INSANELY SANE

A YA novel offers an exploration of trauma in teenagers.

Shouse’s book features a trigger warning that gives almost a chapter-by-chapter breakdown of its content. The tale’s themes range from suicide and self-harm to misdiagnosis, sexual assault, and arson. Each chapter is narrated by one teen from a group of youths ages 14 to 18. The band is at Pleasant Valley Treatment Center, a mental health and rehabilitation facility for young people. The story opens with Tobias, a reluctant patient recently admitted after a suicide attempt, in the Maple unit. His perspective alternates with his eventual friends: Matthew, his roommate; the cool and friendly Derek, aka Six; pretty, bubbly Darla and her calmer friend Kate; quiet, intelligent Renee and her fiery, older sister figure, Liz; James, who seems sworn to silence; and the scar-faced Bullfrog. The alternating viewpoints trace the plot through scenes of group therapy. Readers, along with the patients, discover the backstory that landed each character in Pleasant Valley. Friendships among the teens develop as they help one another come to terms with their experiences and start the healing process. In the novel, Shouse makes the case that although the path to healing is neither linear nor easy, unconditional acceptance and love from those around the patients can make the odyssey worthwhile. The author’s first foray into YA fiction strikes the right balance between naïve hope and realistic skepticism in the handling of incredibly heavy themes. The characters are diverse in terms of age, race, socio-economic status, sexual orientation, and personality. The author skillfully commits to representation without linking this to such stereotypical themes as Black suffering. The book is well paced and smartly structured, with the alternating points of view serving to develop both the characters and the plot. Different approaches to mental health practices, from cognitive behavioral therapy to medication and mindfulness, are also cleverly examined through different players, further emphasizing that there is no one-size-fits-all solution to mental health. While some dialogue on healing reads as slightly stiff and dogmatic, the core themes of listening and showing compassion in the face of others’ suffering are expressed in simple, poignant terms. At one point, James tells Matthew: “You guys get it, even when you don’t.”

An insightful, hard-hitting, and tender tale of converging mental health journeys.