SuitabookThe lightness of hands
Jeff Garvin
- Reading
- Check in before and during reading about the mental-health and suicide-related material. Afterwards, discuss responsibility, consent, money and support separately, rather than treating Ellie’s difficult choices as simple solutions.
- Themes
- Living with bipolar II: Ellie is a teenager living with bipolar II disorder, and the story addresses hypomania and suicidal thoughts. The book may support discussion of how mental-health experiences affect daily life and access to care, while its fictional portrayal should not stand in for professional guidance.
- Family responsibility and care: Ellie tries to help her father while managing her own difficulties and his failing career. The book leaves its stance open to more than one reading.
- Poverty and survival: The story examines poverty and housing and food insecurity; Ellie and her father cheat and steal at times to obtain money. This could invite conversation about survival, opportunity and moral choice without assuming that the narrative excuses or condemns the behaviour.
- Worth knowing
- Before reading, consider whether your child would welcome a story involving suicidal thoughts and near-attempts, a parent’s meth addiction, bereavement, housing and food insecurity, sexual harassment, alcohol, smoking, strong language and minor accident injuries.