About This Book
Reach for this book when your teenager is struggling with the emotional fallout of a parent's mental health crisis or feels lost in a high-pressure school environment. This poignant story follows Francesca as she navigates her first year at a formerly all-male school while her usually vibrant mother is paralyzed by severe clinical depression. It is a deeply honest look at how family illness shifts household roles and forces a young person to find their own voice when their primary support system falters. While it deals with heavy themes of depression and identity, it is balanced by sharp wit and the messy, realistic beauty of teenage friendships. It is an essential choice for mature teens seeking to understand that they are not responsible for 'saving' their parents, even as they learn to support them.
