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Humming Whispers
The younger sister of the schizophrenic Nicole, fourteen-year-old Sophy fears that she, too, will develop the frightening condition that causes Nicole to hear voices and behave uncontrollably. Reprint.
121 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1995
3 people are currently reading
57 people want to read
About the author
Angela Johnson
129 books269 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Angela Johnson is the author of the Coretta Scott King Honor picture book When I Am Old with You; as well as A Sweet Smell of Roses, illustrated by Eric Velasquez; Just Like Josh Gibson, illustrated by Beth Peck; and I Dream of Trains, which was also illustrated by Loren Long. She has won three Coretta Scott King Awards, one each for her novels Heaven, Toning the Sweep, and The First Part Last. In recognition of her outstanding talent, Angela was named a 2003 MacArthur Fellow. She lives in Kent, Ohio.
Angela Johnson is the author of the Coretta Scott King Honor picture book When I Am Old with You; as well as A Sweet Smell of Roses, illustrated by Eric Velasquez; Just Like Josh Gibson, illustrated by Beth Peck; and I Dream of Trains, which was also illustrated by Loren Long. She has won three Coretta Scott King Awards, one each for her novels Heaven, Toning the Sweep, and The First Part Last. In recognition of her outstanding talent, Angela was named a 2003 MacArthur Fellow. She lives in Kent, Ohio.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
April 8, 2010
This book didn't really have much of a plot; it was more like a 121-page description of a situation. The protagonist, fourteen-year-old Sophy, lives with her aunt and her older sister, Nikki. Sophy and Nikki are very close and both are dancers who attended the same performing arts high school. But Nikki has become incapacitated by schizophrenia and Sophy fears the same thing will happen to her, as she is now the same age Nikki was when she first started hearing the voices.
This was short and sweet, and I thought the author did a good job with the setting, inner-city Cleveland. Though of course the central topic is fairly heavy, what really came across was the wonderful support system Sophy and Nikki had: their loving aunt, Nikki's loyal and devoted boyfriend, Sophy's friends and her teachers at school, and a caring neighbor who was a dancer and a Holocaust survivor. The bleak reality of the illness is certainly there, but things are not entirely hopeless in this atmosphere of mutual love and sustenance. I think this would be a good book to educate tweens about schizophrenia. I think I should note here that there is no sex and no swear words in this story; about as risque is it gets is some shoplifting that goes unpunished.
This was short and sweet, and I thought the author did a good job with the setting, inner-city Cleveland. Though of course the central topic is fairly heavy, what really came across was the wonderful support system Sophy and Nikki had: their loving aunt, Nikki's loyal and devoted boyfriend, Sophy's friends and her teachers at school, and a caring neighbor who was a dancer and a Holocaust survivor. The bleak reality of the illness is certainly there, but things are not entirely hopeless in this atmosphere of mutual love and sustenance. I think this would be a good book to educate tweens about schizophrenia. I think I should note here that there is no sex and no swear words in this story; about as risque is it gets is some shoplifting that goes unpunished.
September 1, 2019
This was a gentle, slice of life novel about the intricacies of growing up with someone who has schizophrenia. The medicine, the mood swings, the fear of genetics tugging against unconditional love.
What I really appreciated about this book was that it wasn't incredibly dramatic, that it wasn't some high-speed novel falling over itself trying to be edgy. It was simple, and sweet, and in my opinion, that made it effective. I just loved all of the characters and how they all came together to help and better understand Nicole's mental illness, even when there were times that they truly couldn't comprehend just what was going on.
Overall, this novel is gentle and tender, and takes what could be a difficult subject and makes it into something that is workable, acceptable, and still ultimately lovable.
Review cross-listed here!
What I really appreciated about this book was that it wasn't incredibly dramatic, that it wasn't some high-speed novel falling over itself trying to be edgy. It was simple, and sweet, and in my opinion, that made it effective. I just loved all of the characters and how they all came together to help and better understand Nicole's mental illness, even when there were times that they truly couldn't comprehend just what was going on.
Overall, this novel is gentle and tender, and takes what could be a difficult subject and makes it into something that is workable, acceptable, and still ultimately lovable.
Review cross-listed here!
August 28, 2023
One of Angela Johnson's early books (19950.
Fourteen year old Sophy lives in a family dominated by her older sister's Schizophrenia. Her sister, Nikki started hearing the voices when she was fourteen, and now Sophy is afraid for her own mental health. It is a stream-of-consciousness account of Sophy's day-to- day life as the family deals with Angela's illness.
Fourteen year old Sophy lives in a family dominated by her older sister's Schizophrenia. Her sister, Nikki started hearing the voices when she was fourteen, and now Sophy is afraid for her own mental health. It is a stream-of-consciousness account of Sophy's day-to- day life as the family deals with Angela's illness.
November 4, 2024
I've read a few books focused around schizophrenia recently, and this was easily my least favorite. It was definitely dated, and I didn't feel like there was much of a point to it. Very vague, and it honestly felt like the author didn't really have a great grasp on what schizophrenia entails, which again, leads to the book aging poorly. Plus, it was quite boring.
December 5, 2017
Magari è stato scritto per i ragazzini, ma ha un ritmo così sonnolento che si addormenterebbe chiunque. Ci ho provato.
February 4, 2008
When Nicole was fourteen, she started hearing voices and was diagnosed with schizophrenia. Now her sister, Sophy, is the same age, and Sophy is struggling wtih the fear that she might end up like her sister.
I really appreciated Johnson's willingness to tackle a difficult subject -- the topic of mental illness, and the pall that hangs over others in the family, is not one that's often handled in children's and YA literature. I had the same frustrations with this as I've had with Johnson's other novels that I've read, though; she leaves some things so ambiguous that there is little sense of resolution, and the reader is left feeling confused about some of the events in the novel. The end result was that I felt confused about how Sophy had come to terms with her sister's illness and her own fears. Time is also severely compressed in the book; for example, at one point Nicole goes missing for several months, and there is little evocation of the aching days of worry and uncertainty that Sophy must have gone through. So, overall, a brave attempt, but somewhat flawed.
I really appreciated Johnson's willingness to tackle a difficult subject -- the topic of mental illness, and the pall that hangs over others in the family, is not one that's often handled in children's and YA literature. I had the same frustrations with this as I've had with Johnson's other novels that I've read, though; she leaves some things so ambiguous that there is little sense of resolution, and the reader is left feeling confused about some of the events in the novel. The end result was that I felt confused about how Sophy had come to terms with her sister's illness and her own fears. Time is also severely compressed in the book; for example, at one point Nicole goes missing for several months, and there is little evocation of the aching days of worry and uncertainty that Sophy must have gone through. So, overall, a brave attempt, but somewhat flawed.
November 18, 2007
About a girl whose sister has schizophrenia. Not as good as I expected it to be.
September 12, 2012
I have no idea because I barley got it
July 9, 2021
I read this book when I was 10 years old, but it has stuck with me. I need to read it again.
Read
March 27, 2018I was honestly a little disappointed with this one. After reading a few pages of the book, I expected these "whispers" to be more haunting and talked about more in the book. It wasn't a bad story, I just had a completely different outlook on what the story may be about.
The book is about two girls, Sophy and Nicole. Sophy is younger and often panics about developing her sisters diagnosis - schizophrenia. Nicole's diagnosis was so intense that she has been in the hospital for quite sometime receiving help. Not only is Sophy worried about this diagnosis, but also because of these whispers in her head (that aren't talked about enough in my opinion). Sophy is determined to have a deeper relationship with her sister once her sister comes home. It's her chance to finally ignore these whispers and lies and fight for a relationship with her sister that they should have always had.
So, if you want to find out more about Sophy's and Nicole's battle with fear, and if you want to see if Nicole will ever get to come home, you'll have to read Humming Whispers.
The book is about two girls, Sophy and Nicole. Sophy is younger and often panics about developing her sisters diagnosis - schizophrenia. Nicole's diagnosis was so intense that she has been in the hospital for quite sometime receiving help. Not only is Sophy worried about this diagnosis, but also because of these whispers in her head (that aren't talked about enough in my opinion). Sophy is determined to have a deeper relationship with her sister once her sister comes home. It's her chance to finally ignore these whispers and lies and fight for a relationship with her sister that they should have always had.
So, if you want to find out more about Sophy's and Nicole's battle with fear, and if you want to see if Nicole will ever get to come home, you'll have to read Humming Whispers.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews