A Bitter Pill To Swallow

Gr 6–10—Artistic 14-year-old Janina has lived at the Harrison School for Exceptional Youth in Chicago since she was 10 years old. Devante has just been delivered there by his parents because recent trauma has left him depressed and suicidal. Drs. Lutkin and Thomas, who work at the school, are also in times of transition. Meanwhile, the group that owns the school is looking to cut costs. These five plotlines intersect to make a statement about mental health services, especially within African American communities. The decision to set the story in 1994 blurs the message that changes are needed in the present. The cartoonish villainy of the for-profit management group's obsession with cost cutting will work for younger readers but will leave older ones wishing for a more nuanced treatment. That said, the "good" adult characters are nicely fleshed out. Multigenerational stories are uncommon on the YA shelves, and this element of the book fills a gap. Unfortunately, there are some classic first-novel writing technique issues, most notably the rapid shifting among different characters' points of view, done clunkily in the third person. The book helps illuminate how treatment of mental health in African American communities often lags behind that of white suburban communities. Young teens will find Janina and Devante to be likable and will cheer for their happy endings.