King of the Pygmies

"This treatment of mental illness from the viewpoint of someone experiencing it is also a compellingly, fluidly written study of an individual." — BULLETIN OF THE CENTER FOR CHILDREN'S BOOKS

When fifteen-year-old Penn starts to hear voices, he is terrified. He can hear his parents’ unspoken gripes, his retarded brother’s anxieties, and his neighbor’s desperation. His mother wants him to get treated for schizophrenia, but his similarly gifted uncle tells him that hearing others’ thoughts doesn’t make him sick; it makes him special. This compelling novel of a young man’s struggle to come to terms with his disability is a tale of courage, determination, and hope.