AustLit

Fulcher points out that Elizabeth Fensham 'does not shy away from a gritty theme' and Goodbye Jamie Boyd focuses on mental illness in a story that 'connects the reader intimately to the sixteen year old protagonist Anna', who admits on the first page, "Before I killed him, my brother was my best friend". (Fulcher, 36). Fulcher says that while 'the lilting verse and poignant portrait of this young girl's struggle with mental illness is a pleasure to read', the text's conclusion is disappointing. She says that the 'rehabilitation and management of her schizophrenia and cutting habit appears too easy' and that 'it may be misleading to present a recovery that is so effortless' in relation to such a serious issue (36).