Mental Illness in YA Month: Interview with Eric Smith

Today for Mental Illness in YA Month, I have YA author of The Girl and the Grove, Eric Smith, stopping by to talk about his latest novel, and how his protagonist, Leila, has seasonal affective disorder.

Can you tell us a little about The Girl and the Grove?

Sure! It’s a novel about a recently-adopted teen who discovers that the voices she’s heard her whole life might be connected to who she really is, and follows them into a city park in the heart of Philadelphia. It could be that her biological origins hold some kind of magical secret, and that the answers lie in the natural world.

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Mental Illness in YA Month Review: The Girl and the Grove by Eric Smith

The Girl and the Grove by Eric Smith (eProof) - Teenager Leila’s life is full of challenges. From bouncing around the foster care system to living with seasonal affective disorder, she’s never had an easy road. Leila keeps herself busy with her passion for environmental advocacy, monitoring the Urban Ecovists message board and joining a local environmental club with her best friend Sarika. And now that Leila has finally been adopted, she dares to hope her life will improve.

But the voices in Leila’s head are growing louder by the day. Ignoring them isn’t working anymore. Something calls out to her from the grove at Fairmount Park. From Goodreads.

I received this eProof for free from Flux via NetGalley for the purposes of providing an honest review.

Trigger Warning: This book features racism.

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