Crazy

by Han Nolan

Goodreads Summary:
Fifteen-year-old Jason has fallen upon bad times—his mother has died and his father has succumbed to mental illness. As he tries to hold his crazy father and their crumbling home together, Jason relies on a host of imaginary friends for guidance as he stumbles along trying not to draw attention to his father’s deteriorating condition. Both heartbreaking and funny, CRAZY lives up to the intense and compelling characters Han Nolan is praised for. As Jason himself teeters on the edge of insanity, Nolan uncovers the clever coping system he develops for himself and throws him a lifeline in the guise of friendship.


My Review:
This book is an interesting look at how what happens to parents (in this case, very extreme things) effects kids. It is sad; you know Jason is not a bad kid, but his life just gets more and more messed up as the story goes. At one pivotal point, I actually said "Really?" aloud!


It is frustrating at times, mainly because I found Jason a little hard to identify with. That is good for me since he is dealing with his mom's death, and his dad's break with reality in which he believes he is fighting in Greek myths. It seems so extreme that it makes Jason a character that you feel sorry for, but have a difficult connecting to. Overall, I can't really say I liked the book. How does one like a story about losing grip with reality? But I think it is a good read and it held my interest. I could see people who enjoyed Kissing Doorknobs by Hesser, You Don't Know Me by Klass, A Mango-Shaped Space by Mass, and A Child Called It by Pelzer, also interested in this story.