"MENTAL is a frightening yet hopeful story about a girl struggling for a little bit of normal with a fragile mind that’s anything but. Set in a hospital, Lucy meets Julian, who teaches her that normalcy is relative." - Patty Blount, author of TMI and Some Boys.
Publication date: April 7th, 2015
Hope is an illusion meant to convince the broken to keep on living. That’s me. Broken.
My father pays heaps of money for doctors at the Norfolk Psychiatric Center to fix me. I’ve spent six months of my prime teenage years at this residential facility – a place for teenagers who’ve gone mental.
That’s me. Mental.
Just when I begin to feel myself fade away, a boy with a wolfish smile and mischievous eyes reels me in. Julian is broken too, but he believes in me enough for the both of us. Through him, I begin to experience this thing called hope. Doctors can’t fix me, my parents can’t either, but maybe it’s not me who needs fixing.
After all, mental is only a state of mind. It all depends on who’s doing the thinking.
Hope is an illusion meant to convince the broken to keep on living. That’s me. Broken.
EXCERPT
We approach the tree he was hiding behind a minute ago. The trunk is wider than us both standing side-by-side, and the branches are thick, creating a leafy canopy above. I look at the ground underneath, and instead of shadows, I see a kaleidoscope of color.
I squint and look closer. Am I seeing things?
“Look,” he says, pointing up into the branches.
I follow his gaze and freeze. Hanging from the branches are close to a dozen sun catchers. The light filtering through the branches strikes each plastic dangling picture and casts an array of colors on the ground.
“I thought it might help you feel better.” He shrugs.“I know you don’t like...the dark and stuff.”
The warmth of the colors and filtered sunlight makes the shade of the tree inviting instead of terrifying.
“You did this for me?” I look at him in awe.
His gaze drops as he digs his toe into the ground. He seems a little embarrassed. “It was a craft in the Rec Room one of the times you were sleeping.” He raises his eyes and looks into mine.I could use at least ten shades of blue to paint the depth there.
What big eyes you have, Mr. Wolf.
“Nobody was using them so I took them all.” He chuckles. “I’m not very good at art but I figured –”
“It’s beautiful,” I whisper.
He pulls me underneath the branches. I look down, watching the colors dance across my feet in the breeze. When I glance at him, he’s smiling, and I smile too.
I feel like a child again. Giddy, silly, carefree. Maybe the Big Bad Wolf can scare my nightmares away.
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About the author:
If my name weren't enough to doom me to nerdville, my love of all things dark and weird would. Inspired by stories of hope and perseverance throughout history, in my own life, and in the lives of people I know, I strive to write authentic YA fiction for the oddball in all of us.
I want to make people think deeply, feel wholly, and laugh and cry, just as I have.
I'm no stranger to tricky topics such as LGBTQ issues, adoption, disabilities, and mental illness, and I hope you come to love my characters as much as I do.
Hi, I love the cover of your book, very eye catching, and the blurb is wrote very well, and sounds good, thank you for the giveaway
ReplyDeleteI liked both the excerpt and the book cover.
ReplyDeleteI'd put this on my wishlist almost exclusively because of the title/cover, with a quick look at the summary. But the excerpt... That's so sweet. I'd love to see a tree with all those suncatchers :) And I love how she's nicknamed him the Big Bad Wolf :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the great offer I look forward to reading this book.
ReplyDeleteI worked on a psychiatric ward for teens and young adults. It's very hard to understand all the things that play into their minds and can influence their actions and behaviors. I'd like to read this book :)
ReplyDeleteAwesome!!! Very interesting :) Thanks for hosting :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the giveaway :)
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