Suicide Notes
by Michael Thomas Ford

    SUICIDE NOTES by Michael Thomas Ford
    Category:  Contemporary
    Age Recommendation:  Grades 9+
    Release Date:  10/14/08
    Publisher:  HarperTeen
    Reviewed by:  JodiG.
    Rating:  4 Stars


    Jeff is fifteen years old, from a good family, and he’s just woken up in the psychiatric ward of the hospital.

    Over the next month and a half he will take part in group therapy, individual counseling, and even those excruciating
    sessions with his family. And through all of this, everyone will realize that he didn’t really mean to kill himself. Right?
    It was just a misunderstanding.

    His group therapy sessions aren’t his favorite; he’s only going so that everyone can see how sane he really is. There
    are four of "them” in his group: Alice, who lit her mom’s boyfriend on fire; Juliet, who seems to have no direct
    relationship with reality; Sadie, who tried to drown herself; and Bone, who primarily just wants the world to know
    that he doesn’t know Juliet and is not her boyfriend.

    Jeff tries to make it clear that he is only there because of a misunderstanding. But, it's hard to misunderstand the
    bandages on his wrists.

    Over the next 45 days, Jeff’s story will unfold and new pages will be added. Was it really a girl that caused this
    whole “misunderstanding?"  Allie has been his best friend, but was she more than that? Was he jealous of her new
    boyfriend or did she reject his advances?

    And now he has new friendships forming while he’s in the hospital, and each of those will test his ability to deal with
    new pressures and unexpected situations. And may lead him closer to confronting the events that led up to his
    hospitalization.