Everything Is Fine.

by Ann Dee Ellis

Stuck at home caring for her severely depressed mother and abandoned by her father, Mazzy has only the day-to-day dramas of her neighborhood to keep her busy. But between flirting with the boy next door and worrying about the fact that she's flat-chested, Mazzy has to face the fact that her mom is emotionally paralyzed by a family tragedy. As readers delve into the story, they'll eventually discover what it was that tore Mazzy's family apart, and they'll see what it takes to put it back together.

Despite its serious subject matter, Mazzy brings humor to the trying age of adolescence and gives readers just the kind of awkward, troubled, and endearing character they will gladly embrace.

Genres: Young Adult, Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Middle Grade, Contemporary, Teen, Family

160 pages, Hardcover

First published February 6, 2009

About the author

Ann Dee (pronounced "Andy") Ellis received an MA from Brigham Young University, where she now works as an instructor for creative writing for children and young adults. She lives in Utah with her husband and two young sons.

Reviews

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer · Rating 5 out of 5]

It only takes a few chapters in this novel in verse for the reader to see that everything is not fine in this household. Mazeline lives alone with her mother, who is severely depressed to the point of being nonfunctional after the death of Mazzy's little sister Olivia. The story of how Olivia died, a real shocker at the end and not what I expected, is revealed gradually, which keeps up the suspense and makes the book unable to be put down. Various neighbors and a social worker stop by to try to determine if everything is all right, and Mazzy does a fair job of keeping them from the truth. And where is her father? Off on a job with ESPN. Mazzy keeps the truth from him, too.

Mazzy, the narrator, is an interesting character, who acts and thinks younger than she really is, though her actual age, as far as I can recall, is never revealed in the story, though I assume she must be in middle school, based on her concern over having larger breasts. At times I almost wondered if she could be mildly mentally handicapped. However, the real reason why Mazzy acts the way she does is revealed at the end. The story was well crafted to reveal bits and pieces of the puzzle gradually, with the major pieces revealed at the end. Once I started reading, I just couldn't put it down. I so badly wanted things to work out for this kid, for some adult if not her father to step in and get her mother some help. Emotionally charged and suspenseful, I highly recommend this book for teen and adult readers.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I finished Everything is Fine in about one sitting. The writing is so crisp and minimalist and evocative that you devour the story before realizing what Ann Dee's up to. She doesn't give us much time to reflect, which makes it all the more necessary to pay attention to the psychological nuance. This book's main character is as disturbing as the hapless protagonist in This is What I Did, Ann Dee's first book, and just as endearing. She gives us limited access to a vulnerable person whose interior world seems so exposed to us, but we learn what Mazzy feels more by visual cues, her little tics and anxious movements, than what she says. Ann Dee's prose style is more poetry than prose, which makes for fast, to-the-gut reading. Just as we're easing into the cadence of a broken domestic life, tragedy strikes, and the tragedy serves less as a plot device than an illumination of what has gone before. Ann Dee has a keen sense of teen conversation, a mixture of stupid goofing and razor's edge feelings. We're more eavesdroppers than anything--interior access is barred, which makes the lightning revelations more important as they accumulate into a prose poem of fragile youth, written with charity and insight.

(Disclaimer: Ann Dee's a good friend of mine!)

[Holland 2010 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mazzy is 12 years old she has to take of her sick mother because her father is out of town for work.She lives in a messy house she dosn't have time to clean it up becuase of her mother.Her mother is depressed what had happend to her last baby.
Everyone in the neighborhood is worrid about her and her mom,everyone tries to help her but mazzy dosnt want any help until a lady will take her mother to the hospital and mazzy will has to kansas thats when she needs help.Her only help is her father.
Soon as she gets hold of her father he comes home to help her.He thinks it also better to take his wife to the hospitl and Mazzy to Kansas but Mazzy wont let that happend.In the mornging when her father is getting ready to take her mother she packs up anything she could gets one of her friend neighbor (which hes the same age of her)to help her his job is to drive the car and Mazzys job is to grave her mother and put her in the car when her mother cant move,she gets help but when she comes back with help she cant find her.When she looks in one room she finds her mom sitting on her fathers lap talking!then Mazzy tells herself thay everything is fine.

-Brenda Heredia

[Annalisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I admire people who can write so beautiful and powerful a story in so few words.

[Mari · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just rip out my heart, why don't you?
Beautiful book. I don't know how I would have felt as a teen reading it (I don't know how much of the subtext I would have been experienced enough to get), but I think I would have loved it. As an adult, I think ALL adults need to read this book.
It's a perfect example of "painful seasons": bad things happen, but the book is wise enough to contextualize them with normal moments. And it shows something the world REALLY needs (or maybe just me and my friends): mental health issues do not condemn you forever. Seasons of pain can and do end, and you will survive.
Really great book

[Isabella Worthington · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was not one of my most favorites to read, for the fact of that it was a little bit difficult to follow along with what was going on. There were different times were the story would get very intense, and you would want to keep turning the page, but then it would change to a weird fact or something that the girl, Mazzy, had seen of TV. By doing this, then you would sort of loose interest in what was going on in the novel. Overall, the story was rough, but in a way where you feel for the main character. Mazzy had been through so much with everything, and her mother was struggling with depression, you have to feel for his little girl, who is raising herself the best that she could. This story would have been even better if there was a different way of telling it though.

[Lacey Louwagie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe I've just read too many young adult "problem novels," but this book didn't excite me. It centers on the relationship Mazzy has with those around her -- especially her mother -- in the aftermath of her younger sister's death. The subject matter is fairly original, the writing beautiful in places, and the characters well-defined. Mazzy feels like a real adolescent girl who has lived through and is trying to make sense of trauma. The style is very reminiscent of Lyn Rae Perkins work, except with a bit more plot. But like LRP, this book has the strange feel of being set "in the past" -- in the world where the author was a young adult, and not in the world of today's young adults. There's no mention of the Internet or cell phones anywhere. Unlike LRP, though, Ann Dee Ellis doesn't make a point of setting the book in a previous time, making me think it's supposed to be current -- it just doesn't quite feel that way.

Mazzy's mother was an artist before she fell into her grief-stricken depression, and Mazzy explores art throughout the book as she copes with the challenges in her life. Since I listened to the audio book, I only heard the names of her pieces of art. I was excited to look in the printed book to see them -- but was disappointed that the printed book only has their names and generic images of crayons or paint smears or whatever. I think the interjection of Mazzy's actual artwork could have really enriched this book. As it was, it was a book in which I could see a lot of literary merit, but which didn't do a whole lot for me in spite of that.

[Alea · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was strange it was hard for me to comprehend. Though, everything made more sense after finding out about the horrible tragedy this family went through. Still something was off. I think it was the character of Mazzy. At first I thought maybe she had regressed backwards in maturity after the tragedy but after reading a bit about before it happened it seemed she was still kind of the same. I found it strange that she karate chopped people when she was upset or didn't know what to do, but found out this is something she also did before as well. I sort of pinpointed her around 6th-7th grade. I don't know. And wearing oranges in your bra multiple times, I sort of felt like she was trying to get attention with some of the strange things she did.

The situation the family was in was just hard to read as well. A catatonic mother and an absent family basically leaving this child to take care of herself. Thankfully she had neighbors to check on her when she allowed it. It was just really hard to read. Thankfully there were bits of humor sprinkled through the book, Mazzy's opinion on Oprah or her chats with her neighbor Colby.
One thing I really liked about the book were Mazzy's artwork. Basically abstract art (smudges etc) that was pretty interesting to see.

I felt like the ending was going in a hopeful direction but it wasn't really enough for me personally. None the less, this was an interesting and emotional book.

[Karin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mazzy has more responsibility than most people her age. She has a severely depressed mother that barely moves and a father more concerned with his career than with what is going on at home. Her only companionship comes from her neighbors, but friendships are hard to maintain because of her strange and off-putting behaviors. The only outlet Mazzy has is art. Her mother’s abandoned art supplies provide her with a way to express her true feelings when everywhere else she has to hide what is really happening in her life.

Readers witness the family’s struggles through Mazzy’s eyes and the reason for their downhill spiral becomes clear as the story unfolds. The author has written a short novel about a serious subject and your heart will go out to Mazzy.

The author could have developed Mazzy’s artistic nature a bit more. It just seemed to be scattered here and there throughout the book and we never see her process of creating - just the product; however, this doesn’t take away from the story. With only 154 pages of scarce text this is a book you can fit in anytime.

[Danii · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everything is Fine i chose this book because it looked really excting to read and it was, the main charater was Mazzy she was quite intresting at first i though mazzy and colby were gonna go out sometime it seemed liked they liked eachother but i guess not she talked about her mom alot i guess she just cared alot well this was a super duper amazing book i loved it, this book i couldnt stop reading it was so good i loved it, thanks the problem was that mazzy didnt want her mom to go away so she told her dad shell take care of her and she did people brough food over every week and then social servcies came by and it was bad an in the end this was an amazing book at the end her dad came home and everything was perfect again (:

[A · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ouch! Really tough read. I won't tell you which issue(s) it covers, but it does it very well.

I would say it's definitely lighter than some of the other "issues" books, like Wintergirls or Living Dead Girl Definitely worth a read and ok for younger readers (LDG is pretty graphic--I'm over 30, and went *through* that kind of thing, and I still squirmed! I wouldn't give that one to anyone younger than, say, 16.)

Review pending.

[Kathleen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, I vacillated between one star (didn't like it) and two (it was okay) and decided to go for two, since the actual idea behind the book was interesting. I didn't care for the writing style and I could not stand the characters, I mean uniformly detested them - the protagonist included. I don't want to give any spoilers, so suffice it to say that Mazzy has reason to be off-putting, angry, you name it, but page after page of it was too much to bear. I was actually relieved to get to the too tidily ended conclusion.

[LuAnn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm sure this is a book that my students who are fans of Ellen Hopkins will like, but I wanted more than the sparseness the book provided. I really missed the sense of place, character development, and I felt cheated at the end of the book. I had to reread the last section just to make sure I hadn't missed something, some point of resolution. It was like the book just ended, and I wasn't satisfied.

[Brandi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was incredibly difficult to read do to subject matter. Mazzie is left to take care of her deeply depressed mother. It's very hard to pin an age on Mazzie but it seems that she acts younger than her age because of all the stress in her life.

Everything is Fine is written in prose with small vingettes about her daily activities.

It's a great book but be prepared for a few tears.

[Mrs. Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked the writing and the way the story slowly unwound, but I'm not sure middle schoolers would stick with it long enough to get it. Your mature readers probably would. It's not a very uplifting story....really tragic!

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the style of this book. Short sentences, and the voice of the character was clear as a bell.

[Emily Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Norma, She is a kind and generous. Norma is trying to make friends. But everyone is super worried about her mom. So they keep on asking Norma if her mom is okay. So she said “yes she is fine but she was lying”. Norma doesn't want people to worry about her mom. Then this lady asked if she could see her mom, Norma said “no you may not you fat lady with the red car and no cats.” Then instead of the lady listening to Norma she went and saw Norma’s mom anyways. But when she went to see her the lady was like you don't look as great as your daughter said. The next day Norma met this guy named Colby he is Norma’s neighbor. He just moved in with his family.

Norma made a nickname for Colby and his nickname is the Dean Machine. The reason why it is the Dean Machine is because his last name is Dean. also he has muscles so he can lift heavy things unlike Norma. She had a crush on him ever since he moved to that house and became neighbors. That day Norma was watching Colby, and when Colby is outside doing yard work or doing something. Norma will watch him until he is done. But Norma doesn't when Colby goes inside.” But then Norma met a guy named Mr Gorbin he is a teacher he is very outgoing and bold. He does not hide these things from the students. Because he doesn't want them to think really bad about him. the only thing is that Norma does not listen to him when she is supposed to. So Mr Gorbin has to get after her and yell at her. So it seems like her and Mr Gorbin hate each other. So they won't talk at all and she will never ask him question on anything.

So what this story is all about is that this girl named Norma is very outspoken, and doesn't know what to say sometimes to other people. Like the time she yelled at the lady, for asking to see her mom and Norma said no. Because she did not think her mom was ready. So then she met this colby guy and she had a crush on him. And she would get super sad when he went inside because she could not watch him do stuff. Because that was one of her things to do during the day is to watch him. But then Norma met this teacher named Mr Gorbin and they did not get along at all. Every time Norma did something she got yelled at because it would be naughty. so that is what the story is all about is that Norma is very outspoken and does things she shouldn't do.

I know someone that acts the same way and he or she can be a pain. But the thing is I still care for them and will always stand up for them no matter what. This story reminds me of this poem that says” to be or not to be”. The reason why is because Norma is a sweet girl when she is around Colby. But when she is around Mr Gorbin she does not want to be herself in that class or in school. This book relates to people that are in are world that can't exist to be nice or calm at once. But some people are different because when you see people for the first time they act different so maybe they are different when you get to know them for a long time.

[Rose Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Snowstorm has been messing up my WiFi and tv so I chose to marathon this very short 150 page book. I had read it a couple years ago and it's just one of those books that are great for when you're in a reading slump or are in between bigger books.
it's partially written in what I believe is called verse writing and it honestly works so well with the story. it's a story of a severely depressed mother who has lost her child and is left alone with her middle school aged daughter. it's a pretty sad story, but not enough to get you all emotional
you really start to feel for Mazzy and her mother.
I think my favorite parts about this book are Mazzy's relationship with her older neighbor Norma, the scene with her and her mother in the bathtub, and the little end scene between her parents
overall this book was good for what I needed it for which was a filler before my next book and it's just a very quick read

[Sarah Obsesses over Books & Cookies · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a glimpse into the life of a girl (12-14?) named Mazzaline (Mazzy) who is dealing with her mother who is not well. Mazzy's younger sister Olivia is dead and we slowly find out why but that isn't the purpose of the book. It's more about the emotions and way of Mazzy's thinking. The book is written in little short snippets of her thoughts about the neighbor boy - and their interactions and how TRUE they are and the lady across the street Norma who Mazzy likes and describes as a fat fat fatty (I didn't like that but after reading through to the end it rang true to the character). And her father who is a big shot trying to make it in ESPN.

I read this in a sitting and I think that's the way to do this. it's super short and I wished it were longer. I loved Mazzy's thoughts that were accurate to her age and funny and also very sad.

[Terry]

It took me a little while to get into the author's writing style. It is a part narrative and part novel in verse, so the stream-of-consciousness thinking and flashbacks didn't always mesh neatly. While Mazzy is the heart of the story, what drives the plot is her mom's debilitating depression. There were plenty enough hints early on why she is depressed. It is not all dark and depressing, though. There are lighter moments. I like how Mazzy's relationship with Norma (adult neighbor) evolved because it taught her something about herself. Her relationship with Colby was the most normal thing in the book.

Find out who would like reading this book in the full reivew.

[Allie Fullerton (thelightfilledreader) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book started off rocky- a book my adviser said I should read but that sounded dumb and the complete opposite of "my kind of book". But as I kept reading I got sucked into Mazzy's world. While I did not appreciate some of the ways certain content was handled, the writing and structure of the novel was genius. Readers slowly figure out all of the unanswered questions introduced in the beginning of the book, a slow, dramatic, realistic, and haunting understanding. I love novels that don't play all of their cards right away in nontraditional ways.

[Karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

The writing in this book.
It is kind of annoying.
Because every sentence is written on a new line.
It makes the story feel disjointed and choppy.
The story itself is only okay.
And it doesn’t make up for the choppy style.

[Jamie Hansen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Probably another 3.5 stars for me, and yet another that suffered (for me personally) because I listened to the audiobook. I think I would have had a different experience if I had read it. Compelling characters and backstory, though tragic and intense. Packs quite an emotional punch.

[Zoe Zuniga · Rating 5 out of 5]

sweet, short, spare. great dialogue just the way real kids talk.

[Ranette · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a heart breaking short book about how a family copes with tragedy.

[Melody Loomis · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was alright. I think the formatting was a little difficult to get used to. It was kind of hard to tell who was talking at times. But overall not a terrible story.

[Sophia · Rating 1 out of 5]

tw // suicide mentions.

this was weird. i was uncomfortable. i was confused because the pacing was so freaking weird. all the characters are weird. it’s boring. i just, idk. i don’t like this. sorry

[Kari Allsup · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an insightful story. Ellis writes convincingly in Masolene’s voice. Quick read!

[Darlene Young · Rating 4 out of 5]

She is soooooo good at voice.

[Jeanette · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story kept me on the edge of my seat! 4 stars.