Schizophrenia is a weighty topic, especially for children, but Ruth White handled the subject with great sensitivity. I would highly recommend this book to people who are trying to educate under-12s about mental illness -- with the caveat that the outlook for schizophrenics is better than it was in the 1950s at the time this book was set. Side issues in the book -- homesickness and racial prejudice, for example -- are handled well without sounding artificial or intruding into the story too much. ( )

In 1955, thirteen-year-old Lyric finds her whole life changing when her family moves from the hills of Virginia to a town in Michigan and her older sister Summer begins descending into mental illness. ( )

This is a moving story of a family that has struggled through many of life's trials. The main character, Lyric Compton, has a distinct voice that speaks knowingly and honestly about the ravages of mental illness. Summer, Lyric's older sister, has always had her peculiar ways but at sixteen she is becoming increasingly delusional and detached from life. The book will appeal to middle and high school readers because of the length of the book, only 135 pages, the plain spoken dialogue and a plot that doesn't get mired in despair. ( )