EVERYTHING'S NOT LOST

A Black teen with bipolar disorder navigates changing relationships after the loss of a sibling.

Sixteen-year-old Ella Washington, who lives in Harlem with her parents, struggles with bipolar disorder, bullying, and most devastatingly, the recent death of her older sister, Maya. Art provides solace, and her parents and her Haitian psychologist, Dr. Dupont, help her with strategies for managing her volatile moods. When Ella thinks about Maya, she has feelings of self-hatred, anger and abandonment. She’s also frustrated with her overprotective parents. Returning to school after a violent incident and a month in a psychiatric center, she wants to be “just Ella” but instead, as she feared, she becomes a target. Fatima, Maya’s former best friend, is hostile toward her, and she receives a slew of malicious, anonymous text messages. With support from Cory, Maya’s ex-boyfriend, and new friend Binh, a Vietnamese American girl who also sees Dr. Dupont, Ella finds strength. She learns to question her assumptions and recognizes that Maya was more layered than she’d realized. Joseph realistically depicts the complicated grief experienced differently by each family member and shows without heavy-handedness the particular vulnerabilities faced by a Black girl with mental illness, making this a distinctive read. Ella’s journey to becoming a more compassionate person and more generous, accepting peer is inspirational. The strong sense of place highlights the richness of Harlem and the impact of gentrification.

A nuanced, culturally rich exploration of grief, mental illness, and the power of community.