Alyssa Sheinmel

author

A Danger to Herself and Others

Girl, Interrupted meets We Were Liars in this gripping new novel from New York Times bestselling author Alyssa Sheinmel.

Four walls. One window. No way to escape.

Hannah knows there’s been a mistake. She didn’t need to be institutionalized. What happened to her roommate at that summer program was an accident. As soon as the doctors and the judge figure out she isn’t a danger to herself or others, she can go home to start her senior year. Those college applications aren’t going to write themselves. Until then, she’s determined to win over the staff and earn some privileges so she doesn’t lose her mind to boredom.

Then Lucy arrives. Lucy has her own baggage, and she’s the perfect project to keep Hannah’s focus off all she is missing at home. But Lucy may be the one person who can get Hannah to confront the secrets she’s avoiding—and the dangerous games that landed her in confinement in the first place.

Praise for A Danger to Herself and Others

A compelling and beautifully told story about one girl’s struggle inside a mental health facility that will keep you breathless until the last, stunning page.
—Kathleen Glasgow, author of the New York Times bestselling Girl in Pieces

A tense and terrific read. Sheinmel has worked a bit of magic in these pages, bringing to life a character you’ll never forget in Hannah.
—Natalie D. Richards, author of One Was Lost and What You Hide 

A great story full of mystery, heartbreak and hope. Hannah’s voice will draw readers in, even if everything is not quite what it appears to be.
—Jennifer Shaw Wolf, author of Dead Girls Don’t Lie and Breaking Beautiful

Intense, compelling and wholly original, A Danger to Herself and Others is a smart psychological mystery with a memorable protagonist and a plot twist you won’t see coming.
—Kerry Kletter, author of The First Time She Drowned

The author’s beautiful prose strikes a perfect balance between serious emotion and humorous dialogue. A thrilling page-turner and worthy choice for high school libraries.
— ⃰School Library Journal, starred

A respectful, authentic rendering of mental illness and treatment.
Kirkus Reviews

This compelling character study begins like a thriller—the mystery of what happened to her friend Agnes draws considerable suspense…but it becomes a nuanced exploration of mental illness.
Booklist

This book offers an honest look at one young person’s experience with mental illness, as well as the impact mental disease has on others.
School Library Connection

Devastating. This is already one of my favorite books of the year.
The Irish Times

Cunning… keeps the reader guessing.
Financial Times

Hannah is as irresistible as she is unreliable.
Teach Secondary Magazine

A wonderful, suspenseful read that does more than just tell a riveting story. The book opens the door to a larger narrative and seeks to cultivate compassion and understanding.
Cleaver Magazine

Well-written with strong themes of ultimate truth and inner strength and a very mysterious tone… Sheinmel holds nothing back.
—TeenReads.com

Rich, compelling, dark, thrilling…A brilliant, genre-bending novel that isn’t easily forgotten about—and nor should it be.
—Culturefly.co.uk

International Editions

A Danger to Herself and Others (Hungarian cover) by author Alyssa Sheinmel

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