FIVE MINUTES MORE

The trauma of her father’s suicide sends D’Arcy into a physical and emotional tailspin. She learns that her father was diagnosed with ALS and drove his car off a bridge because of it. This revelation makes D’Arcy withdraw from her boyfriend and friends. At the same time, she begins to talk more with class geek Seth, whose later suicide attempt only fuels her depression. Told with an utter lack of focus, absence of personality and uninspired dialogue, this book is 12 problem novels crammed into one. It includes dalliances with homelessness, superficial explorations of grief and romance, family fighting and brief interludes with alcohol. All the secondary characters are flat stereotypes: the wise and worrying mother, the jock boyfriend and his jock friends, the evil stepsister. To add to the overall poor quality of the book, the author’s note reads, “ALS…also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, attacks nerve cells in the brain…There is no known cure. Suicide has been called a permanent solution to a temporary problem.” This implies that ALS is a temporary problem, not an incurable disease. (Fiction. YA)