Fix

Gr 7 Up–Alternating between verse and prose, this novel follows a white 16-year-old named Eve through her recovery from surgery to correct the curve in her spine caused by scoliosis. A fight with her best friend Lidia just before surgery leaves Eve struggling alone with her suddenly unfamiliar body afterward. In an effort to avoid physical and emotional pain, Eve becomes more and more reliant on the opiate Roxanol. As Eve wanders in and out of unreality, she works to untangle her complicated relationship with Lidia, her feelings for her neighbor Thomas, and the duality of feeling her body broken and rearranged so drastically. In desperation she makes a deal with the devil: If she sacrifices pieces of a place she’s never been, he’ll help her get back to where she was. But who is the devil? And what is Eve actually giving up? Although the book ends on a hopeful note, no simple solutions are offered. Both Eve and readers know what she should do, but whether she actually does it is ambiguous, reflecting the reality that addiction and recovery are ongoing processes. Despite the beautifully written verse and lyrical prose, Mann presents Eve’s pain, addiction, and desperation starkly.