NOVEL IS HARD TO PUT DOWN

SHARLENE TONEY, 14

From the time Deirdre was little, her parents had never really cared about what she did or why she did it, and she often wondered why.

Around the Bend is about 13-year-old Deirdre and her struggles as she approaches adolescence.

Deirdre's mother begins to notice how much time Deirdre has started to spend in her room daydreaming and that she does not join any extracurricular activities at school.

Her mother also begins to wonder if there is something wrong, and when Deirdre sets fire to her bed, her mother is sure there is.

Deirdre is sent from hospital to hospital and talks to many psychiatrists as they try to figure out what is troubling her.

In Deirdre's mind there is only one thing wrong: Did her parents really want her? And until she finds out the answer, she cannot be happy.

I really enjoyed this book. The entire book was written as if Deirdre was talking to me. It is more like storytelling than reading, which makes it a difficult novel to put down. For example:

"Today is an anniversary of sorts. It's a year to the day that I got out of the loony bin. I figured I'd get that in right away in case you're one of those people who's not interested in what people like me have to say, in which case you can stop reading right now.

"Still here eh? That's nice . . ."

The character of Deirdre is very vivid. The reader really gets to know Deirdre, the way she thinks and what her personality is like. For instance, we learn of her anger:

"I started tuning them out. Teachers, I mean. It got so irritating for me to listen to them sniffling and coughing or watch them scratching and jerking that finally I just tuned them out.

Overall, I found this book very interesting. As the story unfolds, the reader will start rooting for Deirdre as she overcomes all of her obstacles. I would recommend this novel to anyone ages 10 to 14 because I think that they would best be able to relate to the story. This is a 123-page novel written by Mitzi Dale and published by Delacorte Press.