by Lazaros Zigomanis

PB 368 | 198 x 129 | ISBN: 9781922858146 | $19.99
Young Adult | Also available as ebook
MidnightSun Publishing | August 2023
Distributed by NewSouth Books

I don’t get this.

I’m fifteen! And in Year 10!

I don’t have anything to worry about.

But when I wake up one night, terrified, it starts a journey of trying to find out what’s wrong. I can’t go to Mum and Dad. They wouldn’t understand. And they’d make fun of me at school. So I’m off to strange doctors, and scurrying around like everything’s okay, while everything’s coming apart.

I don’t get this.

But I’m gonna try to work it out.

Set in the late 80s, a fifteen-year-old unnamed Greek boy is completely confused about what is going on as he tries to fend off what we now know as anxiety, panic attacks and depression while surrounded by his Greek family, friends and girls he might or might not have a crush on.

‘This is a raw and powerful YA novel that takes an unflinching deep dive into anxiety and mental health. Lazaros Zigomanis writes with candour, flair and humour about adolescence, migrant parents and relationships. Full of late 80s nostalgia but still incredibly timely, This will be a beacon to many readers – young and old – who can relate to the experience of surviving high school with mental health challenges.’ Holden Sheppard, award-winning author of Invisible Boys and The Brink

‘Raw, endearingly honest and full of heart.’ — Demet Divaroren, award-winning author of Living on Hope Street