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57th out of 91 books
—
180 voters
Riding Out the Storm
by
Sis Deans
Zach is riding the Greyhound bus through a snowstorm to visit his older brother Derek, whom he hasn’t seen in seven months. That’s when their parents finally went broke paying Derek’s doctor’s bills and had to give him up as a ward of the state. Nothing—not drawing in his sketchbook, not basketball—lets Zach forget that his brother is living in a mental institution five st...more
Hardcover, 176 pages
Published
February 28th 2012
by Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
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14 yr old Zach and his grandfather are riding a greyhound bus from Portland, Maine to New Jersey during Christmas break during a blizzard to visit his older brother. Derek, the brother, is bipolar and has been made a ward if the state because the family can no longer afford his care and treatment and because Derek resists his diagnosis and medications to treat it. In essence, this snowy journey gives Zach time to reflect on all that has happened to his family, assisted by a serendipitous meeting...more
So to be fair, not much happens in this book. Zach is on the bus. He’s going to visit his older (bipolar) brother, who was recently institutionalized. He sits next to a cute girl with purple hair. They talk. They fight. They laugh. She cries. He makes inappropriate jokes. They kiss. And then the ride is over and she’s gone with her dad and he’s leaving with his grandpa, the end.
I wanna press rewind, wanna be back at those windows, wanna thank ‘er for listening, for teaching me to kiss, for takin...more
I wanna press rewind, wanna be back at those windows, wanna thank ‘er for listening, for teaching me to kiss, for takin...more
Seven months have kept thirteen-year-old Derek from his sick brother Zach. Now that Zach is a ward of the state at seventeen and his parents have lost everything trying to help him, Derek and his grandfather board a Greyhound in the middle of a fierce snowstorm to see Zach for the first time since he was taken away. Along his journey we learn about Zach's illness and the devastating effects it had on his entire family. When Derek starts talking with a girl he has dubbed Purplehead, Derek thinks...more
Zach is taking a bus trip with his Grandfather to visit his older brother Derek. Derek is mentally ill and this has caused his family to lose their home, their savings, almost everything. On the bus, he meets a girl and the two strike up a friendship. Will Zach tell her what he can’t share with anyone; the truth about his brother? This is a well written story about the toll that mental illness takes on a family, and how our health care system doesn’t support this particular disease. Zach is an 8...more
8th, High School Zach, a middle school aged boy, is heading on a greyhound bus to visit his bipolar brother in a hospital in New Jersey. Deans was inspired to write this story after reading an article in the Portland Press Herald about families losing custody of their children with mental illnesses after their health insurance cuts them off. In this story Zach meets a wide array of characters on the bus trip and one girl in particular, that helps him come to terms with what he had been through,...more
Zach makes clear the impact of having a bipolar person in the family, but his story never involved me. The bus ride and riders were the stronger component of the book. Yes, we learned about his feelings for Derek, his fear of carrying the gene, his resentment of Derek’s overpowering effect on all family members, but I found nothing compelling in his story. I was more than ready to get off the bus!
The entire book is a Greyhound bus ride, but there's plenty of stories to keep you interested! Zach is riding with his Grandpa to see his brother Derek, and, as you read, you find out more and more about Derek. Zach is only in 8th grade, but is fascinated by the sophomore girl sitting next to him on the bus. Zach calls her "Purplehead" and the two swap life stories. She's pierced and painted black, and he's a basketball star, yet they get along just fine. It's a sweet, gentle read.
Jan 23, 2012
Joella www.cinjoella.com
added it
Good book. Ironic thing was it is about being stuck on a bus (and then a bus station) due to a snow storm. Good thing I read it while stuck in my apartment for a week due to a snow storm. Funny.
An excellent and touching story of a trip via Greyhound through a snowstorm, on the way to visit a mentally ill older brother.
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It was a good story but I was hoping... for more to happen.
Mar 27, 2012
Suzirinia
marked it as to-read
ya, mental illness, family, finding peace
I think that this will work for the lower end. It takes place during one whole bus trip. The protagonist is in 8th grade and narrates from his perspective of his bipolar brother. He learns from his brothers mistakes, but is still a teenaged boy. A YES vote for me.
Usually I like books where one of the main characters has a mental health issue, but this one didn't really grab me- maybe because it was told second hand through his brother... "Purplehead" was a well-defined character and the bus setting was interesting.
An engrossing, fast-paced, realistic story.
May 18, 2013
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Sis Deans was born and raised in Maine, USA. She has won several regional awards, including the 1995 Main Chapbook Award. Sis now lives on a small farm in Maine with her husband and three daughters.
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