bxermom's review against another edition
4.0
Dora is a teenager suffering from severe depression. Elena is her younger sister. The Black Box tells the story of the effects of Dora's illness on her family, especially her sister Elena. It really hits the nail on the head when it comes to dealing with the emotions a family may go through when dealing with mental illness.
Powerful and compelling. This is a short novel but is packed full of emotional content. Ms. Schumacher is an exellent writer and has handled the sensitive subject of teenage mental illness in a very caring way.
Powerful and compelling. This is a short novel but is packed full of emotional content. Ms. Schumacher is an exellent writer and has handled the sensitive subject of teenage mental illness in a very caring way.
zcoffman's review against another edition
5.0
It was pretty depressing but the story of it all is really good. There are some unexpected twists with jimmy and elena.
astridisstinky's review against another edition
4.0
This is a beautiful book that put depression into a whole new light for me. I love how it was narrated by the sister, because being a sister myself, it was nice to hear the story form the point of that relationship. This was an acute story that described so much for me
michelle_pink_polka_dot's review against another edition
2.0
Elena's sister, Dora, is admitted to the psych ward of Lorning Hospital after an attempted suicide. There Elena thinks things will get fixed. What she doesn't realize is that this disease is just beginning to creep into their lives. Dora seems to get worse, not better. Elena wonders when Dora will be able to come home, and when she does if things will ever go back to normal. At school people seem to pity her, except Jimmy. Jimmy is an odd boy who lives near Elena. His brother was in Lorning, and he tries to get closed-off Elena to open up about what she's going through.
My Thoughts:
This book has been on my TBR since FOREVER, but I had forgotten what it was about. I saw it at the library and remembered seeing it on my TBR, but by glancing at the cover I assumed this was going to be something creepy. Ghosts maybe?? Doesn't the cover give you the creepy vibe? Okay well now we know, it's NOT creepy. It's actually one of the strangest books I've read in a long time (in a non-creepy way).
Dora and Elena are these two really opposite sisters. Dora's always been the creative, emotional one, while Elena is the responsible, analytic one. Even though Elena is younger, she's the one supposed to watch over Dora from a young age. As Dora goes through her issues, Elena is just left out on an island by herself. Her parents won't talk to her, she doesn't have friends, and she doesn't want to share her feelings with her therapist. It was interesting to read about someone so UN-emotional and closed off. Especially a girl. I haven't met many of those in YA.
So I'm thinking that this book would have been better as a short story. It's about this huge, heavy topic (depression), but it just wants to skim the surface. I didn't feel any depth to this book. Something would be mentioned and BOOM, end of chapter, on to something else. Seriously there were no chapters longer than 2 pages. There was a small part where Elena seemed to be getting completely overwhelmed by her situation, worrying about Dora 24/7, and just seeming to become overcome with fear of what Dora may do. I wish that part was more developed. It was the only real time I felt like the book was really saying something.
Jimmy confused me. He was all over the place. One minute he'd be asking Elena a question about her sister's well-being... and then before she could even answer he'd be off trying to cook some weird concoction. It was truly odd and I wasn't sure what the point of it was.
Basically, I'm not saying you shouldn't read this book... but I've definitely read better books about depression. I don't think I truly "got" this book and that's because it was too choppy and jumpy. And every time something big was on the brink of happening, it was the end of the chapter.
OVERALL: Ehhh. It's a super short, quick read, but it doesn't delve into the topic of depression the way I would expect an issues book to. I wouldn't recommend it, but it's not terrible.
My Blog:
My Thoughts:
This book has been on my TBR since FOREVER, but I had forgotten what it was about. I saw it at the library and remembered seeing it on my TBR, but by glancing at the cover I assumed this was going to be something creepy. Ghosts maybe?? Doesn't the cover give you the creepy vibe? Okay well now we know, it's NOT creepy. It's actually one of the strangest books I've read in a long time (in a non-creepy way).
Dora and Elena are these two really opposite sisters. Dora's always been the creative, emotional one, while Elena is the responsible, analytic one. Even though Elena is younger, she's the one supposed to watch over Dora from a young age. As Dora goes through her issues, Elena is just left out on an island by herself. Her parents won't talk to her, she doesn't have friends, and she doesn't want to share her feelings with her therapist. It was interesting to read about someone so UN-emotional and closed off. Especially a girl. I haven't met many of those in YA.
So I'm thinking that this book would have been better as a short story. It's about this huge, heavy topic (depression), but it just wants to skim the surface. I didn't feel any depth to this book. Something would be mentioned and BOOM, end of chapter, on to something else. Seriously there were no chapters longer than 2 pages. There was a small part where Elena seemed to be getting completely overwhelmed by her situation, worrying about Dora 24/7, and just seeming to become overcome with fear of what Dora may do. I wish that part was more developed. It was the only real time I felt like the book was really saying something.
Jimmy confused me. He was all over the place. One minute he'd be asking Elena a question about her sister's well-being... and then before she could even answer he'd be off trying to cook some weird concoction. It was truly odd and I wasn't sure what the point of it was.
Basically, I'm not saying you shouldn't read this book... but I've definitely read better books about depression. I don't think I truly "got" this book and that's because it was too choppy and jumpy. And every time something big was on the brink of happening, it was the end of the chapter.
OVERALL: Ehhh. It's a super short, quick read, but it doesn't delve into the topic of depression the way I would expect an issues book to. I wouldn't recommend it, but it's not terrible.
My Blog:
huitiangao's review against another edition
5.0
Very very good. It only took me two days to finish this book. it's amazing how distict each character is. It stirs up so many emotions of mine.
librariann's review against another edition
2.0
Ages 11+
(no overt language or sex, some kissing)
Annoying but fast. Inaccuracies abound in this story of a freshman in HS whose older sister, Dora, is hospitalized after a suicide attempt. The hospital is not the way a teen ward would be - hell, it wasn't that way 20 years ago and the treatments are ridiculous. Though Elena's feelings about her sister's illness seem accurate, the rest is wildly implausible. Good premise, lousy execution.
(no overt language or sex, some kissing)
Annoying but fast. Inaccuracies abound in this story of a freshman in HS whose older sister, Dora, is hospitalized after a suicide attempt. The hospital is not the way a teen ward would be - hell, it wasn't that way 20 years ago and the treatments are ridiculous. Though Elena's feelings about her sister's illness seem accurate, the rest is wildly implausible. Good premise, lousy execution.
jeanwk's review against another edition
3.0
Good coverage of the topic of depression for teens. Also a good discussion about when you "tell" or not when friends and family need more help than you can give. Quick read--I read it overnight.
jessicafacchinigould's review against another edition
4.0
Such a good book. It's original. The story isn't centered around depression, but anti-depressants and how their side effects can be worse than depression itself. It's kind of scary.
jessalynn_librarian's review against another edition
3.0
A small but moving book that doesn't try to tell a big, thorough story. It felt realistic in its loose ends and lack of complete resolution - the ending is neither happy nor sad, but sort of sadly hopeful. I had low expectations because it just looked like a downer, but even though it took me along for the emotional ride, it was never depressing. It also never devolved into an "issue" book, although I think it would certainly appeal to teens - especially girls - who either like issue books or are looking for some bibliotherapy because they know someone with depression.