Get Well Soon

November 12, 2007
Based on Halpern’s (Toby and the Snowflakes
) experiences, this first novel begins as a run-of-the-mill story about a 16-year-old girl’s short stint in a suburban Chicago psychiatric hospital: think sterile hallways, dysfunctional group therapy sessions and foul-mouthed, pissed-off adolescents who have been committed against their will. Before long, however, it evolves into an upbeat story that offers a hype-free, realistic look inside a teen ward. The narrator, Anna Bloom, actually enjoys Lakeland by the end of her stay. She feels more confident in her thinned-out body (although her loss of 12 pounds in 11 days seems a stretch), has opened up to her peers and even had a reciprocated crush on the lanky boy down the hall—none of which would have befallen the pre-Lakeland Anna. The talk about kissing and playing cards could make some forget they’re reading about time spent at the loony bin, as Anna sometimes calls it, but Halpern balances these sorts of discussions with Anna’s reactions to fellow patients who hear voices or claim to worship “the Dark Lord” and to rules forbidding all physical contact. As the novel progresses, readers will get a kick out of Anna’s snarky sense of humor and her capacity for self-renewal. Ages 12-up.

October 1, 2007
Gr 8 Up-Anna is committed to a mental hospital by her parents because she is overweight, has a poor self-image, has stopped going to school, and is depressed. The high school junior frets and obsesses over virtually every embarrassing situation that might occur. She is prone to panic attacks, and her increasing and consuming fears have rendered herand her motherhelpless. While her anger toward her parents is obvious, the trauma that finally gets her admitted is vague. Anna's story unfolds through diarylike letters to a friend. She gives a blow-by-blow account of life in the psych ward and describes her reactions to her psychologist, the counselors, and new developing friendships. Anna's reflective quips toward the hospital staff and her arch and deprecating remarks on the population at large are amusing, but the profanity reads like an affected teen voice. Despite the daily details, the writing fails to extract an empathetic reaction. The story feels vacuous and vacantmuch like the effect of a sedative. The outcome is healing for Anna; she leaves the hospital, regains her self-worth, and resumes a "normal" teen life. But for readers, something is missing."Alison Follos, North Country School, Lake Placid, NY"

Copyright 2007 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 15, 2007
I am a huge waste of life and space, and Im tired of being alive and having to deal with it. After a period of panic attacks, depression, and cutting school, Anna Blooms parents send her to Lakeland, a Chicago mental-health facility. In letters addressed to her best friend, Tracy, Anna recounts her three weeks in the adolescent ward. Debut author Halpern drew from her own teen experiences with depression, and Annas voice, filled with spot-on musings, sarcasm, slang, and swearing, is uproariously funny and authentic, whether offering vivid accounts of Lake Shits . . . booger green and vomit brown decor, bewildering therapy sessions, or the shock and pleasure of finding friends, romance, confidence, and belonging: This place seems to erase all social stereotypes. There is absolutely no pressure to be cool or skinny or entertaining. Many teens will connect with the vague anxiety that lands Anna in treatment as well as her subtle, realistic sense that her life is her own to value and shape.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2007, American Library Association.)