"There are no guarantees, Laura.
But I can tell you this.
You've seen a lot,
for your younger years.
Make it work for you going forward.
Keep asking questions,
demanding answers
and calling the beast by its name.
Life is too short to spend on the pursuit of a guarantee."

Crazy was published ten years ago but reading it now just makes it as, if not more, relevant. Set in 1960s Oregon, Laura has to deal with school, friendship, and potential romantic partnership while grappling with her mother's "nervous breakdown", her relationship with family, and her art journey. At first I didn't realize Laura is a high schooler because the intentionally dated writing style has me thinking she's younger, but soon I adapted with its classic YA setup: friends, crush, family, dreams.

However, I think they were all far from cliches. The verse format were getting more varied as I read along. I shed a tear or two near the ending, especially after the 'reveal' and when Laura had a talk with her mother. It's also more complex than just feeling left out because of different family dynamic. Laura's concern grows from her mother to herself, questioning whether the same thing might happen to her someday or she could avoid it and be normal. It's heart-wrenching, honest—since it was written based on the author's experience too—and important.

Art takes a huge part on Laura's life as well as her character development, and I like that that element was interwoven seamlessly into the story. Art is Laura, art is her mother. On the other hand, Dennis Martin might be a nice distraction, but rip him out of Laura's life from the start wouldn't really hurt. There are some religion-centered aspect specifically Lutheran and Catholic, but in my opinion it doesn't make this book belong to religious fiction. I didn't mind it personally, but in case you're a reader who prefers their fiction religion-free (if that makes sense), because I know some people do, please be wise.

All in all, 3.5 stars rounded up for this poignant novel-in-verse. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC of this book.

Teenage Laura has all the normal dreams of an adolescent growing up in the 1960s. She is preoccupied with the Beatles, her friendships, a possible love interest in Dennis Martin, and perhaps above all, her art.

But her life is far from simple, otherwise. Because Laura is desperate to ensure that her friends don't find out about her mother's mental health issues and subsequent breakdown. Her father deals with it through denial, her sister Paula has grown up and moved out to marry and live with her husband and her own children, and Laura is deeply lonely, despite having good friends.

This story paints an evocative picture of that era, of the shame and secrecy that surrounded mental illness, and of Laura's fears with respect to, as well as her freedom she finds in, her art - which ironically, is an interest she shares with her mother. Honest and touching, it gets 3.5 stars.