All Things New

Gr 9 Up—Seventeen-year-old Jessa has been having panic attacks since seventh grade. Though she has learned to hide her innermost feelings, the weight of her anxiety is crushing her. Adding to the stress is the dismissive attitude of her mother, who showers attention on Jessa's twin half brothers and stepfather. When Jessa's boyfriend, Wren, betrays her at a New Year's Eve party, she flees the scene and moments later gets into a traumatic car accident. Left with scars across her face and lingering symptoms of her brain injury, she leaves Los Angeles and moves to Colorado with her father. At her new school, Jessa connects with others who see past her physical appearance and accept her for who she is, flaws and all. As Jessa pushes through the center of her anxiety disorder and the effects of her accident, she begins to understand that things are not always as they seem and that she does not have to be perfect to be loved. Miller provides an authentic view of generalized anxiety disorder. Her characters are well developed and demonstrate how teenagers react to feelings of helplessness and uncertainty. While a slightly far-fetched twist at the end takes away from a completely realistic depiction of mental illness, for the most part Jessa's condition is illustrated with accuracy and care.