Piece of Mind

Starred review from December 7, 2015
Adelman’s debut novel is a moving story of grief, resilience, and self-actualization. Since suffering a traumatic brain injury at the age of three, Lucy has felt misunderstood by her peers. She prefers to spend time with animals, drawing them with unusual skill and empathy. At 27, Lucy feels like she is simply existing rather than living: she resides with her father in her suburban childhood home outside Manhattan and has fallen into a complacent routine. But when her father dies unexpectedly, Lucy is forced to leave a familiar life behind and move into her younger brother’s studio apartment in New York City, where she is thrown into a series of unfamiliar circumstances that lead her to discover her strength. As Lucy becomes more self-aware, she begins to better understand those around her, most poignantly her brother, whom she previously imagined to be perfect. Adelma fully inhabits Lucy’s voice, and the resulting tale is as realistic as it is uplifting.

November 1, 2015
A wayward woman with little executive function tries to wrest back control of her life. The classic advice to write what you know guides many a debut, often to fine effect. Adelman's first novel is a tender example of this tenet--in the acknowledgments, she offers a tribute to her sister, "whose brain helped inspire Lucy's." And her heroine's brain, damaged in an early childhood car accident, is a marvel: Lucy describes it as "a pinball machine lit up with pockets of potential." When we meet her, that potential has lain dormant for a while. Coddled by a well-intentioned dad who leaves her a to-do list every morning that includes showering and dressing, Lucy spends her days drinking coffee and trying not to leave the house. Daily tasks and interactions flummox her, but she finds a safe haven in her sketchbook and passing glimpses of her mother, who died many years earlier. This haven implodes when Lucy's father has a sudden heart attack: her absent younger brother, Nate (a polished 21-year-old who "didn't have an awkward phase"), swoops in from college, sets her up in his tiny New York apartment, and kicks off the rest of their story. Plenty of plot follows, and minor characters traipse in and out, but none of that is the reason to read Adelman's book. Lean in instead for the relationship between brother and sister, for its evolution as Lucy builds the strength and willingness both to take care of herself and to recognize and accept Nate's shortcomings. The chronicle of this incremental shift is peppered with her drawings of people and animals--all done by the author's sister--which play no small role in making Lucy's often hazy perspective feel sharply real. This labor of love pens a soft-edged portrait of a subject who struggles to grasp complexity.

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Starred review from November 15, 2015

When Lucy was three years old, she was struck by a truck and sustained a traumatic brain injury. Since then, she's had more challenges than most. As she's quick to say, she lacks executive functions: she's disorganized and nonlinear; and she sometimes sees, feels, and smells her mother, who was killed in a tragic accident when Lucy was 14. Lucy connects with animals and loves to sketch--her love of animals competes only with her nearly obsessive love of coffee. At 27, she lives with her father, making disjointed attempts to secure a job in response to his excessive goading, while finding it impossible to keep a single outfit clean enough to be presentable. When their father dies unexpectedly, Nate, Lucy's younger brother, agrees to share his tiny New York apartment with her, but her needs begin to take priority until he starts to crumble under pressure. VERDICT Lucy's narrative is sensitive, witty, and illuminating; her innate connection to Gus, the Central Park polar bear, is excellently drawn. Her journey and the evolution of her relationships offer a rare glance at the unknowable. Lovers of Liz Moore's Heft will want to read this debut novel.--Julie Kane, Washington & Lee Lib., Lexington, VA

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 15, 2015
Adelman's engaging debut novel follows narrator Lucy as she is forced to forge a new path in life amid personal upheaval. At 27, she struggles with the long-term effects of a childhood brain injury. When her father, and caretaker, suddenly dies, Lucy is reunited with younger brother Nathan, who moves Lucy into his New York City studio apartment. A junior at Columbia University, he takes a leave of absence from his studies for a job to support himself and his sister. Alone during the day, Lucy tentatively ventures out into her unfamiliar surroundings, eventually finding solace sketching animals at the zoo and visiting a local coffee shop, where she catches the attention of idiosyncratic barista Frank. As Lucy and Frank deepen their quirky relationship, Nathan begins to withdraw from those around him, and when his issues come to a head, Lucy must confront the realities and her trepidation over her situation. Lovely sketches are interspersed with the text, and the heavier tones of Adelman's tale are balanced by Lucy's unique voice, offering a candid exploration of self-doubt, the bonds of family, and the fear of the unknown.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)