Wow. This is SOME book!
There is so much going on in this book it’s difficult to know where to start. Our heroine is Hayley and her father is an Iraq war vet. Dad suffers from a MONSTER case of PTSD and isn’t able to follow through with treatment. As a result, poor Hayley’s life is a nightmare. Hayley has had to care for herself and her father in a way that only children of mentally ill or dysfunctional families can understand. The best bit about Hayley is that she has a few friends who try to get close to her. And of course, there’s a boy. Hayley’s been through a lot of crap but she also realizes that she’s not the only one who has a bad family life at home. And this knowledge helps her.
I am at times so angry with Hayley’s dad that I want to jump through the (audio) book and grab that poor kid and get her out of the situation and leave Dad to his own destruction. This is a thought provoking book that will rip your guts out.I can’t say that it’s my fave LHA book but it sure makes you think. LHA knows how to get to the meat of the issue; I’m still recovering from Speak. Â LHA needs to hug a puppy or something!
I’m not sure if I should classify this as diversity. The characters are white but the mental illness issues in here are devastating. Have you read this? What did you think?