My Life in the Fish Tank by Barbara Dee

 

Synopsis:

When twelve-year-old Zinnia Manning’s older brother Gabriel is diagnosed with a mental illness, the family’s world is turned upside down. Mom and Dad want Zinny, her sixteen-year-old sister, Scarlett, and her eight-year-old brother, Aiden, to keep Gabriel’s condition “private”—and to Zinny that sounds the same as “secret.” Which means she can’t talk about it to her two best friends, who don’t understand why Zinny keeps pushing them away, turning everything into a joke.

It also means she can’t talk about it during Lunch Club, a group run by the school guidance counselor. How did Zinny get stuck in this weird club, anyway? She certainly doesn’t have anything in common with these kids—and even if she did, she’d never betray her family’s secret.

The only good thing about school is science class, where cool teacher Ms. Molina has them doing experiments on crayfish. And when Zinny has the chance to attend a dream marine biology camp for the summer, she doesn’t know what to do. How can Zinny move forward when Gabriel—and, really, her whole family—still needs her help?

My Thoughts:

I think that this is an excellent middle grade novel about mental health, and coping when your family becomes "complicated." Zinny grappling with Gabriel's "secret" is the core of this novel, but it's also the struggle of a twelve year old to pick up the pieces when her parents are emotionally unavailable. Zinny notices that her mom has stopped cooking actual meals, so she starts buying groceries for the house, and attempts making "tuna surprise." She also notices that her younger brother, Aiden, is struggling to make sense of his homework assignments. Zinny's older sister, Scarlett, is reeling from Gabriel's diagnosis and unable to help, so Zinny becomes the good, obedient, helpful child. It is only at the one end of the novel that she's able to express her frustration and anger about what's happening. 

I am a big fan of Barbara Dee's middle grade novels, and this is another winner.