Waiting for Fitz

Gr 8 Up—Midway through her senior year, 17-year-old Addie Foster is sent for in-patient psychiatric therapy for obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) at Seattle Regional Hospital. Quick-witted and literary-minded, she dreams of being a playwright. Making some unlikely but unique friends from the first day of group therapy, Addie accepts that she needs help, while handsome, mysterious Fitz is desperate to leave after two years of treatment. Grieving and guilt ridden, Fitz, who has schizophrenia, mentions San Juan Island and the name Quentin but does not offer any details to Addie. Innocent romance sparks for the two, their shared passion for literature kindling their companionship. When the truth of Fitz's past is revealed to Addie, she is forced to take a painful look at their relationship and her own future. The ending is hopeful, albeit a touch predictable. Hyde, having spent much of his high school years in in-patient therapy for severe OCD, provides an accurate, honest rendering of teenage mental illness.