Courage for Beginners

Tackling issues such as dealing with a parent’s mental illness and learning how to navigate the tricky social world of middle school, Karen Harrington’s middle-grade novel Courage for Beginners (2014) follows the growing independence of a seventh grader faced with a variety of tough but not insurmountable problems. Leaning on her sense of self, learning to trust her judgment of the people around her, and coping with the difficult emotional terrain of realizing that her parents are only human, the novel’s preteen protagonist emerges with a few small triumphs.

Twelve-year-old Mysti Murphy has just started seventh grade when her life is turned upside down. One problem is that Mysti’s mom is unable or unwilling to leave the house. This means that Mysti’s dad has to shoulder the responsibility for shopping, transportation, and other chores, on top of his full-time job. Before seventh grade, the main drawbacks of this life for Mysti were never going to restaurants and having to put off going to the dentist to fix the annoying gap between her front teeth. However, what is most worrying is that Mysti’s mom refuses to acknowledge that she has a problem.

To cope, Mysti has always relied on her love of stories and her ability to imagine herself as a character in a novel – a skill she thinks comes from the fact that one corner of her bed has always been propped up by books which seep into her brain while she sleeps. Mysti also has dealt with things by talking to her best friend, Anibal Gomez, whom she bonded with over their weird bed situations – his is a mattress made out of stuffed animals.



Now, Anibal has become problem number two: before the beginning of school, he told Mysti that he wanted to conduct a social experiment. In order to impress popular cheerleader Sandy Showalter enough to ask her to the fall social, Ani wants to become a “hipster” – a process that will require him to be actively mean to Mysti in school. Mysti goes along, suffering Ani’s mockery and consoled by the fact that in the evenings he texts her to say that he is still her friend and that everything is just for show.

The situation seems stable, if unpleasant, until the third problem spells disaster. Mysti’s dad falls out of a tree, injures his brain, and falls into a coma. At first, because of her mother’s condition, Mysti and her younger sister can’t even visit their dad in the hospital. When they go with the help of a neighbor, they are relieved to see him out of the coma, but it is clear that it will be several months before he can come home. Mysti has to somehow manage her schoolwork and at home, taking care of herself and her younger sister without letting anyone know about her family’s secret – her mother’s condition.

Soon, the house is running low on groceries; Mysti tries her best to be creative about food for home and school with vegetables from their garden. However, these will eventually run out. Mysti knows that the only thing to do is to go grocery shopping, but she is scared to do this alone.



At school, Mysti is forced to reboot her social life, which means eating lunch on Loser Island, a table for misfits and outcasts. There, Mysti befriends Wayne, a quiet boy, and Rama Khan, an aspiring doctor. Appalled by Ani’s behavior, Rama urges Mysti to stand up for herself.

One day, Mysti’s favorite fall event happens: a hot air balloon demonstration. Watching the balloons, she sees that one of them is from the Tom Thumb grocery store. When she waves to its pilot, he drops pieces of paper that turn out to be $5 off coupons. It seems like a sign. Summoning her courage, Mysti decides to go to the store by herself – a trip that soon turns into a regular part of her week.

When she returns from another Tom Thumb trip before Thanksgiving, it is pouring rain. Balancing heavy shopping bags and an umbrella, wearing a garish orange raincoat to be visible to drivers, and splashed by muddy water from a puddle, Mysti looks a fright. Worst of all is that the moment is photographed by Ani, a passenger in the car that just splashed her. The next day at school, the photo has been copied and pasted all over her locker. As kids torment her, Mysti realizes that Rama was right – Ani’s social experiment has changed him into a bully.



At home, Mysti flies into a rage at her mom, who finally breaks down and admits that she has a mental illness called agoraphobia. It takes courage to admit that she has a problem – and Mysti is relieved to hear it.

Encouraged by this talk, Mysti decides to take on Ani. She makes a bet with him that whoever gets Sandy Showalter to text them first wins – and either way, the “social experiment” will end. What he doesn’t realize is that even though Sandy is part of the popular crowd, she is actually a nice person.

Mysti signs up to take part in the talent show. After days of practice, the day of the show arrives. Rama plays the violin beautifully, and then it is Mysti’s turn; she recites a poem about the Alamo to the applause of Rama and Wayne. After the show, Sandy approaches Mysti to tell her about a crush on a friend. Ani? No – Wayne. "Will you let Wayne know for me? Tell him I like him, okay? You can give him my number," Sandy says, texting her number to Mysti – the text that allows Mysti to triumph over Ani.