Tell Me When You Feel Something

One of CCBC’s Best Books for Kids and Teens, Fall 2021 — Starred Pick

The perfect after-school job turns deadly for teens working as “simulated patients” at the local med school. Everyone has something to hide and no one is safe in this contemporary YA thriller that exposes the dark reality of #MeToo in the world of medicine, for fans of Karen McManus and Holly Jackson.

It seemed like a cool part-time program — being a “simulated” patient for med school students to practice on. But now vivacious, charismatic Viv lies in a very real coma. Cellphone footage just leads to more questions. What really happened? Other kids suspect it was not an intentional overdose — but each has a reason why they can’t tell the truth.
Through intertwining and conflicting narratives, a twisted story unfolds of trust betrayed as we sift through the seemingly innocent events leading up to the tragic night. Perhaps simulated patients aren’t the only people pretending to be something they’re not . . .

Reviews

“Very interesting premiss – gripping – a page turner!”
Amazon review

“An important representation of the pressure that teenagers can feel and the damaging coping habits that they can use to maintain a semblance of normalcy.”
CM: Canadian Review of Materials

“A thriller about a 17-year-old whose life falls through the cracks.”
Kirkus Reviews

“Tell Me When You Feel Something is an intense young adult thriller!”
Amazon review