Walking on Eggshells

by Jennifer Phillips

IMPORTANT NOTE TO READERS: This is a Horizon Hi-Lo book for teen reluctant readers. Books in this series are both engaging and easy to read, with short chapters, simple sentence structures, and an accessible format. Horizon books are written at a 2nd- to 3rd-grade reading level with an interest level of ages 14 and up.

After a first episode of psychosis lands him a stay in a psychiatric hospital, all sixteen-year-old Kai Lum wants to do is reclaim his life. But now that he’s back home, everything is different. He has medications to take, his dad is always hovering, and everyone at school keeps staring at him. Kai’s determined not to let any of that distract him from proving he can make it as a chef, though. He has his culinary arts program to focus on, and he won’t let his diagnosis change his plans.

But finding his new normal is harder than Kai expects. His medications have side effects that he doesn’t know how to control. His dad pushes him to accept more clinical help, even though Kai’s not sure he wants—or needs—it. And Kai’s best friends are ghosting him. On top of all of that, Kai isn’t sure if the voices he’s hearing are real or in his head.

Kai’s life begins to spin out of control as he struggles to know who he can trust. With his health and dreams on the line, he has to decide whether he’s willing to accept help in order to manage his newly diagnosed mental illness.

Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary

160 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2025

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Reviews

[cyd⭐️ · Rating 3 out of 5]

a very beautiful book.

[Karen Mazzaferri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poor Kai!! Kai is a 16 year old starting his junior year in high school. His passion is cooking and making fusion food and he is quite good at it. However, an unexpected incident derails his plans. Prior to school ending the year before, he began to act strange and lost time. Over the summer, he spent most of it in a hospital only to find out he is bipolar, like his mom, who he has had no contact with for years. As his new school year begins, he is convinced he will be able to handle the stress. But with his new meds and constant therapy appointments, and the feeling he is always being watched, not to mention the man and the girls voice in his head always being negative, he falls back into his past trauma. I feel so bad for Kai, his father, who is trying his darnedest and his friends who really care for him.
This is a very quick novella, but it is impactful. It’s easy to read, yet it gives you a clear incite into what it is like to live and live with someone with a mental illness.
Although this book is geared towards the teenage crowd, this first person account, can be helpful for all ages.
I will suggest this book and thank the author for writing Walking on Eggshells

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Synopsis: Kai, a chef in the making 11th grader experiences a psychotic episode and life changes for ever.

Thoughts: A quick read all about what 16 year of Kai experiences after a psychotic break. I felt the build of relationships was lacking and there could be more background and details around the characters. I didn’t feel as though I knew any of them well enough to be invested. I thought the storyline with Kai’s mother could have been deeper and was unresolved at the end. This book has good promise but could have been deeper.

Thank you to Jennifer Philips, Northstar Editions and NetGalley for the advanced copy

[Erica · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Walking on Eggshells" is a wonderfully unique novella. Using a high-interest but easily accessible writing levels, the author writes in first-person as a high schooler experiencing his first mental health breakdown that requires hospitalization. This story follows him through his initial journey post-hospitalization, the impact on school, family and relationships. While this is a fictional retelling, it couild easily be a memoir. I read this is one sitting and would recommend this for middle schoolers through adults! 4+ stars! *I received a complimentary ARC from the author/publishing company via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts & opinions are my own.

[Kaitlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very eye opening to the world of bipolar disorder, especially from a teens point of view. I could see this absolutely helping someone who is in this situation. Not a super long read but in this case, it's better that way. I liked the characters and I liked the flow of the story. With it being short, there wasn't really any room for it to be boring and I really appreciated that. Recommend for anyone dealing with mental illness like bipolar disorder or good if you're wanting to learn a bit more about it.

Thank you to Netgalley and North Star editions for this eARC.

[Tara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely a hi-low book that gives kind of a snapshot look at a teen suffering from bipolar disorder. I struggled with the fact that there was a lot of background information that seemed missing and the resolution happened very quickly. I feel like you can have a book for reluctant readers that still offers a complete story, and this one didn't do that for me.

[Rachel Bielinski]

I was impressed by how much this book made me feel the main character's mental state. I don't have a bipolar diagnosis, so I can't speak to the accuracy, but the author did an excellent job of making the reader understand the mania especially.