Counting Backwards
-
-
5.0 • 1 Rating
-
-
- £7.99
-
- £7.99
Publisher Description
In this haunting and hopeful debut novel, a teen’s court-mandated psychiatric residency prompts a change in perspective from which there is no looking back.
Taylor Truwell is a sixteen-year-old girl from Florida with a troubled past, a neglectful mother, a seemingly callous father, and an urge to flee. When Taylor is caught with a stolen car, her reaction lands her in court for resisting arrest. Her father convinces the judge of an alternative to punishment: treatment in a juvenile psychiatric correctional facility. And so Taylor arrives at Sunny Meadows.
Sunny Meadows is anything but the easy way out, and Taylor has to fight hard just to hold on to her sanity as she battles her parents, an intrusive therapist, and a group of particularly nasty fellow patients. But even as Taylor clings to her stubborn former self, she gradually relents to new friendships—and to unexpected romance. Sunny Meadows goes against everything Taylor stands for. But could it be the place that saves her?
In this striking debut, Laura Lascarso weaves together a powerful story of anger and self-destruction, hope and love, and the complicated way that it all comes together.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Lascarso, in her debut novel, shows a keen understanding of residential treatment facilities and the mindsets of the teenagers admitted to them. After stealing a car and running away from home, Taylor (whose family has Seminole origins) lands in Sunny Meadows, a "therapeutic boarding school." From day one, her focus is on getting out. Her refusal to participate in the program, heated outbursts, and failed escapes earn her notoriety among her peers, who begin to keep their distance. Only two residents Margo, Taylor's assigned mentor; and mature, soft-spoken AJ express a desire to understand who she really is. Finally, Taylor accepts that her best bet for dismissal from the facility comes through cooperation rather than defiance, and she opens up about her alcoholic mother and domineering father. Although some plot details (like the ease with which Taylor obtains forbidden keys) are improbable, and the protagonist's healing process follows a predictable arc, Taylor is a layered character. Readers initially put off by her stubbornness and dishonesty will soften as details of her painful childhood and resulting vulnerabilities come to light. Ages 14 up.
