Everything is Fine.

What an unusual book.
I don't normally like books in which the first-person narrator is unlikable, which was definitely the case here. Mazzy doesn't become likable as the book moves along either... but we do in time learn why she is the way she is, and it's heartbreaking.
A short book, told in short chapters, with mostly short sentences, it's a very quick read. Mazzy lives with her catatonic mother, barely taking care of her or herself, while her father has left to pursue a fantastic job opportunity. Mazzy slogs through her days watching TV and sitting under the sprinkler in her yard, and not doing much else.
But the real story is what happened before the book begins that put she and her mother in the states they're in... and that back show more story is very gradually revealed as the book progresses.
Secondary character, Norma, is a saint.
The book ends sort of enigmatically. It's left to the reader to decide what the ending means.
I'll definitely be re-reading this one, because I'm sure I'll get more from it in a second reading.
(Note: I disagree with many other reviewers here. This is not a book in verse. This is prose, but in mostly very short sentences, and no indentations at paragraph beginnings. But prose nonetheless.) show less

Reviewed by Sally Kruger aka "Readingjunky" for TeensReadToo.com

Mazzy's family has fallen apart. A tragedy almost too horrible to imagine has broken down communication and left the remaining family members drifting in different directions.

Mazzy's father left on a business trip months ago and never returned. He tries to communicate by phone, but Mazzy can't seem to form the words that need to be said, so most of the time when he calls she hangs up.

Mazzy's mother is gone in a different sense. She stays in her room and in her bed, not moving or saying a word. Her body is there, but her mind has gone to a place not even Mazzy can reach.

When outsiders like Norma, the neighbor, or Mazzy's best friend, Colby, ask how things are going, Mazzy's show more response is always the same: "Everything is fine." But nosy Mrs. Peet, the government lady, knows things are anything but fine. She threatens to intervene, but it will take more than a social worker to fix what's wrong with Mazzy's family.

Ann Dee Ellis takes readers inside the mind of a young girl to tell the story of a family crisis. She uses prose only a hair away from being verse, and it is the perfect choice to illustrate Mazzy's tenuous grasp on reality and life at the moment.

I found myself captivated by her desire to create a peaceful world for herself and her mother by avoiding the truth. Despite the tragic tone set right from the beginning, the character of Mazzy radiates a hope and determination that amazed me. show less

Everything is Fine is due out in March, 2009. I read an ARC.

Everything is Fine is reminiscent of Laurie Halse Anderson's, Speak, in that the reader knows that something terrible has happened, but must suffer the pain of the protagonist as she comes to terms with the truth. The protagonist in this case is the adolescent Mazzy. In stark, first person, stream of consciousness chapters, Mazzy details her life at home alone with a severely depressed mother and an absent father,

"FOOD
When Dad found out he had to stay away longer than he thought, he found someone to bring us food.
She sometimes forgets. Her name is Lisa and she smells like hair spray.
She's Bill's friend who needed some extra cash.
She's supposed to come every week but sometimes show more she forgets. I feed Mom what's in the kitchen even though all she really wants is sorbet and Diet Coke.
Once I put SpaghetttiOs in the blender and gave it to her like a shake.
She threw it up."

If I had not just finished reading Waiting for Normal, perhaps I might have liked this book better. Waiting for Normal tells a similar, albeit less tragic story. Both books have a young female protagonist, an absent father figure, and a sickly, overweight, kindly, and helpful neighbor. Waiting for Normal is more hopeful, though - perhaps because depression is not its main focus. I'm sure it's difficult to write a hopeful book that deals with depression. Ellis has done a great job in trying, but this was not one of my personal favorites, although it is certainly well written. Everything is Fine should appeal to teen fans of contemporary realistic fiction. show less

Mazzy is quite the colorful character. She is doing her best to care for her mother who is in the throes of severe depression. I love the fact that we aren't slammed with the tragedy that plagues this family right in the beginning. We meet the various characters through Mazzy.

The devastating effects that tragedy can have on the family is evident within the pages of Everything Is Fine. Mazzy is doing her best to convince everyone around her and even herself that everything is indeed fine. This is another lovely book of verse. I loved that Mazzy started using art as an outlet for her feelings as well. I'm giving this one 3 1/2 sweet kisses!

Mazzy is way too young to be taking care of her mother. But that’s what she’s doing ever since her father left to work for ESPN. He came home for a short visit but left again and they hardly ever talk. But things aren’t going all that well. Her mother pretty much stays in bed all day, non-communicative.

Mazzy’s neighbors try. Like the obese Norma who lives across the street. Mazzy helps her pick weeks from her lawn.

Mazzy thinks her neighbor, Colby, likes her, but like all teenage boys, he ignores her for the most part. His mother wants to help but doesn’t know how.

So, Mazzy is left to care for her mother, bring her her pills and sorbet, talk to her, bath her (although that stopped when Bill, a male nurse, started coming show more over).

Everything was fine until the social worker appeared on the scene and said things must change. Mazzy texted her dad with the word “government” which prompted a phone call and a return visit.

Everything is Fine, a novel in verse, is poignant. Mazzy is struggling with growing up and caring for her mother, remembering both the good times and the incident that caused her mother’s depression. She feels it is her responsibility to shoulder the burden and readers will share her burden and her pain. They’ll also identify with Mazzy’s friendship with Norma, as well as her crush on Colby, both of which she denies. Mazzy’s mother is an artist and the book contains Mazzy’s attempts at artwork. Ellis has written a winner. Try it. show less

Everything Is Fine is told in verses which creates a quick and interesting read. It reminded me a bad performance, hard to keep your eyes away but leaves an uncomfortable feeling in the pit of your stomach. Or the tryouts for American Idol. You just can’t help but feel embarrass for the person but the urge to change the channel is non existence. That was how I felt about Everything Is Fine. It’s awkward, and disjointed, but it’s undeniably hard to put down.

Mazzy was an on and off character for me. Sometimes I can relate to her feelings, and sometimes I feel that she needs to grow up. It was hard for me to pinpoint her exact age—she stuffed oranges down her shirt and yet she wears lacy underwear. Her relationship with her mother show more is where you can understand her depth. The way she is actually the one taking care of her mother instead of the other way around, the most simple of actions forces her to hate her mother. Maybe it’s the way that she [the mother:] used to act before she fell into depression that causes her to hate her. Or maybe it goes deeper than that as we read the ending.

The ending I felt was satisfactory. In the middle of the story, the author mentions Olivia. I spent a good amount of time trying to remember who she was which might have worked in the author’s favor—trying to keep the readers on their toes. As the story progresses, the small bits of missing information begins to fill until we understand the actual reasoning behind everything.

There are also captions after every poem, like for example “Pencil on paper”. And underneath that, there will be a picture. I was not too sure the exact meaning behind each one, sometimes I did, sometimes it drew a blank stare, but I thought it was creative.

Overall: Mazzy was an odd character but she was interesting to read to say the least. Everything is Fine was a fun and quick read that is a library borrow if you enjoy verse novels. show less

This book was strange it was hard for me to comprehend. Though, everything made more sense after finding out about the horrible tragedy this family went through. Still something was off. I think it was the character of Mazzy. At first I thought maybe she had regressed backwards in maturity after the tragedy but after reading a bit about before it happened it seemed she was still kind of the same. I found it strange that she karate chopped people when she was upset or didn't know what to do, but found out this is something she also did before as well. I sort of pinpointed her around 6th-7th grade. I don't know. And wearing oranges in your bra multiple times, I sort of felt like she was trying to get attention with some of the strange show more things she did.

The situation the family was in was just hard to read as well. A catatonic mother and an absent family basically leaving this child to take care of herself. Thankfully she had neighbors to check on her when she allowed it. It was just really hard to read. Thankfully there were bits of humor sprinkled through the book, Mazzy's opinion on Oprah or her chats with her neighbor Colby.
One thing I really liked about the book were Mazzy's artwork. Basically abstract art (smudges etc) that was pretty interesting to see.

I felt like the ending was going in a hopeful direction but it wasn't really enough for me personally. None the less, this was an interesting and emotional book. show less