This book is incredibly powerful and moving. Although it is a YA book, and is written very well for that genre, in my opinion, it is a must read for any adults working with teens and young adults who are depressed or at risk for hurting themselves. The insights that this book offers into what goes on for young people suffering from mental illness is so important. The story is about a 17 year old named Samantha who despite having a fairly "normal" life on the surface, struggles with an immense amount of pain and sadness. She has a very small number of connections at school and in her community, and her family brush off her feelings as being "too negative". When she confides in a friend that she is thinking of harming herself, her friend gives her an ultimatum. Everything changes when she gets to know Michael, a teen from her school who is also considering harming himself. Both teens lean on each other, but with both of them being so fragile emotionally, they fear how much they can really support each other and fear of over burdening the other as well as potentially not doing enough and losing the other person.
This book has the romance (very G rated though - only kissing), the drama, the rule breaking etc that a good YA needs, without taking away from the important message or staying too surface level. While there are references to self-harming (razor, bleeding, hospitalization) and a few particularly scary events, especially in the final chapters, relating to domestic violence, for the most part this book is really not something I would worry too much about being inappropriate. For parents or teachers concerned about the subject matter, I would recommend giving it a pre-read or reading it with the young adult you want to share it with and considering whether or not an individual teen would be mature enough for this, but personally I think 12+ would be fine.
One thing that I really appreciate about this book is that it shows both the strategies that work and the "strategies" or maybe coping mechanisms that don't work. For example, while she eventually confides in her family and Michael, initially Sam hides her self harming from her friends, classmates and family fearing that they would judge her or not understand. Another example, Sam is referred to a psychiatrist and debates lying about her feelings to get over with it quicker, but once she does start going to the doctor she begins to realize how helpful it can be to talk to someone who understands what she might be going through. I also like that the book shows many typical responses to admission of self harm or depression, from a friend saying she just wants attention, to parents telling her to just act less negative, to the principal not keeping things completely confidential, to a boyfriend who totally understands and carefully coaxes her into sharing her fears while building trust. Too often do we tell kids that they need to tell an adult, they need to tell someone, and we will make it better, but realistically, that's not always how things work. Showing that it can be scary and hard to tell someone how you are feeling, it is important and it eventually can make a difference. Being scared off from telling someone after one bad experience does not mean no one is ready to help, it just means that you have to do that really hard thing all over again.
I am so thankful I had the opportunity to read and review this book with the help of Netgalley and the publisher! I really enjoyed it and would highly recommend it!
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