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Nov 12, 2008

Lynn rated it:

Elena looks up to her vivacious older sister Dora and the two girls have always been close. When Dora struggles with depression and is hospitalized, Elena feels that she has to be the one to watch out for Dora. It's a heavy responsibility for a 14-year-old girl especially when Dora begins to ditch school and spit out her meds.

This compelling story is told from Elena's perspective which allows a close-up exploration of the impact of depression on an entire family. The family dynami More...

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Sep 05, 2008

Adriana rated it:

This is a quick, short read, but it is very powerful. The story and the main character (Lena - short for Elena) draw you in immediately. She has an older sister, who has always been erratic, bubbly, moody, fun - the opposite of how Lena is. But they are very close. Then her sister gets so depressed that her parents intern her into a mental health facility. Lena doesn't know if by staying loyal to her sister, she is facilitating her destructive behavior, but she also just wants things to go More...

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Dec 17, 2008

Jennifer rated it:

Reviewed by Amber Gibson for TeensReadToo.com

BLACK BOX by Julie Schumacher is a heartfelt and moving portrait of teen depression. The author captures the pain of trying to rescue someone you love when you do not know how to save them.

Elena's otherwise typical teenage life is suddenly a lot more difficult when her older sister, Dora, is hospitalized for depression. There is nothing Elena wants more in the world than to see her sister happy again, back to her old self, whe More...

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Jul 23, 2011

Brittney rated it:

I devoured this book in a matter of a few short hours, but despite being a fairly short novel, it's covers some very tough and heavy subjects.

Though the main focus is Elena's older sister's battle with depression, there is so much more happening. Since Elena is the quiet one, content to let her outgoing sister lead, it's a very confusing time and situation for Elena. Also, her parents are trying to hard that they seem to fail to hear Elena when she tries to speak up.

The More...

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Apr 29, 2011

Stephanie rated it:

Black box is about 15 year old Elena who is struggling to deal with her sister Dora's Depression. At first it's just Dora having her usual mood swings but slowly it started getting worse and worse and after Dora trying to over dose she is admitted to the hospital where she stays for a few weeks. Meanwhile Elena is trying to deal with it but she doesnt really have any friends to go to so when she meets a boy names Jimmy he lets her vent her problems to him and he seems to have a whole lot of More...

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Mar 14, 2010

Karen rated it:

When 14-year-old Elena's older sister Dora is hospitalized for depression, everyone in the family struggles to cope in different ways. Told through Elena's eyes, Blackbox is a moving, engrossing read about a dysfunctional family and the stigma of a mental illness that is often not well understood. I finished this book over the course of two sittings in one morning - which is unusual for me. A few parts of the plot felt unrealistic to me, but overall the author does a good job of conveying the More...

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Oct 15, 2009

Barky rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

3 comments like (1 person liked it)

May 21, 2009

Rebecca rated it:

4.0 stars. YA. Elena is a high-schooler who is quieter and steadier than her older sister, Dora. Although their personalities are miles apart they have always been close. So it comes as a surprise for Elena when Dora is hospitalized for depression. This story doesn't focus so much on Dora as it does on Elena: how Dora's depression and her family's tension affects her. Although her parents address the problem by sending everyone to therapy, they don't really grapple with the problem. No on More...

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Jan 31, 2010

Arlene rated it:

Black Box by Schumacher is a moving portrayal of teenage depression and suicide. It’s an eye opener that will provide valuable insight on the signs of depression and the possible harmful side-effects of the medications doctors use to treat this condition.

The story is told from the perspective of Elena, whose sister Dora is suffering from clinical depression. My heart went out to Elena as she struggles to find a way to ‘save’ her sister. I was a tad bothered at her parents for not ma More...

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Jul 30, 2009

Lisa rated it:

I really liked this book, but I also felt as though something was missing. This story is about a sixteen-year-old girl suffering from depression and how that affects her family. Perhaps it’s that it was told by a fourteen-year-old narrator who’s somewhat naïve. She provides an interesting perspective; I felt some understanding of depression was absent, but that made sense given who’s telling the story.

This is a spare little book and personally I’d have liked a more in depth narrativ More...

2 comments like (2 people liked it)

May 29, 2009

Melissa rated it:

I had forgotten how much I enjoy this author's voice. One reads this novel from the outside looking in....How does one handle illness when it is not your own...but perhaps even closer because it lives inside your sister, your friend, your other.....How does one live with an illness you can't see, you never understood was there, eating away at her, at you. Depression is never easy to know, never easy to see in another, it lives on and makes you feel helpless as you watch and try to help, try to More...

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Aug 30, 2009

bjneary rated it:

Now that I am finished reading this book that explores what depression does to a family when older sister Dora is diagnosed with this disease. Elena, fourteen and totally different from Dora, wants her sister to get well. Her parents are arguing in the kitchen every night after Dora is admitted to the local hospital's psych wing. In school, even though Elena can't discuss what is happenening to Dora, everyone knows and weird Jimmy Zenk tells Elena about his brother's recovery from mental probl More...

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Nov 18, 2010

Brittany rated it:

Elena and her sister Dora have always been close. Lately however, it seems like Dora isn't as open to her sister as she once was. When Dora sinks into a depression, Elena has no one to turn to. All of the people she knows at school are Dora's friends and they aren't really close. Then one day Jimmy Zenk, who failed a grade, starts talking to Elena about her sisters depression. He really seems to want to be there for her, but Elena is not sure how she feels about his presence. Elena wants her sis More...

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Oct 25, 2009

Cathryn rated it:

Summary: When her sixteen-year-old sister is hospitalized for depression and her parents want to keep it a secret, fourteen-year-old Elena tries to cope with her own anxiety and feelings of guilt that she is determined to conceal from outsiders.

My Review: Fabulous. Deeply honest and yet accessible to teen readers. The reality based family dynamics and peer relationships for this young teen ring true with every conversation, and every exchange. The descriptions place the reader r More...

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Dec 01, 2008

Angela rated it:

A quick and engrossing read, and a devastating look at depression. However, I felt the book was trying to juggle a little too much at times. Not only is there Dora's depression, but there's how her illness affects the family relationships, and then for large parts of the book it seems to be trying to turn into a conspiracy book as Elena's friend, Jimmy, hints that the hospital Dora is at is horrible and potentially abusive. When even Dora and Elena's father noticed that Dora was extremely drugge More...

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Jan 26, 2010

Alison rated it:

This was such an amazing book! It was great to read alongside Laurie Halse Anderson's Wintergirls. I read this in only about 2-3 hours, but it was very powerful. This is a perfect example of how powerful and thought-provoking a first-person narrative can be.

In the acknowledgments, the author described how some people didn't want her to publish this novel because of the subject matter. I could not disagree more. This isn't a situation I know of firsthand, but I really believe that no More...

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Jan 29, 2012

Dominique rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

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Aug 17, 2010

~ALovelyMystyery~ rated it:

This was a good book. It is about a girl and her family who are going through a very tough time. The oldest girl,Dora,is diagnosed with depression. Elena,the younger of the two girls is quieter and steadier the her fun, unpredictable sister, but the two have always been close. When Dora is diagnosed with depression and admitted to the hospital the only people who pay any attention to Elena are Dora's friends and Jimmy Zenk who has failed at least one grade and wears black everyday. When Dora is More...

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Jul 08, 2010

Robin rated it:

This was a moving book that details the emotions a family goes through when a family member is clinically depressed. While, the book was honest, realistic, and emotional, I have to say I was disappointed in the ending. While the author seemed to complete the story arc of the depressed sister, a secondary character, she left the main character hanging. Dora is left at the height of her emotional turmoil with no resolution. She is still struggling with her feelings about her sister's depression an More...

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Sep 17, 2009

Alicia rated it:

I now have three more books written by her sitting on my desk. I am IN LOVE with her style and also the idea behind the book. I'm sure many girls can relate to Elena, who is trying to understand her sister, Dora's, mental illness. Why are her parents keeping her locked up and drugged? But, the reason Elena can't understand is because she wants to be the eternal optimist. We often hear her saying "everything will be fine," but with a little budding romance and some hard soul-searching, More...

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Sep 08, 2010

Eileen rated it:

Black Box tells the story of a family that is affected by depression. Lena's older sister struggles with the disease and the reader learns how deeply Lena is affected as well because the story is told from Lena's point of view.

I think this book could be quite helpful for young adult readers who are in a situation similar to Lena's. It could provide insight to the behavior they may see in other family members as well as help them to realize that they are not responsible for the si More...

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Jun 30, 2009

Liberty rated it:

Dora is a teenager suffering from severe depression. Elena is her younger sister. The Black Box tells the story of the effects of Dora's illness on her family, especially her sister Elena. It really hits the nail on the head when it comes to dealing with the emotions a family may go through when dealing with mental illness.

Powerful and compelling. This is a short novel but is packed full of emotional content. Ms. Schumacher is an exellent writer and has handled the sensitive subject of teenage m More...

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Jan 06, 2009

Jenny rated it:

I wish there was a better delineation between books for children and young adults. This book fits in the latter category.

This book is about the effects of depression on family members (not the one who is suffering). It was well written, and very realistic. I like it a lot, but I would be weary suggesting it to young adults. I remember being very impressionable as a teenager, and a book like this might have done more harm than good. As an adult, it was healing for me. I am glad More...

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Dec 21, 2009

Lori rated it:

This is the best book I have read in a while. I was afraid to pick it up because I thought it would be too depressing a topic, mental illness and depression, but it was very good. It is about how a family copes with a daughter's depression and the tight bonds of love and protection between sisters. I thought the author, Julie Schumacher, did an excellent job developing the characters and describing the feelings and difficulties families go through. I don't think people will feel sad for having r More...

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Jul 06, 2009

M rated it:

I love the characters in this book.

Dora, the older sister of Elena, is sent to a hospital to deal with her depression that seemed to come out of nowhere.

Elena, the main character, doesn't know what to think or do. She watches as her sister sinks faster into a place Elena can't understand.

Jimmy, the strange neighbor, who helps Elena cope with her grief and confusion.

This book deals with the responsibility of helping those we love who are in danger, even if they don't want our help. More...

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Jan 02, 2010

Terri rated it:

Second reading - Julie Schumacher will be visiting our high school in a couple of weeks, so I wanted to reread the book in preparation for hearing her speak. Things that stood out this time around:

- denial
- hovering
- the need to care for oneself before being able to help others
- not seeing clues/warning signs until looking at things in retrospect
- the many ways in which family dynamics are impacted
- beautiful imagery (especially the black box and water i More...

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Oct 01, 2008

Lacey rated it:

At first, I thought I wasn't going to like this book. The weird font / layout was sort of depressing, and I wondered if that was intentional, since this is a book about depression. It also felt a little too disembodied in the beginning; a lot of short scenes, but very little expository text to really "ground" those scenes. I thought it might turn out to be another book that romanticized sister-relationships and mental illness, the way "Skinny" by Ibi Kaslik does.

More...

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Sep 11, 2008

Mandy rated it:

Elana and her sister Dora have a typically atypical friendship -- meaning, that they share a secret code language, understand each other's fears and are inextricably linked as siblings and best friends, despite their differences in personality. However, Dora starts to slip away from Elana, as she falls deeper and deeper into depression, and is even hospitalized for it. As Elana tries to learn more about what-Dora's-feeling, she befriends a boy at school whose mother is a psychiatrist. The boy is More...

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May 07, 2008

I ♥ Luke Castellan *Alexa* rated it:

This was a very interesting book because of the set-up. A normal family in a suburb. But when their daughter, Dora, goes into depression, that all changes. Dora becomes a vacant body, no feelings or anything. Now only her sister, Elena, can save her from total loss of herself. This is a dramatic story about a family's hardships and learning to deal with what is going on in your life, and how to fix it.
Elena is the main character in this story, telling it in 1st person. It seems amazing ho More...

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Aug 11, 2009

Barb rated it:

What a powerful book about how depression affects a family. In this beautiful book that even received a nice blurb from the author of "Ordinary People," the reader sees how a teen girl and her parents deal in different ways with the battle her older sister, whom she adores, is having with depression. This author is amazing! (Once again, Jeaneane, I'll save you asking for it and will be dropping it by your office as I know you'll want to read it too! It reminds me of one of our stud More...

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