Waiting for Fitz, by Spencer Hyde, published in 2019 by Shadow Mountain.
Waiting for Fitz is the touching tale of Addie, a young woman with OCD, and Fitz, a young man with schizophrenia. Addie is placed in an adolescent psychiatric ward to help her with issues caused by her OCD, where she meets Fitz who has plans to escape. The author, Spencer Hyde, draws from his own experiences with OCD and expressed them through the character of Addie, and writes her such that even those without OCD can empathize with her.
I consider a story successful when I feel the emotion the characters feel, when I want to stay with them longer, and when I want to jump into this world. Rarely do I ever cry when I read stories, even if the scene is devastating, but this book got to me. It hit close to home in ways no other book has done, and that marks Spencer Hyde as a superb author. There’s a conversation the protagonists have with each other that connects all the dots in this little mystery we’re given, and I wasn’t prepared for the emotional bomb Hyde drops.
“I was the queen of avoiding emotions by putting on my comedy mask and acting like everything was fine. … You would too if you had to live with the aching parasite of relentless obsessions.”
This novel is centered on a small cast of characters, namely doctors, staff, and other inpatients. Each character is unique and easily distinguishable, which made each moment with them refreshing and insightful.
The story is told entirely from Addie’s point of view, which gives an otherwise monotonous setting a colorful lens. Most of the book takes place in the Seattle Regional Hospital, and everywhere we go, Addie’s perspective of things adds something new in every scene.
As far as her dialogue goes, Addie and Fitz are able to bond over their wit and their love of plays and stories. Some of their dialogue gets a little predictable at times, but whenever this might happen, it’s not the jokes or even the subject that’s most important, but the subtext and characterization that takes precedence. After all, part of the story is to shed light on mental illnesses such as OCD and schizophrenia, which every conversation does wonderfully without being overbearing.
Fitz is a quirky and lovable character, and I couldn’t help but smile each time he came into the scene. I don’t think it’s a spoiler saying he’s a romantic interest, given the title, and I supported this budding romance from the beginning.
“I didn’t know much about the guy, but I could tell he was enjoying the idea of a breakout.”
One of the few things I wished I saw more of was about Fitz’s schizophrenia. It’s explored well enough to understand his struggles, to an extent. However, there’s something he does near the three-quarter mark that left me a little confused. It wasn’t so far-fetched or beyond his character—in fact, Hyde foreshadowed it from the beginning—that it ruined Fitz or the story. I just wish I could have understood it a little better.
The story kept plenty of tension that continually built, both from Addie and Fitz’s relationship, their time in the psych ward, and from this plan of theirs to escape. The ending fulfilled the concept of “surprising, yet inevitable,” and left me with a lot to think about, and a changed viewpoint about the people around me. This book promotes positivity, while staying realistic about things and struggles everybody has. Again, that’s another thing I appreciate, is the realistic portrayal of mental illness.
I recommend this book for those looking for an easily digestible romance and soft mystery that leaves you with a changed perspective of people. It’s hard to believe that this is a debut novel with how well written and structured Waiting for Fitz is, and I am eager to see what Hyde brings to the table next time.
Reagan Larsen 
Leave a comment