Winner of the Carnegie Medal, the U.K.'s top prize for children's literature, Kevin Brooks (The Bunker Diary) writes in Born Scared about one teen's struggle with paralyzing anxiety.
Elliot has suffered from constant and extreme apprehension--bordering on terror--since birth. Every day, he fights to contain the beast within; he eloquently describes his "fear of fear itself" as "a truly monstrous thing, like a howling demon... an insatiable beast that keeps getting bigger and bigger all the time." It's okay though, as long as he has his yellow fear pills (Moloxetine) and a select group of people he trusts: the Doc, Mum, Auntie Shirley and Ellamay, the presence of his twin sister who died hours after they were born, and who lives on in his mind. When his fear pills run out and his mum and his auntie fail to bring him his prescription, he pushes down his fear and sets out in a snowstorm to travel the vast, seemingly insurmountable 527 yards to his aunt's house. Elliot, though, has no knowledge of the sinister plot that is keeping his aunt and mum tied up.
Brooks seems to write regardless of what others will think, not afraid to talk about sensitive topics, like mental illness described from a teen's perspective. He uses unconventional story designs and layouts, here rapidly switching perspectives between Elliot's skewed, terrified experience and the stories of the individuals he encounters who try to help him, hinder his process or even cause him pain. This adventurous story may be helpful in allowing readers to empathize with those who suffer from anxiety and is a great read for anyone interested in literature from writers not afraid to write outside social norms. --Mohammed Jahan, 17