The Unquiet, by Jeannine Garsee

When Rinn Jacobs moves to a new town she hopes it will be a fresh start—a place where nobody knows about her past. At first, everything goes according to plan. She falls in with the popular girls at her new school and falls for the very cute boy-next-door Nate. But River Hills High School has a secret. The ghost of a girl who died back when Rinn's mom was a student supposedly haunts a hallway. Rinn's not sure she believes it, but when strange things start happening to her friends, Rinn decides there's only one way to know for sure. She needs to ditch her bipolar meds and see what the voices are really trying to say...

This book has all the makings of a book I would love. It's YA, there's a ghost, there's a guy next door (not just a girl next door), she's angsty, she's not angsty, no she is, but she's also bipolar....aaaaaahhhhhh I love YA lit!

I really did just eat this book up. I think the fiance even got shushed at one point. The story not only WORKS, it's AWESOME.

Without giving away too much, there's a point in the story where you aren't sure just how strong a grip on reality Rinn has. I mean, the whole struggle with reality is an issue for people who have bipolar disorder. The fact that I wasn't sure about my own grip on the story-reality is a testament to how deeply involved with Rinn a reader can become. Jeannine Garsee created a really amazing character in Rinn.

Reading Garsee's bio over at her website, I learned that she's a psychiatric nurse, which explains a lot. She's got an amazing handle on Rinn's disorder, how people react to it--or don't react-- and just how Rinn herself feels and thinks. All in all, amazing.


Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this ebook galley from Bloomsbury Children's Books through the netGalley publisher/reader connection program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”