This was an amazing beautiful story with a heartbreaking plot twist. Though I wish the author would have said something about this could trigger the urge to pick or harm in some. Still glad I read it. ( )

Fig is six when her mother has a schizophrenic episode. Fig develops many OCD tendencies in her desire to protect her mother from recurrences and herself from getting the disease.

This is a well written book about an important subject, but I feel like it's a slow starter and my students won't have the patience to get o the part where Fig is their age, and the potential romance starts. ( )

I attended a workshop put on by the author of Fig, Sarah Schantz. I loved the workshop and felt a kinship with her. I enjoyed seeing how she weaved in the lessons of writing she taught in the class into her own book. Fig the main character is the focus of the story. I will always be a fan of Sarah's but I was not crazy about the story -- that has more to do with my preferences than whether the story is good or not. The book won many awards. The story is tough, sad, yet leaves us optimistic. ( )

I can't explain how long it's been since I bought this book on Amazon. Before purchasing it, I saw it in Barnes and Noble one day and read the summary. I was immediately hooked after reading it because of the subject of mental illness. A part of me likes to read these types of books to see how realistic they can be -- to see if they portray what it is like with a mental illness and not just romanticize it.

Beginning with the writing style, Ms. Schantz paints wonderful images with her words which flow melodically when read. However, the writing also seemed dampened and boring, making it difficult to read for a long period of time without taking frequent breaks to do something else which is why it took me so long to finish. Though the book didn't lack flowing sentences with... (more via website) ( )

I was quite surprised that this was a first novel for this author. As a young adult novel novel, I feel it should be on the required reading list for everyone over the age of 13. As a mental health/therapist, I found this book amazing in its portrayal of how schizophrenia affects everyone in the family, NOT just the patient. As a parent, I wanted to hug Fig and tell her it is okay and not her fault. This is a heartbreaking, endearing tale of a family in crisis, spread out over a young girls most important growth time. i cannot say enough good things about this novel and highly recommend it. ( )