title: Words on Bathroom Walls
author:  Julia Walton 
description: Gr 10 UpRefusing to talk to his psychologist, Adam Petrazelli records answers to the doctor's questions in a running diary. The result is a startling, humorous, and painstakingly honest account of 10 months in the life of a high school boy who has schizophrenia. While Adam participates in an experimental drug trial, his recurring hallucinations appear to fade as the levels of the drug increase. He enrolls at a new school; befriends Dwight, a quirky fellow student; and pursues a romantic relationship with feisty, intelligent Maya. When his life finally begins to resemble that of a typical 11th grader, Adam learns that his miracle treatment is losing its effectiveness. As circumstances spiral out of his control, he desperately attempts to make sense of his illness and accept that his world will never be normal. Walton has crafted a character with unparalleled likability, a boy whose endearing, witty, introspective commentary allows readers to get inside the head of a person with a debilitating mental illness. Through journal entries that catalogue the details of Adam's daily life, including his drug dosage and extraordinary visions of imaginary people, the author brings the gritty details of a complex mental disorder to light. Though the realistic depiction of the disease may be disconcerting to some teens, it succeeds in giving an unfiltered, true-to-life picture of one person's struggle with schizophrenia. VERDICT A heartfelt, gripping story that demystifies an illness too often ignored. Highly recommended for older teens and adults.Karin Greenberg, Queens College, NY
zlib_text: 
  
  
  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are
  the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any
  resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely
  coincidental.
  
  
  Text copyright © 2017 by Julia Walton
  
  
  Cover and interior photographs copyright © by Jamie Farrant/Getty Images;
  Roberto Trivella/EyeEm/Getty Images
  
  
  All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Random House Children’s
  Books, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York.
  
  
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  House LLC.
  
  
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  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
  
  
  Names: Walton, Julia, 1986– author.
  
  
  Title: Words on bathroom walls / Julia Walton.
  
  
  Description: First edition. | New Y