by Julie Schumacher
Elena and her sister Dora have always been close.
So when Dora is hospitalized for depression, Elena is shocked she didn't see the signs. She is positive Dora will snap out of it quickly and life will go back to normal.
But there is nothing normal about her life after this moment.
Suddenly she finds herself seeing a therapist, her parents don't want to listen to her and she is talking to the neighborhood bad boy, Jimmy. To make matters worse, even when her sister comes home, she still isn't right...
Jimmy insists she tells her parents what her sister is doing, or not doing - but Elena is positive she can be the one to save her. But can she?
Even though this book is a few years old, it's message is timely for any family that may have someone suffering depression. The relationship between the sisters was realistic, teasing, compassion and using childhood games to try to bring them back together. The parents are so focused on Dora that often Elena gets disregarded, unintentionally. Jimmy is a good addition of character to the plot. Though I found his bad-boy image rather amusing, he brought an authentic voice to the story.
Depression, no matter the age, can be serious. This story reminds the reader how important communication, openness and understanding are to those involved. I would recommend this realistic fiction book to middle grades and up. The characters are in high school.
