Notes for Another Life

by Sue Ellen Bridgers

Tom Jackson's mental illness is difficult for his entire family, but particularly so for his sixteen-year-old son Kevin who wonders if he has the same affliction.

Genres: Young Adult

250 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1981

Reviews

[Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great find at the used bookstore. Twenty five cents for this gem? I might as well call myself a thief. I would have paid full price for this. It was a great story. A bit of a downer,but great. I loved Wren's strength & big heart. She's going through the first feelings of being possibly in love, but is afraid it'll distract from her love & passion for playing the piano. Thrown into the confusion & turmoil of growing up is a horribly selfish & absent mother, an angry & unstable brother & a mentally ill father who lives in a home. I loved Wren's grandmother whom she & her brother live with. She's the glue holding that unsteady, fragile family together. I read this when I was little & I liked it just as much reading it today. I'm so glad I found it again. Used bookstores are amazing.

[Sharon Buxton · Rating 2 out of 5]

C-. YA, fiction, mental illness

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read some of the other reviews on this book and I just don't understand the dislike for this book. The only character I found shallow was Karen the mother. I don't really feel the need to connect with these characters seeing as how the dad is insane and the mom is super ridiculous, the son is confused the gramma is just a regular old sweet heart the grandpa same as the gramma. like what is this hatred I LOVE THIS BOOK!!!! oh and wren is awesome I did actually connect with her a little and I thought that overall the author did a great job.

[Sarah Marsho · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was not the best book I've read. I got it for free from a closing library. While it was relatable and an easy read, I couldn't really get into it. There were days when picking it up was not exciting to me. The main character was sweet and innocent. Grandma Bliss was a saint. But the other characters were shallow, and so I couldn't really connect to them.

[Tamara Bennett · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't know what to think about this bk. Some good life lessons in it, but I had to wade through a lttle bit creepy & much-too-young teenage relationship to get there. Not a lot of explanations for many things & the setting esp. wasn't clear. Published in the 80's but felt a bit like the 50's - except when the rebellious, unhappy teenage boy played Billy Joel ?!!. Didn't care about many of the characters either or how they would end up. An easy read w/the good life lessons I mentioned, but there should have been a better way to get there.