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''Whisper to Me'' is written in the form of a letter from Cassie to the boy who rented the apartment over her garage for the summer. It's a confessional, drawing together the threads of her schizophrenia, her burgeoning love for the boy, her friendship with a wild, beautiful girl with bipolar disorder, and the search for the serial killer. It's long and winding and lyrical and tense. I couldn't put it down. And I don't want to say too much more because I think you should read it for yourself.
I love the ways in which YA literature is exploring and challenging topics that affect its readers. ''Whisper to Me'' is a case in point. As I hear news report after news report about the neglect of youth mental health services and more news reports about how many young people are affected by mental ill health, I begin to despair. But then I look through your my pile of books to review and there are the YA authors using their voices to illuminate and amplify and, well, to make sense of it all. To ''help''. It makes me feel proud to be honest, just to be on the edges of this community of writers and readers who are all, in a variety of ways, discussing things that ''matter''. If you ask me, the grown-up world lags far behind.
I think, if you are looking for the perfectly-plotted thriller, ''Whisper to Me'' isn't it. There is a mystery. You do get the answer. But solving the mystery isn't the point of this story. This is a story of vulnerability, of love, and of battling demons. It's a testimony of crisis and a love letter, with a mystery aside. And I think it's just perfect like that.