Maybe in Paris

Gr 7 Up—High school senior Keira is obsessed with all things French, including cute exchange student Jacques, who unexpectedly agrees to go with her to prom. He turns out to be a cad, mocking Keira's (somewhat on the nose) Marie Antoinette get-up and judging her 16-year-old brother Levi when he becomes agitated during pre-dance photos and accidentally knocks Keira down. This humiliation is eclipsed later that evening when Levi attempts suicide. After his release from a mental health facility, Keira decides that traveling together to Paris is the only way to bring back the Levi she loves and understands. Levi has episodes of psychosis, and Keira believes that he might be on the autism spectrum. Given that Keira's mom tends to alternately slut-shame, blame, and ignore her daughter, it seems far-fetched that she would agree to her as chaperone, even with safeguards in place, but a brother/sister adventure to France does set up a premise with teen appeal. The trip is not the cure-all that the protagonist envisions, but it does bring the siblings closer. Though Levi can be difficult, Keira also sees flashes of her smartly funny, history-loving brother. They make new friends, including a brother and sister running a delectable but failing patisserie, and a dreamy Scottish bass player named Gable. Yet despite hints that her own anxious and avoidant tendencies may need addressing, Keira continues to underestimate the power of illness, until a moment of crisis pushes her to seek the support she needs. This work is based on the author's own experiences with her brother. A strength of this book is how the characters are not defined solely by their diagnoses.