5 stars
Growing up, I read and reread Judy Blume’s Are You There God, It’s Me Margaret and Deenie. I saw myself in those characters and it helped me to process the big feelings of my preteen self. This book will do that for today’s middle grade reader. I have yet to have read a book with preteens and mental illness of a teen. Middle grader writers continue to impress me with their willingness to write for an audience that needs them. This story line is one that I have yet to read in middle grade novels. However, the story will appeal to readers of all backgounds.
This is my second book by Barbara Dee and she knocks it out of the park again.

I received this ARC from the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

A single phone call turns twelve-year-old Zinny's live on end. Her older brother Gabriel was in a car accident, but though his injuries were minor, there seems to be something more keeping him in the hospital. When their parents reveal that Gabriel has been diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder, they ask Zinny and her siblings to keep Gabriel's story private as he heals. What Zinny discovers, though, is that Gabriel isn't the only one who has to figure out how to live with his diagnosis.

I really enjoyed this book. Zinny is a sympathetic middle schooler with realistic feelings. Her reluctant participation in Lunch Group, her feelings toward her older sister, and willingness to step in to help her little brother all rang true. Mental illness still carries with it a stigma for many, and even for the most supportive, there is a fine line between being respectful of someone's privacy, and keeping a secret. Though there will undoubtedly be readers for whom this situation is all too real, I hope many more will find in this book an opportunity to learn a little more, and to opt for a little more compassion.

With My Life in a Fish Tank, Barbara Dee continues to reach readers through lovable characters and topics that are real, sometimes very real to the reader. Dee's use of well-crafted, multiple story lines during Zinny and her family's journey through her older bother's bipolar disorder diagnosis keeps the reader moving along with ease. The ending speaks the truth that mental illness issues are not "solved", but that is OK. All people, including Zinny, are evolving, learning, changing and adapting just like Clawed.

As a side note, my younger bother has been living with bipolar disorder for 40+ year. I wish a story like this would have been available to me when I was Zinny's age.

I give this book 5 stars! Barbara Dee has a way of taking complex, mature topics and making them accessible, appropriate and engaging for middle grades students. In this novel, she skillfully addresses mental illness and the impact it has on families, specifically a middle grades girl, Zinny. Throughout the novel, Zinny grapples with the new information that her brother has bi-polar disorder and how to face her feelings when her parents are asking her to keep her brothers’ illness a secret. Dee uses flashbacks to illustrate Zinny’s changing family dynamics, her relationship with her brother and complex changing friendships. Ultimately Zinny learns the value of true friends, how helpful it is to share her feelings with trusted adults and peers and mental illness is not shameful. This book would be especially helpful for anyone who is dealing with mental illness themselves or knows someone who is. It would help them to have words to express is going on and reinforce that mental illness, like a physical illness is nothing that should cause shame. All middle grades students would benefit from the valuable lessons about humanity illustrated in this book as well as be engaged with the plot and relatable characters. I have already preordered this book and encourage you to do so as well. It would be perfect for any 5th-8th classroom library and would also be beneficial for counselors to read and have on their shelves to recommended to students who might specifically relate.