Walking on Eggshells

In this compelling and accessible novel for teen readers, a sixteen-year-old aspiring chef must learn how to accept help from his community after he experiences a first episode of psychosis. After a first episode of psychosis lands him a stay in a psychiatric hospital, all sixteen-year-old Kai Lum wants to do is reclaim his life. But now that he's back home, everything is different. He has medications to take, his dad is always hovering, and everyone at school keeps staring at him. Kai's determined not to let any of that distract him from proving he can make it as a chef, though. He has his culinary arts program to focus on, and he won't let his diagnosis change his plans. But finding his new normal is harder than Kai expects. His medications have side effects that he doesn't know how to control. His dad pushes him to accept more clinical help, even though Kai's not sure he wants-or needs-it. And Kai's best friends are ghosting him. On top of all of that, Kai isn't sure if the voices he's hearing are real or in his head. Kai's life begins to spin out of control as he struggles to know who he can trust. With his health and dreams on the line, he has to decide whether he's willing to accept help in order to manage his newly diagnosed mental illness. Characterized by exciting, fast-paced plots and themes that are relevant for high school students, Horizon's Hi-Lo books are both engaging and easy to read. Short chapters, simple sentence structures, and an accessible format make these books perfect for teen reluctant readers. AGES: 14 to 18 AUTHOR: Jennifer Phillips writes stories that celebrate creativity, courage, and determination. She started out as a newspaper reporter in the Midwest and then spent many years in corporate and nonprofit communications. Now she splits her professional energy between writing for children and helping grown-ups make things work better through process improvement and creativity methods. She also advocates for social justice needs, especially concerning disability and mental illness. A Seattle mom of two young adult girls and one bird, she has more story ideas than time. She does her best writing super early in the morning when the coffee is piping hot and the house extremely quiet. Come visit her at jenniferphillipsauthor.com.