Four Weeks, Five People

By Jennifer Yu

A young adult novel with five different perspectives on what it's like attending a camp for teens with psychological issues.

They're more than their problems...

Obsessive–compulsive teen Clarissa wants to get better, if only so her mother will stop asking her if she's okay. Andrew wants to overcome his eating disorder so he can get back to his band and their dreams of becoming famous. Film aficionado Ben would rather live in the movies than in reality. Gorgeous and overly confident Mason thinks everyone is an idiot. And Stella just doesn't want to be back for her second summer of wilderness therapy.

As the five teens get to know one another and work to overcome the various disorders that have affected their lives, they find themselves forming bonds they never thought they would, discovering new truths about themselves and actually looking forward to the future.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Australia
• Release date: May 1, 2017
• ISBN: 9781489233349

Jennifer Yu

Jennifer Yu is a Boston resident and recent graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, where she studied creative writing. In her free time, she enjoys reading books she's too old for, playing the guitar and being far too invested in Boston sports teams. Find her online at byjenniferyu.tumblr.com or on Twitter: @yuontop.

Reviews for Four Weeks, Five People

[mjspear_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Five teens with various emotional issues are brought together for a four week summer camp. Sure to be appealing to YAs for the emotional sturm und drang and the authentic, if somewhat high strung, youth voices. The teens are dealing with OCD, anorexia, social phobia and anger management issues. That said, there is scant here for the more mature reader: the characters are stereotypes, adults are ineffective or idiots, only action equals under-age binge drinking (with ill effect, at least). It's Breakfast Club for the 2010s.

[olegalca · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

The book's summary sounded like a book right up my alley: 5 teenagers dealing with their problems at wilderness camp. But the narrative dragged and the most interesting character, Mason, was hardly given any attention so I consider it a failure.

[fionaanne · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Writing a book that weaves together five distinct points of view is an incredibly difficult thing to do successfully, and I feel like the author really bit off more than she could chew. The book starts promisingly enough but quickly becomes confused; none of the narrators have a distinct enough voice to make following the plot easy. And it's difficult to sustain an interest in a story when you don't know what's going on. The fact that the characters all feel like stock compilations of mental patients really doesn't help.

I recieved this book free through Goodreads from the publisher in exchange for a review.