Hijacked by Goats

Braden, Ann. Highjacked by Goats

September 8, 2026 by Nancy Paulsen Books

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Josie Martinez is willingly starting a stint at the Bryce Haven Psychiatric Hospital, although it was precipitated by an incident where she cut herself because of stress. She wants to please everyone, and her brain tells her she should be punished when things go wrong, so the drama in her friend group worsened her usual anxious condition. She immediately befriends Phoebe, who is working through anger issues. Josie's hobby is making art out of trash, so when the girls find a small infestation of ladybugs, they build a ladybug hotel to keep them safe. Josie's single father works at the grocery store, but is devoted to her care, and visits her even though she is an hour away from home. She benefits from therapy, medication is started, and she is diagnosed with not only anxiety and depressive disorders, but also a form of OCD. After Phoebe leaves, Josie goes home, but is still too fragile to be left alone during the day, even though the father has taken all of the scissors and knives out of the house. Because he has to go to work, he has a retired neighbor, Ms. Crandall, stay with Josie. Ms. Crandall doesn't fool around, and soon has Josie doing yoga, eating lentils and yogurt for breakfast, knitting, copying words from the dictionary, and doing crossword puzzles. Josie also starts seeing a therapist, Rayna, who compares Josie's intrusive thoughts to the goat that the Martinez' are kidsitting at their farm. Hal is stinky and obnoxious, and will frequently plant himself on top of the car or mailbox, interfering with daily activities. Josie's thoughts are the same, and she has to learn how to manage them. She meets up with Phoebe when she travels to Buffalo for her appointments, and finds some comfort in playing soccer. Her father has limited her contact with her friends and her social media, but eventually she has to tell them what that's happened and return to school. Some friends, like Lucy, understand what Josie is going through, and others are best avoided. Hal eventually goes home, and Josie has a lot of support in place to deal with her various mental health issues. 

Strengths: When I quickly went through my mental file for "books where characters are hospitalized for mental health disorders", the first thing I came up with was John Neufeld's 1969 Lisa Bright and Dark, followed by Green and Greenberg's 1964 I Never Promised You a Rose Garden. Josie's experience is MUCH different, and much more indicative of the state of mental health care in 2026. Thirty to fifty years ago, a tween being treated in a psychiatric facilty would have been more unusual and dire; today, while still dire, it is much more common, as well as more accepted. Josie's father doesn't hesitate at all to get her any of the help she needs, and makes sure she has appointments with different types of doctors to fully address her issues. It was good to see that she had time away from her friends, but that she was able to be honest with them about her diagnosis. Of course, my favorite character was Ms. Crandall; even though she is doing all of the things that my generation thinks will cure any mental health challenges, she never mentions anything about Josie's anxiety, depression, or intrusive thoughts as she forces her to participate in therapeutic "grandma hobbies"! It was good to see her develop a relationship with Phoebe and to take up soccer. 
Weaknesses: The cover is not attractive and looks like the book was published in 1989. I wish this didn't matter, but it does. If the goat was completely necessary to have on the cover, I would have chosen something more like Piontek's Better with Butter, which is another instructive book about anxiety that students pick up because the cover is cute. 
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who want a clearer look at a serious mental health issue. It's important to keep these books updated in a school library; I know I weeded Tasjian's excellent 1999 Multiple Choice and Hesser's Kissing Doorknobs because the treatments seemed outdated. Hand this to readers who found Pyron's Octopus Moon, Khan's Drawing Deena or Rompella's Cookie Cutters & Sled Runners interesting. I'll probably buy a copy, but the cover might make this a title that requires some hand selling.