Crazy Comes in Threes

by Elizabeth Barone

Crazy runs in Quinn's family. Is she next?

Bad things always happen to Quinn in threes. First her bipolar mother is involuntarily committed to the behavioral disoder unit of the hospital. Then Quinn moves in with her new college roommates, only to find that they are each as different as night and day. But the worst is yet to come: if Quinn can't support her eleven-year-old sister, Tara will go into the foster care system, and Quinn will never see her again.

Quinn devises a plan. She brings Tara to the dorms, telling her resident assistant and the desk attendant that her little sister is only spending the night. At first no one notices that Tara never actually goes home, but after a few days, Quinn’s roommates get suspicious. Tara’s social worker could stop by their house at any time and take Tara away forever. Quinn has to choose between her dream of living the college life, or Tara’s safety.

Crazy Comes in Threes is a New Adult drama for twenty-somethings, and is the first novel in the Comes in Threes series.

Genres: New Adult

ebook

First published December 17, 2013

About the author

Elizabeth Barone writes romance with a body count—sometimes figuratively, sometimes literally (but always fictionally, for legal reasons). She writes both because life isn’t just dark or light, it’s both.

Before publishing her debut novel, she was a web designer writing code instead of stories. It took a debilitating autoimmune disorder to shove her onto the path she was always meant to be on.

Elizabeth has published over a dozen novels, and has so many ideas for more, she finally has the job security she always dreamed of. She lives in Connecticut with her husband Mike, more coffee mugs than she’ll ever need, and too many characters “talking” to her.

Reviews

[Amy Fox · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book may have not been my favorite written book But it does open up eyes to degrees of mental illness that is out there. And how quickly it can change a life of their families.

[Sarah Jimenez · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book tells the story of Quinn & her little sister Tara as they deal with a mother with debilitating mental illness, Quinn gaining custody of her sister, and trying to find a new "normal." Quinn desperately wants to go to college, live in the dorms, and for once be the quintessential teenager--going to parties, studying over pizza, and making friends with her roommates. But it all falls apart as her Mother's bipolar disorder makes it necessary for Quinn to "step up" and take care of her little sister.

Barone uses Nancy's (Quinn's mother) bipolar disorder to show how damaging mental illness can be, not only to the person suffering, but how the family as a whole is affected as well. I loved that Barone had Quinn confront ugly stereotypes we have as society ("those" people are crazy, only lazy "abusers" need food stamps, etc). It was a great opening to what could definitely be a deep story that deals with mental illness, families, the fallout, and how it's possible to peace your life back together after it's shattered.

This is the first book in a series Barone had to put on the back burner and I am eagerly waiting to see what else she does with it.

[Kimberly Morris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a well written novel. The writing allowed you to feel everything the main character was feeling. I could feel how stressed and overwhelmed she was. I'm not really sure what area I would put this book in though because I didn't feel that it was a romance.
I didn't particularly care for Quinn much. She was stupidly prideful about a lot of things that could have helped her and made her life just a bit easier. I didn't like the way she treated her neighbors much either.
The story is filled with a lot of sad drama that would make anyone want to jump/slit/swallow something.
Very well written though.

[Kaila · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such A Good Read! Finished It Quickly. I Loved It. It's Refreshing To Read A Novel Not Solely Based On Romance. I Adore That Quinn Is Doing Whatever She Can To Keep Her Little Sister With Her. I Highly Recommend! Can't Wait For The Next Novel!!

[Alwaysreadingbooks - Reading Drinking and Relaxing · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book for an honest review

I loved this book and the craziness of it all. Quinn and Tara have a really tough life and it only got worse as time went on. I look forward to reading the rest of this series to see what lies ahead for Quinn and Tara

[Mindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely love everything that I have read by this author. The characters are so real and relatable as are the situations they are going through.
You can't help but feel for Quinn as she does everything she can to make things okay for herself and her sister. I couldn't put this book down!

[J.C. Hannigan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eager to read the rest of Quinn and Tara's journey! Read this in one afternoon...loved it!

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

Devoured this in less than a day (yay slow days at work!) and I can't wait for the next installment!

[Rachel-ann Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing story. Couldn't put it down. Can't wait for the next one.