Helena Fox lives in Wollongong, Australia, where she runs creative writing workshops for young people. She's a graduate of the MFA Program for Writers at Warren Wilson College in North Carolina. How It Feels to Float is her debut novel. She can be found at www.helenafoxauthor.com
“I haven’t been so dazzled by a YA in ages. . . . Biz’s voice is
wild and rollicking, lyrical and hilarious, utterly authentic . . .
There isn’t a false note.” —Jandy Nelson, author of I’ll Give You
the Sun (via School Library Journal)
"[How It Feels to Float] explores intergenerational mental illness
in a way that is nothing short of exquisite." —PopSugar
"A profoundly moving story about grief, loss, and love that will
take your breath away. Helena Fox is a writer to be reckoned with."
—Kathleen Glasgow, author of Girl in Pieces
"If you've read Anna Borges's story for The Outline "I Am Not
Always Very Attached To Being Alive," you are perhaps already
acquainted with the idea of "treading to stay afloat" when living
with mental illness. In How It Feels To Float, author Helena Fox
tells the story of a young woman floating through life, struggling
to hide her dark thoughts and a past marked by intergenerational
mental illness. —Bustle
“How It Feels to Float is technically a YA novel, but I'm not
talking Twilight YA. I'm talking
give-this-to-all-your-twenty-something-friends-immediately
YA. This book will relate to anyone that's lived through
the confusing mind-f*ck that is being a high school girl. More
than that, it tackles mental health, depression, sexual identity,
and anxiety with beauty and empathy as protagonist Biz comes to
terms with the death of her father amid a devastating
social fall-out.” —Cosmopolitan.com
"Beautifully written, Biz's story (of dark thoughts, grief and
questioning her sexuality) is subtly revealed and immensely
satisfying as she slowly unravels and puts herself together again."
—Girls' Life
"Teens who don’t want to be labeled, who don’t conform to
checklists of attributes or fall into tidy boxes, will relate hard
to this book about a girl who wants, very badly at times, to float
away, but who ultimately finds herself . . . Full of life,
resplendent with sensory details, lush descriptions, clever and
witty narration, and a beating heart that will make yours swell
with feeling.” —B&N Teen Blog
★ “Lyrical and profoundly affecting, providing a nuanced account of
the hereditary effects of trauma. Haunting.” —Kirkus (starred
review)
★ "Biz is smart, funny, and self-deprecating . . . [How It Feels to
Float is] a masterful portrayal of mental illness that illuminates
the complex interplay between emotional trauma and the mind’s
subsequent recoil. And the writing is just
beautiful." —Booklist (starred review)
★ “Exquisite . . . Through lyrical first-person narration, Fox
empathically conveys the hereditary nature of Biz’s illness, its
disorienting manifestations, and the limitations and power of love
to heal.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
★ “Fox writes with superb understanding and tenderness . . . The
poignant depiction of depression is leavened by secondary
characters who love Biz, ranging from Jasper’s photographer
grandmother to Jasper himself and even to Biz’s doomed dad, who may
have lost to his demons but who has a larky beauty that lights up
the pages. . . . Ambiguity enhances the beautiful, unsteady shimmer
of Biz’s story.” —BCCB (starred review)
★ “This is a frank story of mental illness, loss, and sexual
identity, and Fox responsibly concludes her story with information
and support services for readers facing similar issues. How It
Feels to Float is a beautifully crafted story of finding hope and
love when both appear to be gone forever.” —BookPage (starred
review)
“A YA The Bell Jar with a ghostly twist, [and an] honest, nuanced
portrayal of grief and life with mental illness. . . . A
mesmerizing and timely debut.” —Bustle
"Beautifully written and deeply moving . . . Just as much a story
of hope and the power of love and friendship." —Common Sense
Media
“This book will explode you into atoms, put you back together, and
return the new shape of you to earth. Alive with sensation and rich
in thought and feeling, How it Feels to Float intensively explores
what it’s like to be here now.” —Margo Lanagan, author of Tender
Morsels
"Impossibly beautiful, life-affirming, profound. This is not a
book; it is a work of art." —Kerry Kletter, author of The First
Time She Drowned
“Every now and then you pick up a novel and you know you’ve found
something wonderful—a glorious voice, a character you adore. Helena
Fox’s novel delivers. It is exquisite. Read it.” —Cath Crowley,
author of Words in Deep Blue
"It is a testament to Helena Fox’s immense skill as a writer that
all the disparate elements come together seamlessly in an intense,
intimate portrait of a teenage girl. Like Biz in the darkroom, the
author dodges and burns, keeping her characters moving, exposing
them to the light." —The Saturday Paper
"A perfect, surreal exploration of mental illness and grief.
Fox’s writing is poetry, bringing the reader to the brink of Biz’s
madness and back again as she finds new ways to make meaning, and
new people to make it with. . . . How It Feels to Float is a
visceral reading experience that captures the way in which many
teens struggle with mental illness. It is a lesson in acceptance
and understanding, and readers will be deeply
moved." —Books+Publishing
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