7.4 /10 1 Votes
Country U.S.A. Publication date April 14, 1980 Pages 179 Genre Young adult fiction Publisher Viking Press | 3.7/5 Goodreads Language English Media type Print (Hardcover) Originally published 14 April 1980 Page count 179 ISBN 9780670417858 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Similar A Day No Pigs Would Die, A long way to go, Midget, Blood Promise, Fireworks and Darkness | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Language of Goldfish is a young adult novel by Zibby Oneal, first published in 1980. It chronicles the mental breakdown of a young teenage girl.
Plot summary
Carrie Stokes, age 13, is suffering a mental breakdown due to her fear of change. She is growing up without realizing it, or perhaps blatantly ignoring it, until it gets too hard for her to pretend that everything is the same as it was when she was a young girl. Carrie is a skilled artist and takes lessons with the art teacher at her school. Carrie's parents do not show much support for Carrie's passion for art; every time Carrie shows her parents an art piece, they seem unimpressed. Moira, Carrie's older sister, is a constant reminder that she inevitably has to grow up. She has an anxiety disorder because she is worried about the social graces and rites of passage – such as going to school dances – that growing up entails.