) safety. When he begins to act erratically at school, he's sent to group therapy. There he meets three other kids with screwed-up families. Though he begins to trust and love them, he keeps his father's illness a secret. When the truth comes out, his father is hospitalized and Jason is sent to foster care. He discovers, guiltily, what it's like to be a little normal. The chemistry among members of the group calls to mind John Barnes's extraordinary Tales of the Madman Underground (Viking, 2009), and these characters sparkle. Nolan writes with her usual combination of ease and gravitas. The action moves briskly, especially in light of the serious mood. Jason's voice, on its own, is natural—teens will sympathize easily. Unfortunately, he also narrates via an annoying and superfluous cast of imaginary friends, including Aunt Bea from the Andy Griffith Show. Instead of edgy, this device comes off as gimmicky and disrupts an otherwise intelligent, moving story.—Johanna Lewis, New York Public Library

Kirkus Reviews

Since his mother's recent death, his mentally ill father, who tried to bury him alive at age six, has donned a homemade Spartan helmet as protection from mythological Furies, leaving 15-year-old Jason Papadopoulos feeling like he's living a Greek tragedy. And the chorus consists of a cast of characters in his mind—a fat, balding movie critic, a kid who once Krazy Glued his fingers together, Sexy Lady (who always finds Jason hot), Aunt Bee from The Andy Griffith Show and his own laugh track—whose commentary punctuates his first-person narration throughout. In this distinct and effective blend of sorrow and humor, Jason, once invisible to his classmates and used to the chaos at home, suffers the effects of change when he's enrolled in a lunch-hour group therapy with other wayward teens and his father is taken away. Wracked with guilt (why couldn't he fix his parents?), grief (why did they abandon him?) and fear (do the voices in his head make him crazy too?), he slowly learns, with the help of his new friends and foster parents, normalcy and how to care for himself first. (Fiction. 12 & up)