Three emotionally damaged people are drawn together. Will, 18, remarkably self-composed and on his own since his alcoholic mother’s recent death, attends school and tutors 14-year-old Kurt, who is trying to put his life back together after his mother’s relationship with an abusive boyfriend came to a horrifying end. The third character is Carrie, a middle-aged schizophrenic woman, off her meds and rapidly descending into an irrational mania in which she compulsively steals then neglects pets she believes are conversing with her. Strangely, some of the most entertaining parts of the novel are when readers are made privy to Carrie’s apparently imaginary but realistic dialogue with members of her animal menagerie. Sections alternate between occasional first-person narration in the form of Will’s blog and third-person accounts from each person’s point of view. The same action is seen from different perspectives—sometimes a bit awkwardly—when narratives overlap, especially as the dramatic climax looms. Strong characterizations and an unusual theme are highlights of this interesting effort aimed at very mature YA readers. (Fiction. 14 & up)
