Black Box

Schumacher, Julie. Black Box. 2008. 176p. ISBN 0385735421. FIC SCH on the shelves of the library, and available both as an eBook and an audiobook from Overdrive.

Elena has just entered public high school, and is having trouble adjusting as she has always gone to a private school. Her sister Dora made that same transition two years ago, but now at the beginning of her junior year Dora has attempted suicide, and is confined to a hospital psychiatric ward.

Whereas Dora has always been outgoing, athletic, and vivacious, Elena is stoic and invisible. She is the rock upon which the rest of the family rely to keep them together. At a meeting with Dora, her sister asks Elena to keep her safe, and eventually Dora is released and returns home.

Amid all this confusing time, Elena is approached by the boy who sits behind her in her history class, Jimmy Zenk. His mother is a psychiatrist, and he tells her that his brother lived a similar experience to Dora. Elena is not willing to discuss Dora with him, but as Dora sinks further into depression and as hints are dropped that she might hurt herself again, Elena finds herself relying more and more on Jimmy’s own experience with his brother.

Throughout this chaos, can Elena manage to save her sister while remaining the rock she has always been? An amazing look at depression and suicide from the perspective of those who witness it and do not understand it, this book is a fast read, and very much along the lines of Thirteen Reasons Why.

If you liked this book, consider reading Thirteen Reasons Why, Please Ignore Vera Dietz, We Were Liars, If I Stay, Zoe Letting Go, The Vanishing Season, or Kiss of Broken Glass. All of these books feature a tragedy and a voyage of self-discovery as the central element of the plot.