THE ELECTRIC LIFE OF LAVENDER LEWIS

A high school senior fears surgery more than epilepsy.

Seventeen-year-old Lavender “Ven” Lewis’ epilepsy is ruining her life. Every day she has about 10 focal impaired awareness seizures, which she calls “partials,” where she blanks out and sometimes twitches and makes sounds. Each week she has around three tonic-clonic seizures—“the fall-to-the-ground-shaking ones.” The frequent partials are devastating to Ven’s quality of life, and tonic-clonic seizures might cause neurological damage. Her neurologist has been pushing brain surgery, but Ven is watching her mother slowly die from multiple sclerosis that’s caused massive cognitive degeneration, and she’s absolutely terrified: “It’s brain surgery. I might die on the operating table. I might wake up no longer me or a shadow of myself, Ven-lite. I might end up like Mom.” After her mother’s death, Ven’s tonic-clonic seizures change: Instead of the horrible brain fog, she conjures up a sad, pretty, green-eyed boy. Is he real? Has she been granted some kind of seizure magic from her occult-loving mother? Ven’s quest to find out takes her on a road trip with her irresponsible estranged aunt, who’s into crystals and other new age spirituality. With the assistance of a special, potentially healing, amethyst, Ven confronts the question of whether her seizures are a genuine illness or a magical gift to aid her on her coming-of-age quest. Primary characters are cued white.

An encouraging journey from believable despair to painful, hopeful reality.