Words on Bathroom Walls

Starred review from May 15, 2017
Echoing the premise and structure of Flowers for Algernon, this frank and inspiring novel shows how a teen’s life changes after he is given an experimental medication to treat symptoms of schizophrenia. Since age 12, Adam has been tormented by voices and hallucinations. He’s lost friends, as well as the hope that he’ll ever be normal. Now that he’s 16 and has started a clinical trial for miracle drug ToZaPrex, things are changing. Adam still hears voices and hallucinates, but for the first time, he can delineate what’s real and what’s not, and that makes all the difference. His journal entries, written to his therapist during the drug trial, draw readers into the mind of an intelligent, witty young man as he embraces the pleasures of finding a new friend, being accepted on an academic team, and winning a girl’s heart. But as the quality of Adam’s life improves, so do his anxieties. First-time author Walton creates a psychologically tense story with sympathetic characters while dispelling myths about a much-feared condition. Ages 12–up. Agent: Heather Flaherty, Bent Agency.

Narrator Christopher Gebauer delivers an engaging performance as a teen named Adam. Recently diagnosed with schizophrenia, Adam struggles with the condition, the side effects of the drug trial in which he is participating, and starting at a new school where no one knows of his past. Gebauer's unique vocalizations capture the different personalities of the characters--both real and hallucinated. As the miracle drug stops working and Adam's mental distress grows, Gebauer's performance becomes harrowing. Narrator Robert Fass's portrayal of Adam's therapist is spot-on, albeit short, as it mostly contained in the chapter introductions. Even with the brief performance, Fass imparts his character's growing worry about Adam's well-being. A.L.S.M. � AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine