My Life in the Fish Tank

by Barbara Dee Narrated by Emily Eiden

Overview

From acclaimed author of Maybe He Just Likes You and Halfway Normal comes a powerful and moving story of learning how to grow, change, and survive.

When twelve-year-old Zinnia Manning's older brother Gabriel is diagnosed with a mental illness, the family's world is turned upside down. Mom and Dad want Zinny, her sixteen-year-old sister, Scarlett, and her eight-year-old brother, Aiden, to keep Gabriel's condition "private"--and to Zinny that sounds the same as "secret." Which means she can't talk about it to her two best friends, who don't understand why Zinny keeps pushing them away, turning everything into a joke.

It also means she can't talk about it during Lunch Club, a group run by the school guidance counselor. How did Zinny get stuck in this weird club, anyway? She certainly doesn't have anything in common with these kids--and even if she did, she'd never betray her family's secret.

The only good thing about school is science class, where cool teacher Ms. Molina has them doing experiments on crayfish. And when Zinny has the chance to attend a dream marine biology camp for the summer, she doesn't know what to do. How can Zinny move forward when Gabriel--and, really, her whole family--still needs her help?

Editorial Reviews

Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

I loved My Life in the Fish Tank. Once again, Barbara Dee writes about important topics with intelligence, nuance and grace. She earned all the accolades for Maybe He Just Likes You and will earn them for My Life in the Fish Tank too.

Booklist

"Instilled with humor, the plot offers a layered narrative with occasional verse, perfect for readers looking for something a little extra special. Realistic and sympathetic, this demonstrates a successful, meaningful, and responsible discussion around mental health for all ages."

Leslie Connor

”I felt every beat of Zinny Manning’s heart in this authentic and affecting story. Barbara Dee consistently has her finger on the pulse of her middle grade audience. Outstanding!

Donna Gephart

Barbara Dee offers a deeply compassionate look at life for twelve-year-old Zinny, whose older brother faces mental health challenges. This touching novel will go a long way in providing understanding and empathy for young readers. Highly recommended.

Laura Shovan

My Life in the Fish Tank rings true for its humor, insight, and honesty. Zinny is an appealing narrator, and her friendships with supporting characters are beautifully drawn.

Lindsay Currie

"MY LIFE IN THE FISH TANK is a powerful portrayal of a twelve-year old dealing with her sibling’s newly discovered mental illness. Author Barbara Dee deftly weaves in themes of friendship, family, and secrets, while also reminding us all to accept what we can’t control. I truly loved every moment of this emotional and gripping novel, with its notes of hope that linger long after the last page."

Booklist

"Instilled with humor, the plot offers a layered narrative with occasional verse, perfect for readers looking for something a little extra special. Realistic and sympathetic, this demonstrates a successful, meaningful, and responsible discussion around mental health for all ages."

Kirkus Reviews

2020-06-03
When her older brother develops bipolar disorder, a seventh grader must cope with its effect on her family.

When Zinnia’s parents get the call that her older brother, Gabriel, has been in a car accident, time, like Gabriel’s new diagnosis of bipolar disorder, seems to take on a life of its own. Chapter headings that mix vague and specific days and times reinforce this notion. Likewise, flashbacks to odd and even scary events with her brother help Zinny see that Gabriel’s condition was not a sudden onset. Although the story focuses on how Zinny deals with this conflict on a personal level, such as retreating from friends, it also explores the effects of mental illness on Zinny’s entire family (who seem to be white). While Gabriel recovers in a treatment center, Zinny’s narration reveals that her mom wants to keep everything secret, her dad’s working longer hours, her older sister feels guilty, and, with attention elsewhere, her younger brother is neglected. There’s no single savior who helps Zinny but instead a string of people and events that work together: a lunchtime therapy group at school (both group and student body are diverse), a school counselor who notes the harm of “crazy” language, scientific experiments that reframe her thinking, forming new friendships and salvaging old ones, and finding humor where she can. The last brings levity to this tough topic.

A carefully crafted blend of realism, age-appropriate sensibilities, and children’s interests. (Fiction. 9-13)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940173368478
Publisher:	Penguin Random House
Publication date:	09/28/2021
Edition description:	Unabridged
Age Range:	8 - 11 Years

Read an Excerpt

1. February 21

February 21
James Ramos got a haircut yesterday, but so what.

I mean, nothing against his hair: he had a perfectly regular-shaped head and un-clownish ears. And now you could see his eyes (brown), if that was super important to you.

But not to me. Unlike my two best friends, Kailani and Maisie, and probably a whole bunch of other girls in the seventh grade, I wasn’t obsessed with James Ramos, or with his hair. So while we walked to school that morning, and Kailani went on and on about James Ramos And His Haircut, I tried to click on a different mental link.

Think about other stuff, I told myself.

The crayfish we’re getting in science lab.

The fish tanks we’re designing.

All the cool experiments we’ll be doing—

Now Maisie tugged my jacket sleeve. “Don’t you think, Zinny?” she was asking.

“About what, specifically?” I glanced at Kailani, hoping for a clue.

“That James likes Kailani! That he has a crush!”

“Oh, definitely,” I said.

“Zinny.” In the chilly air, Maisie’s skin was pale, and her freckles stood out like punctuation marks. “No offense, but you’re doing that thing again.”

“What thing?”

“You know,” Kailani said gently. “Tuning us out. Pretending we’re not here.”

“That’s not true,” I protested. “I mean, okay, sometimes my mind wanders a little—”

Maisie snorted. “Can I ask you something, Zinny? Why are you walking with us if you don’t want to be with us?”

I couldn’t answer that question.

Even though the words were all in my head:

But I do want to be with you.

To be honest,

with all the stuff going on in my family,

if I didn’t have the two of you,

I couldn’t go to school at all.

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