Definitions of Indefinable Things

February 13, 2017
Reggie Mason, a snarky 11th-grade loner who uses hurtful comments and hostile glares to avoid forming connections, finds herself drawn to the charmingly conceited Snake Eliot when their paths cross while refilling prescriptions for antidepressants. After grudgingly going on an “anti-date” with the tenacious Snake, Reggie learns that he’s a soon-to-be father—and the boyfriend of popular classmate Carla Banks. Reggie struggles to ignore her attraction to Snake and Carla’s attempts at friendship, but her carefully constructed wall begins to crumble as her strained relationship with her religious mother worsens: “All she saw in me was a walking mistake, a sin to be forgiven, a disease to be cured.” Taylor portrays depression with complexity in this authentic, often confrontational debut; her characters are very real, frequently making terrible and selfish decisions, and their potential is evident. Reggie’s growth is particularly notable as she finally confronts her grief and fear, allowing herself to be vulnerable. Taylor offers no simple answers about depression, teen pregnancy, or complicated relationships, but leaves readers with an enduring sense of hope. Ages 14–up. Agent: Maria Vicente, P.S. Literary.

February 15, 2017
Two depressed teens navigate their disorders and their love life.Seventeen-year-old Reggie Mason has withdrawn from her school and family, spending her days depressed, alone, and mad at the world. While picking up a prescription at CVS, Reggie meets fellow white teen Snake, and the pair strikes up an unlikely courtship. Unfortunately, Snake's ex-girlfriend happens to be Reggie's former childhood friend Carla, also white. Carla also happens to be seven months pregnant with Snake's baby. Told from Reggie's first-person perspective, the novel explores the effects depression can have on a person in even the most bizarre of circumstances. The author handles the mental illness angle well, confronting it squarely without turning her novel into an overblown, weepy TV movie. The author also wisely positions Reggie and Carla as reconnecting friends as opposed to girls fighting over a boy, providing a refreshing dramatic avenue. Less exciting is Snake, who is as toxic to the narrative as he is to Reggie and Carla. The tattooed, self-absorbed, wishy-washy aspiring artist leans hard on his mental illness and often brings those around him down as well. These character defects work thematically, but it is a sincere drag whenever Snake enters the picture. Reggie's relationship with her parents is much more interesting; a late reveal about her past feels clunky in the moment but reshapes enough in hindsight to be worth it. A compelling exploration of mental illness. (Fiction. 12-16)

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February 1, 2017

Gr 8 Up-In her engaging debut, Taylor skillfully captures adolescent depression and anxiety. Reggie, 17, feels alienated from her religious family after enduring several serious losses. Feeling emotionally abandoned, she is determined never to be hurt again. While picking up her Zoloft prescription, Reggie meets fellow teen Snake, who is in line for his Prozac. At first she is extremely resistant to Snake's attention, but he pursues her relentlessly. She eventually succumbs to his charms, but that's only the beginning of a very complicated relationship. Reggie's queen bee classmate Carla is pregnant, and Snake, it turns out, is the father. The three teens' tenuous connections periodically strain, break, and heal as they realistically stumble their way toward a sort of friendship and, ultimately, happiness. The main characters are well drawn and unique. The secondary characters are less so, but this doesn't lower the overall quality of this novel's insightful portrayal of complex teens struggling with mental health issues.

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