In his case, that manifests as not just visions and voices and paranoid delusions, but invisible buddies-seen only by him-that wouldn’t be out of place in a jokey Marvel pic. Our teenage hero, Adam (Charlie Plummer), has just been diagnosed with schizophrenia. For large chunks of the film, its depiction of mental illness is overly facile, bordering on cutesy. I saved the final twenty pages for the next day because I didn't want Adam's story to end.Words on Bathroom Walls shouldn’t have worked. Jennifer Longo, author of Up to This Pointe VOYAĪ brutal, beautiful book that sits right beside The Perks of Being a Wallflower and I'll Give You the Sun. Imaginative writing and beautiful storytelling make this book an upbeat tale, but the message is still driven home. Booklistĭespite heavy subject matter, Adam is hilarious and infinitely lovable, and the ending is hopeful and realistic rather than happily-ever-after and contrived. Walton does a brilliant job of giving a voice to a population that is often silenced. Publishers Weekly, starred reviewĪ welcome novel that doesn't treat schizophrenia as an unavoidable sentence of doom and that allots friendship and romance equal weight with mental illness. Coming in 2020!Īn ALA-YALSA Best Book for Young Adults * A Bank Street Best Children's Book of the Year * Kansas National Education Association Reading Circle Catalog Selection Book of the Year * Rhode Island Teen Book Award Nominee * A CBC's 2 Teen Choice Book Awards NomineeĬreates a psychologically tense story with sympathetic characters while dispelling myths about a much-feared condition. Publishers Weekly, starred reviewĭon't miss Just Our Luck, another stunning book by Julia Walton. But as the miracle drug begins to fail, how long can he keep this secret from the girl of his dreams?Įchoing the premise and structure of Flowers for Algernon, this frank and inspiring novel. When Adam meets Maya, a fiercely intelligent girl, he desperately wants to be the normal, great guy that she thinks he is. His hallucinations include a cast of characters that range from the good (beautiful Rebecca) to the bad (angry Mob Boss) to the just plain weird (polite naked guy).Īn experimental drug promises to help him hide his illness from the world. When you can't trust your mind, trust your heart.Īdam is a pretty regular teen, except he's navigating high school life while living with paranoid schizophrenia. Now a Major Motion Picture starring Charlie Plummer, AnnaSophia Robb, and Taylor Russell!įans of More Happy Than Not and The Perks of Being a Wallflower will cheer for Adam in this uplifting and surprisingly funny story of a boy living with schizophrenia.

Words on bathroom walls book review