Dr. Bird's Advice for Sad Poets- Literary Essay

This is a story about a high school sophomore named James Whitman who has all sorts of problems. James is depressed, his parents don't really care, about him, he has a sister named Jorie who was thrown out of the house and expelled from school. She is living in a complete dump and can barely afford bus-fare. 

When James tries to get his sister back in school and back home, things get even more difficult. James doesn't even know why Jorie got expelled and he goes a little too far to try and find out. When James goes digging into his sister's past, her discovers many unwanted secrets.

Jorie has problems of her own, although James hardly knew about them. When James finds out about Jorie's dark past and problems at school, it shocks him. How could he have not known? He saw her everyday at home and yet never took a great notice to her fiery outbreaks and panic attacks. 

James' problems only grow when he asks his stubborn, abusive father if Jorie can come back home. His father refuses and the argument ends up tearing their family even further apart. Completely lost, James has hit rock bottom. There is nothing he has left. His best friend, his dream girl and his parents are against him. He is all alone. But James realizes that after hitting rock bottom, there is nowhere to go but up. 

This book story very uniquely portrays how one nobody can change his life and the lives of everyone he loves in an instant. 


The wonderful thing about this book is the fact that there are aspects of it that everyone can relate to. From romance, to heartbreak, to anger, to utter confusion, Dr. Bird's Advice for Sad Poets is a story full of self-discovery, learning to love life and best of all, poetry.