Fig

An NPR Best Book of 2015

Love and sacrifice intertwine in this brilliant debut of rare beauty about a girl dealing with her mother's schizophrenia and her own mental illness.

Fig's world lies somewhere between reality and fantasy.

But as she watches Mama slowly come undone, it becomes hard to tell what is real and what is not, what is fun and what is frightening. To save Mama, Fig begins a fierce battle to bring her back. She knows that her daily sacrifices, like not touching metal one day or avoiding water the next, are the only way to cure Mama.

The problem is that in the process of a daily sacrifice, Fig begins to lose herself as well, increasingly isolating herself from her classmates and engaging in self-destructive behavior that only further sets her apart.

Spanning the course of Fig's childhood from age six to nineteen, this deeply provocative novel is more than a portrait of a mother, a daughter, and the struggle that comes with all-consuming love. It is an acutely honest and often painful portrayal of life with mental illness and the lengths to which a young woman must go to handle the ordeals--real or imaginary--thrown her way.

Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Published: 04/07/2015
ISBN: 9781481423588
Pages: 352
Weight: 0.90lbs
Size: 8.50h x 5.80w x 1.20d

Review Citations: School Library Journal 01/01/2015 pg. 116
Kirkus Reviews 02/01/2015
Publishers Weekly 03/02/2015
Horn Book Magazine 03/01/2015 pg. 108
Voice of Youth Advocates 04/01/2015 - Recommended - Readable
Booklist 04/01/2015 pg. 65
PW Children's Starred Reviews 12/02/2015 pg. 91