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181st out of 608 books
—
2,006 voters
Everything Is Fine.
Stuck at home caring for her severely depressed mother and abandoned by her father, Mazzy has only the day-to-day dramas of her neighborhood to keep her busy. But between flirting with the boy next door and worrying about the fact that she's flat-chested, Mazzy has to face the fact that her mom is emotionally paralyzed by a family tragedy. As readers delve into the story,...more
Hardcover, 160 pages
Published
March 1st 2009
by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
(first published February 6th 2009)
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Mazzy is 12 years old she has to take of her sick mother because her father is out of town for work.She lives in a messy house she dosn't have time to clean it up becuase of her mother.Her mother is depressed what had happend to her last baby.
Everyone in the neighborhood is worrid about her and her mom,everyone tries to help her but mazzy dosnt want any help until a lady will take her mother to the hospital and mazzy will has to kansas thats when she needs help.Her only help is her father.
Soon a...more
Everyone in the neighborhood is worrid about her and her mom,everyone tries to help her but mazzy dosnt want any help until a lady will take her mother to the hospital and mazzy will has to kansas thats when she needs help.Her only help is her father.
Soon a...more
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Mazzy has more responsibility than most people her age. She has a severely depressed mother that barely moves and a father more concerned with his career than with what is going on at home. Her only companionship comes from her neighbors, but friendships are hard to maintain because of her strange and off-putting behaviors. The only outlet Mazzy has is art. Her mother’s abandoned art supplies provide her with a way to express her true feelings when everywhere else she has to hide what is really...more
Everything is Fine i chose this book because it looked really excting to read and it was, the main charater was Mazzy she was quite intresting at first i though mazzy and colby were gonna go out sometime it seemed liked they liked eachother but i guess not she talked about her mom alot i guess she just cared alot well this was a super duper amazing book i loved it, this book i couldnt stop reading it was so good i loved it, thanks the problem was that mazzy didnt want her mom to go away so she t...more
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This was a very interesting book to read mostly because of the way it was written and the point of view it’s in. This is a story of a girl who has to be way too independent for age. The main character, Mazzy, is pretty much stuck at home, taking care of overly depressed mother and has to turn away curious visitors. The only people she really calls her friends are Colby, the boy across the street, and Norma, the nice lady who lives next door. It never really says how old Mazzy is but I’m guessing...more
Wow. Amazing. Ann Dee Ellis has renewed my faith in LDS authors. After the abomination that is Stephanie Meyer, I realize that BYU can still turn out a decent creative artist.
Ellis writes a masterfully told story about Mazzy and the hardships that she endures because of her distant mother. The book takes place during the summer while Mazzy is out of school. I was never really sure of how old Mazzy was, maybe thirteen or fourteen. She spends most of her time with her friend Colby or her fat neigh...more
Ellis writes a masterfully told story about Mazzy and the hardships that she endures because of her distant mother. The book takes place during the summer while Mazzy is out of school. I was never really sure of how old Mazzy was, maybe thirteen or fourteen. She spends most of her time with her friend Colby or her fat neigh...more
Ann Dee Ellis takes you into the heart and mind of Mazzy in her novel, Everything is Fine. Ellis walks the fine line of creating a funny, eccentric main character while captivating readers' sympathy and compassion for her. The first person narrative delves into the peculiarities of Mazzy's day to day life with her interesting neighbors and odd, erratic thoughts. Ellis captures the raw emotion and hardship of teenage loss as Mazzy deals with the death of her sister which leads to her mother's dep...more
I think that this book is not as believable as the author's first book. I think that neighbors/government/family/friends would've intervened long before the starting off point of the book. I don't think that all those people would let the mother and daughter languish as they did.
Also I didn't believe the ending. I didn't believe that everything was resolved after so little was done. I think there was just a "grand gesture" and the author wanted the audience to believe that this meant that everyt...more
Also I didn't believe the ending. I didn't believe that everything was resolved after so little was done. I think there was just a "grand gesture" and the author wanted the audience to believe that this meant that everyt...more
Oct 21, 2009
Douglas
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Those suffering from depression, fifth-eighth graders
Recommended to Douglas by:
Carol Lynch Williams
Shelves:
young-adult,
fiction
I loved how this book was written. Such crisp prose. Sparse, yet intimate, with a clear and strong voice.
"Everything Is Fine" was written from the point of view of Mazzy, a young preteen who is coping with family tragedy. Her father is away on a new job, though one is given the feeling he is avoiding the drama at home. Her mother is a shell of her former self. Finding out what destroyed her is part of the mystery of the book.
Much like the peeling away of a lettuce, the story is told in parts. So...more
"Everything Is Fine" was written from the point of view of Mazzy, a young preteen who is coping with family tragedy. Her father is away on a new job, though one is given the feeling he is avoiding the drama at home. Her mother is a shell of her former self. Finding out what destroyed her is part of the mystery of the book.
Much like the peeling away of a lettuce, the story is told in parts. So...more
Mazzy tells herself that everything is fine, that things will work out, that it will be okay. So what if her mom won’t get out of bed? She will when she’s ready. So what if Mazzy’s dad is virtually absent? Mazzy and her mother can take care of themselves just fine. Everything will be just fine, or will it? And was it even fine to begin with? How can a family torn apart by tragedy and grief ever come together again?
Everything Is Fine is an interesting coming of age novel, one that also explores t...more
Everything Is Fine is an interesting coming of age novel, one that also explores t...more
Wow! This one hits ya' in the emotions. I love the feeling that obviously went into this book because it shows through in the words that Ellis wrote.
Mazzy is basically on her own. What is she supposed to do when people come to the house asking to speak to her mom? Who's taking care of her? Where is her father? What a load for a young girl to carry, but she does it, by herself, in spite of outside forces trying to help her. She is strong, or is she?
I always love a first-person narrative. I feel i...more
Mazzy is basically on her own. What is she supposed to do when people come to the house asking to speak to her mom? Who's taking care of her? Where is her father? What a load for a young girl to carry, but she does it, by herself, in spite of outside forces trying to help her. She is strong, or is she?
I always love a first-person narrative. I feel i...more
I had to downgrade this book because its premise, viz. that a teenage girl could live with her mentally ill, non-functioning mother and not have one other adult intervene to get her out of there, to be somewhat incredible. That said, the characters as seen through this girl's eyes become increasingly interesting over the course of the book. Likewise, the final resolution is very satisfying and more credible.
As usual, the downside is the fact that this particular adolescent girl is selfish, whin...more
As usual, the downside is the fact that this particular adolescent girl is selfish, whin...more
I ordered Everything Is Fine from amazon without knowing very much about it because of 2 facts I knew about the author, Ann Dee Ellis:
1. She graduated from BYU with a degree in English.
2. She served a mission in Hong Kong.
So she must be amazing, right? I graduated from BYU with a degree in English and served a mission in Hong Kong and I have never met anyone else who had both of those things in common with me. I need to find out how old she is and why I never heard about her until now.
Anyway, b...more
1. She graduated from BYU with a degree in English.
2. She served a mission in Hong Kong.
So she must be amazing, right? I graduated from BYU with a degree in English and served a mission in Hong Kong and I have never met anyone else who had both of those things in common with me. I need to find out how old she is and why I never heard about her until now.
Anyway, b...more
This book was about a girl and her family. The girl was talking about what happen in her life and the family was talking about what happen in there life. She was talking about what happen in school there was this girl in Kattie school that she did like that other girl thought she cuonld do anything she wanted with out getting in trouble by a teacher but she was wrong one day Kattie went into school and she saw the girl that she did like and she told he you think you are never going to get in to...more
This book was incredibly difficult to read do to subject matter. Mazzie is left to take care of her deeply depressed mother. It's very hard to pin an age on Mazzie but it seems that she acts younger than her age because of all the stress in her life.
Everything is Fine is written in prose with small vingettes about her daily activities.
It's a great book but be prepared for a few tears.
Everything is Fine is written in prose with small vingettes about her daily activities.
It's a great book but be prepared for a few tears.
Maybe I've just read too many young adult "problem novels," but this book didn't excite me. It centers on the relationship Mazzy has with those around her -- especially her mother -- in the aftermath of her younger sister's death. The subject matter is fairly original, the writing beautiful in places, and the characters well-defined. Mazzy feels like a real adolescent girl who has lived through and is trying to make sense of trauma. The style is very reminiscent of Lyn Rae Perkins work, except w...more
Waivered between a 4 and a 5 but chose the 5 because of the format of the book itself. Mazzy's father isn't around much due to his job with ESPN, which ordinarily wouldn't be much of a problem. However, Mazzy's mother has taken to her bed in a close-to-catatonic state after the death of her toddler Olivia. Mazzy finds herself in charge of everything at home, including trying to prove to a persistent social worker that everything is fine. All of these problems notwithstanding, Mazzy is just tryin...more
This is not the usual type of book I read. I try to stay away from sad books, but I was just at a conference with Ann Dee and thought I'd give one of her books a try.
I stayed up until 1:30 a.m. to finish this book and then had to read another book for the next half an hour becuase I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep if I didn't get this book off my mind.
The main character in this book is traumatized, and for good reason. I was traumatized just reading her story. Now my husband is off with my kids...more
I stayed up until 1:30 a.m. to finish this book and then had to read another book for the next half an hour becuase I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep if I didn't get this book off my mind.
The main character in this book is traumatized, and for good reason. I was traumatized just reading her story. Now my husband is off with my kids...more
I never quite got into this book. Following after Ellis's debut novel, this is what I did this was a disappointment. It had the same format of pieces of a terrible puzzle that come together as the book progresses, culiminating with the young protaganist forgiving themselves and beginning to move past the tragedy. Even though This is what I did seemed darker, I liked it more. The voice of the protaganist rang truer to me than Mazzy's in this book. I liked how we saw her feelings more through her...more
Ann Dee Ellis has a way of pulling you so quickly and deeply into her characters that her books are impossible to put down. In Everything is Fine, that character is Mazzy. She is one of a kind. Quirky and unpredictable, she is also courageous, resilient, and loyal. While the pages of her life are opened before you, there is nothing you want more than for her to make it through the situation she is trying to survive as the book begins.
Mazzy's story has a rawness to it that penetrates day-to-day a...more
Mazzy's story has a rawness to it that penetrates day-to-day a...more
After a tragic event that has torn her family apart, Mazzy pretty much has to take care of herself without much help from the outside world. Her father is more interested in his career than in his family, and the people he's gotten to keep a look on he catatonic mother are not always as reliable as could have been hoped. Mazzy's only real company comes from her neighbours, whom she in turns tries to push away and finds herself drawn towards depending on her mood of the day.
Everything is Fine isn...more
Everything is Fine isn...more
I LOVED this book. It is one of the most funny/tragic books I've ever read. It's really short. An easy read. Ellis is a BYU graduate and I like to give the locals a shot. I'm so glad I did!
The story is told from Mazzy's adolescent point of view. Mazzy is a twelve-year-old girl who is sadly left with the responsibility of taking care of her mom who hasn't gotten out of bed in we don't know how long. It isn't until the book progresses quite far that we find out what happened to put her there. Mazz...more
The story is told from Mazzy's adolescent point of view. Mazzy is a twelve-year-old girl who is sadly left with the responsibility of taking care of her mom who hasn't gotten out of bed in we don't know how long. It isn't until the book progresses quite far that we find out what happened to put her there. Mazz...more
This book was strange it was hard for me to comprehend. Though, everything made more sense after finding out about the horrible tragedy this family went through. Still something was off. I think it was the character of Mazzy. At first I thought maybe she had regressed backwards in maturity after the tragedy but after reading a bit about before it happened it seemed she was still kind of the same. I found it strange that she karate chopped people when she was upset or didn't know what to do, but...more
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In some ways this is a quick read, but the story is quite bleak. The first person narrative discloses information gradually; at first, readers will not understand what has led up to Mazzy's dire situation (her mother won't talk or get out of bed, her father has left to take a job in another city, and Mazzy is left alone to fend for herself and take care of her mother). The back story is eventually revealed through Mazzy's voice, and it is a heartbreaking one. Although I liked this book as an adu...more
This is the story of a young teen, Mazzy, a year after the tragic death of her little sister. She lives alone with her mother, who never gets out of bed, while her Dad is off chasing his career. It becomes very clear early on that this book is a sort of study of mental unhealth. Mazzy is very obviously just as sick as her mother and I literally cringed the entire time I read it. Ellis does a fantastic job of conveying her character, I mean, I REALLY got inside her head the problem was, it was a...more
I am amazed at how simply Ann Dee writes young teenagers, and how much her stories touch my heart. The characters and the story by the end have such depth and multiple layers...yet are so simple and real. This is a fast read, I read it while my husband was at the gym--books don't have to be over 300 pages to have something profound to say. A few of my favorite parts: Mazzy's need to karate chop everything when she doesn't know what to say, her 12 year old obsession with boobs (really what 12 yea...more
What a profound disappointment.
This is one of the books purchased for the Health Information Project that we send to our various centers. All of the titles we promote tend to focus on issues of health in general -- anything from body image to mental health to drug use and sexual behavior for teens.
I believe we thought this title would be a good one because of its depiction of mental illness in a family -- Mazzy, the daughter, is left home with her mother, who suffers from a severe case of post-p...more
This is one of the books purchased for the Health Information Project that we send to our various centers. All of the titles we promote tend to focus on issues of health in general -- anything from body image to mental health to drug use and sexual behavior for teens.
I believe we thought this title would be a good one because of its depiction of mental illness in a family -- Mazzy, the daughter, is left home with her mother, who suffers from a severe case of post-p...more
Ouch! Really tough read. I won't tell you which issue(s) it covers, but it does it very well.
I would say it's definitely lighter than some of the other "issues" books, like Wintergirls or Living Dead Girl Definitely worth a read and ok for younger readers (LDG is pretty graphic--I'm over 30, and went *through* that kind of thing, and I still squirmed! I wouldn't give that one to anyone younger than, say, 16.)
Review pending.
I would say it's definitely lighter than some of the other "issues" books, like Wintergirls or Living Dead Girl Definitely worth a read and ok for younger readers (LDG is pretty graphic--I'm over 30, and went *through* that kind of thing, and I still squirmed! I wouldn't give that one to anyone younger than, say, 16.)
Review pending.
this book was about a girl named mazline aka mazzy and how her farther has a job that makes him go away on business trips and he leaves mazzy alone wit her mother, her mother is sick and they have no one else to take care of them so mazzy becomes the person who takes care of the house and her mother one day the a.c.s lady comes and tell mazzy that her farther has to come home and stay home with them or she goes to a foster family...mazzy tries her best her father comes home but doesn't stay mazz...more
This memorable book is breezy in style but not in substance. It's the story of a tween in the aftermath of a family tragedy that left her mother almost comatose with depression and her father unable to bring himself home from work. There are a few pages, when the details of the tragedy are revealed, that are so devastating I couldn't bear to give them more than a quick skim. It is truly that horrific. But the overall effect of the novel, set in choppy segments that somehow manage to flow as if u...more
I finished Everything is Fine in about one sitting. The writing is so crisp and minimalist and evocative that you devour the story before realizing what Ann Dee's up to. She doesn't give us much time to reflect, which makes it all the more necessary to pay attention to the psychological nuance. This book's main character is as disturbing as the hapless protagonist in This is What I Did, Ann Dee's first book, and just as endearing. She gives us limited access to a vulnerable person whose interior...more
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Ann Dee (pronounced "Andy") Ellis received an MA from Brigham Young University, where she now works as an instructor for creative writing for children and young adults. She lives in Utah with her husband and two young sons.
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