[.ca] Inside Out (ISBN 0064473767)

Richie's Picks: INSIDE OUT:
" 'Zach, you're a stupid wong-gong, a long-gone wong-gong.' "I ignore this, but while I'm sitting here being quiet, my palms are sweaty and my throat is dry. I need to decide if this situation is real or not; I need to decide that right now. Sometimes I understand what's going on, and other times I don't have a clue. If I don't figure this one out, I could be in trouble." According to the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression: "Schizophrenia is a chronic and severe brain disorder which affects approximately 1 percent of the world population. Approximately 2 million people in the United States suffer from the disease in a given year. Schizophrenia is characterized by positive and negative symptoms. Positive symptoms include delusions, hallucinations, disorganized thinking and markedly disorganized behavior. Negative symptoms include reduced emotional expression, social withdrawal, loss of pleasure, difficulty concentrating and/or thinking, and a lack of energy, spontaneity or initiative. Treatment is aimed at reducing symptoms and preventing psychotic relapses. Schizophrenia is usually treated with antipsychotic medication, and may be used in combination with psychosocial therapies, such as cognitive behavioral therapy. Many scientists believe that schizophrenia results from a chemical imbalance in the brain, and are investigating various neurotransmitters in determining this imbalance." Sixteen-year-old Zach Wahhsted suffers from adolescent onset schizophrenia. He waits at the coffee shop after school each day; him mom picks him up there up at 3:30 and gives him his medication. It is imperative that he get his twice-daily medication on time so that Rat and Dirtbag--the worst of the voices in his head that have tortured him in the past--don't come back. Today, Zach will not get his medication on time. "All I want is a maple bar, but I don't think these kids with the guns care about what I want." Today, as Zach waits for his mom's arrival, a pair of teenagers, "Frosty" and "Stormy," come in to rob the coffee shop and the situation disintergrates into an armed standoff with hostages. "I look around at everybody else in this place, and they all look scared, so I'm trying to look scared too. I mean, I guess I'm scared, but this all seems so normal to me. The thing is, I'm used to seeing and hearing really weird stuff, so this doesn't feel that strange to me at all." As a schizophrenic, Zach tends to react differently--some would say inappropriately. "One of the kids with a gun, the older-looking one, says, 'Nobody's gonna get hurt if you just do what we tell you!' "I say, 'Okay.' "He seems surprised at the sound of my voice and looks at me real fast, then away again. "He says, 'We don't wanna hurt anybody.' " 'Good,' I say. "He looks at me again, 'You gotta problem?' he asks. I think he sounds mad. " 'Yes,' I say. "This surprises him too. 'Oh, yeah?' he asks, then he points his gun right at me. 'What's your problem?' "I'm sort of surprised that he wants to know. "His gun is big and black, with a wide hole in the end of the barrel. It's like a tunnel. "I answer him as truthfully as I can. 'I'm sick, that's my problem; I take medicine two times every day, thanks for asking.' " "The lunatic is in my head The lunatic is in my head You raise the blade, you make the change You re-arrange me 'til I'm sane You lock the door And throw away the key There's someone in my head but it's not me" --Pink Floyd INSIDE OUT is a tense and often comic tale that plays out inside the back room of the coffee shop and inside Zach Wahhsted's head as 3:30 comes and goes... "I wonder if Frosty and Stormy are going to shoot me. Like in that movie Pulp Fiction. The bad guys shoot lots of people in that movie. I'm definitely NOT going to ask them about Pulp Fiction or about shooting us. I don't want to give them any bad ideas. "I don't even want to think about getting shot, and so I try to be real quiet... "After whispering to Stormy, Frosty says, 'Okay, everybody, we've got an announcement.' "All of us look at Frosty, but before he can say anything else, I hear words flying out of my mouth... " 'Frosty,' I ask, 'did you ever see that movie Pulp Fiction?' " This story of how the kid with all the voices in his head turns out to be the voice of reason in a tense life-and-death situation is a spectacular read. And while there is great levity in the unique rapport that develops between Zach and the armed teens, beneath the hostage situation is the realization that no matter how the standoff ends, Zach will forever be hostage to those voices in his head.

Inside Out Is INTENSE And Eye-Opening:
Terry Trueman has done it again! Inside Out is an amazingly intense read. The main character, Zach is perfectly framed in a bad situation, a hold up, but nothing could be as bad as the battle Zach has going on in his mind. Zach suffers from schizophrenia and tries very hard to do what is perceived to be "appropriate" in our society. Trueman manages to create a character in Zach that is unforgettable. This story MOVES so fast, it is over before you know it. I could not put this book down. Trueman's ability to draw the reader in and make each character, major or minor, an important one is unparalleled. This book is a wonderful mix of a fast-paced story with action, tense moments of anticipation, and characters that the reader can identify with immediately. To top all of that off, Terry Trueman has alerted the public about the horrors of schizophrenia. You have done it again Terry Trueman!

Courtesy of Teens Read Too:
Imagine being sixteen years old, waiting patiently in a coffee shop for your mother to pick you up after work. It's just another day, until two shaken teens with guns show up and take you and a number of other patrons hostage. Suddenly there are cops surrounding the building, promising SWAT teams and armored vehicles if the hostage-takers don't give up. What sort of emotions do you feel? Fear? Anger? Disbelief? Did I mention fear? Yes, if you're a typical sixteen-year old, those are most likely the emotions you would feel. But if you're Zach Wahhsted, a teenager suffering from schizophrenia, you don't feel much of anything at all. Zach's days are pretty routine--he takes his medicine, he goes to school, he waits for his mom to pick him up and give him his second dose of medicine, and he hopes that the voices inside his head, dubbed Dirtbag and Rat, stay quiet. Zach does okay when he stays on his medicine, but when he suffers undue stress or situations outside of his control, what's reality and what's inside his head become harder to differentiate. When Zach's held hostage by two teens caught up in trying to do the right thing for their mother, he doesn't know he should be scared. He doesn't understand that he's a victim. The only thing he knows is that he needs his medicine, needs to go home, needs to quiet Dirtbag and Rat before they talk him into attempting suicide once again. INSIDE OUT, although a quick read, is supremely powerful. It's a glimpse into the mind of someone whose brain functions differently than our own; whose synapses don't fire on the same wavelengths ours do. It's a look into mental illness that will leave you wondering what you can do to be more tolerant and understanding. It is, in a word, simply amazing. Reviewed by: Jennifer Wardrip, aka "The Genius"