Two Girls Staring at the Ceiling

Reviewed by: Bernie Alie - Kennebunk Free Library, Kennebunk, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: October 3, 2014

Review

Cream nominee. Two girls hospitalized with Crohn's disease both speak in this unique novel. Shannon rails against the disease and those who's job it is to help her. Is it her anger or the meds flowing in her veins? Chess' meekness belies her denial and her struggle to accept herself while warring with her body. We get an inside look at the horror of treatment as well as the social implications, for how friends and first loves respond to the diagnosis of this illness? Told in verse, the alternating voices speak with spare text. The layout of the page may confuse some readers, with a line down the middle to separate the voices, just as the curtain separates their beds. An author note at the beginning explains how to read across the curtain line, and the two voices are quickly engrossing. Highly recommended for all teen collections.

Overall Book Score: excellent