Trigger by Susan Vaught

How would it be to wake up in a hospital with brain damage and no memory of how you got there? Would you be able to believe it if you were told you shot yourself in the head in an attempt to commit suicide? That is the world Jersey lives in. He has spent almost a year in the hospital and rehabilitation center recovering and learning how to live with his brain injury and a battered body as a result of the injury. Now, Jersey is going home and will also have to learn how to live with family and friends who don't quite know how to react and deal with his suicide attempt. Jersey will also begin to explore the reason why he tried to kill himself. He was once athletic and popular, but now Jersey can barely get his body to do want his brain tries to tell it to do and his friends are mostly angry at him. He finds that people tend to either be too sympathetic to his ordeal or overly angry. His memories come back to him in quick flashbacks that he must try to put together into one cohesive memory. He has trouble speaking, and sometimes has trouble not speaking as he tends to spout of whatever is on his mind thanks to the brain injury.

The story is about Jersey's attempt to find himself, even when some do not want to tell him the whole story he needs in order to do so. While the reading level is not very difficult, the story can be difficult at times because of the serious subject matter. At times it can be hard to follow as the story is told in Jersey's voice, as it is with his brain injury. That can sometimes make it difficult to stay with the story. However, the book is worthwhile and will leave you with plenty to think about. You might want to share it with family and friends so you can discuss it.

Book; 14+; ISBN 9781582349206; New York : Bloomsbury, 2006