The very complex and weird world of teenage relationships
gets muddled by a presumed case of bipolar disorder.
Connor and Isabel meet at summer camp and keep in touch by
email. The story unfolds almost entirely through email correspondence between
the two of them, in which they talk about their parents, their relationships,
their feelings for each other. Connor is steady in his devotion and remains
calm and mature, almost too mature to be believable, but he is the son of a therapist.
Isabel displays strong emotions that become increasingly erratic and starts
reporting some dangerous and troublesome behavior that leads Connor into action
to get help for her.
A tough and sad read at times, Amy Reed tackles the
challenging topic of bipolar disorder in a believable manner. Reading this made
me interested in what she takes on in her other two books, “Clean” and
“Beautiful.”
