Search
Search results
How to Eat to Live
Book
For more than 30 years, messenger Elijah Muhammad has been teaching the so-called Negroes of America...
The End of Men
10.0
Rate It
Book
GLASGOW, 2025. Dr Amanda Maclean is called to treat a young man with a mild fever. Within three...
Feminism Speculative Fiction Adult Fiction Literary Fiction Global pandemic
Mercy Black (2019)
4.3
Rate It
Movie
Marina Hess (Pineda) is finally being released from the psychiatric facility that she has lived in...
The Crow Box (Shadow and Ink #1)
8.0
Rate It
Book
The small wooden box is dirty, the size of a human fist, and sealed with wax. When Corbin takes it...
Kristy H (1252 KP) rated Under Rose-Tainted Skies in Books
Feb 13, 2018
Norah is a mentally ill teen struggling with agoraphobia and OCD. She lives with her mom and hasn't attended school in over four years -- in fact, she really hasn't had what society would deem a "normal" outing in that time. Her interactions are with her mom, her therapist, and the online world: watching her former friends live their lives via social media. When a new boy moves in next door, Norah doesn't expect much to change. But when Luke catches Norah trying to fish in groceries left outside on her porch, he helps her. The two slowly begin to interact, and a friendship blossoms. Still, despite the movie "dates" they have at Norah's house and their many chats, Norah is trapped in her own insecurities and fears: Luke deserves a "normal" girl, who can go outside to parties, and who isn't too scared of germs to kiss. What does the future hold in store for Norah and Luke?
This was a lyrical novel offering a rather unflinching portrait of mental illness. (I must point out up front that there's a self-harm/cutting trigger.) The writing is beautiful, almost falling over the line of too flowery at times. Norah is an engaging heroine: a real person living her life with mental illness. The novel truly tries to portray her OCD and agoraphobia in a real (yet humorous at times - it's not just as if you're reading a medical manual) manner. There are some incredibly important passages in this book about how, while Norah may not look sick or mentally ill, she is. I enjoyed her character immensely.
Unfortunately, some of my love of Norah was diminished by slightly unrealistic and odd plotlines. Maybe it's just me, but I was immensely bothered by little things - Luke's dad getting a job at the TSA for 8 weeks (unless that was a long time ago, basically impossible in the security clearance era). In turn, Norah's mom undergoes a hospital stay that seems oddly inserted; further, if the family has money, why is poor, scared Norah forced to stay alone for huge chunks of time without any assistance or company? Luke also comes across as too good to be true sometimes, making me question his character, even when I wanted to buy into the love story. Finally, the ending hinges on a weird twist and seemed to tie things up a little too easily for how strongly the book was presenting Norah's illness throughout.
The angsty teen love genre is certainly in full swing lately and adding in mental illness is popular as well (I think [b:Everything, Everything|18692431|Everything, Everything|Nicola Yoon|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1450515891s/18692431.jpg|26540216] is my favorite, where it worked so beautifully). Still, I certainly wouldn't not recommend this novel. It's well-written, portrays its mental illnesses very well, and the character of Norah is worth the read alone. There are some flaws, yes, but I did enjoy the book overall. 3.5 stars.
I received a copy of this novel from the publisher and Edelweiss (thank you!) in return for an unbiased review; it is available as of 01/03/2017.
This was a lyrical novel offering a rather unflinching portrait of mental illness. (I must point out up front that there's a self-harm/cutting trigger.) The writing is beautiful, almost falling over the line of too flowery at times. Norah is an engaging heroine: a real person living her life with mental illness. The novel truly tries to portray her OCD and agoraphobia in a real (yet humorous at times - it's not just as if you're reading a medical manual) manner. There are some incredibly important passages in this book about how, while Norah may not look sick or mentally ill, she is. I enjoyed her character immensely.
Unfortunately, some of my love of Norah was diminished by slightly unrealistic and odd plotlines. Maybe it's just me, but I was immensely bothered by little things - Luke's dad getting a job at the TSA for 8 weeks (unless that was a long time ago, basically impossible in the security clearance era). In turn, Norah's mom undergoes a hospital stay that seems oddly inserted; further, if the family has money, why is poor, scared Norah forced to stay alone for huge chunks of time without any assistance or company? Luke also comes across as too good to be true sometimes, making me question his character, even when I wanted to buy into the love story. Finally, the ending hinges on a weird twist and seemed to tie things up a little too easily for how strongly the book was presenting Norah's illness throughout.
The angsty teen love genre is certainly in full swing lately and adding in mental illness is popular as well (I think [b:Everything, Everything|18692431|Everything, Everything|Nicola Yoon|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1450515891s/18692431.jpg|26540216] is my favorite, where it worked so beautifully). Still, I certainly wouldn't not recommend this novel. It's well-written, portrays its mental illnesses very well, and the character of Norah is worth the read alone. There are some flaws, yes, but I did enjoy the book overall. 3.5 stars.
I received a copy of this novel from the publisher and Edelweiss (thank you!) in return for an unbiased review; it is available as of 01/03/2017.
Andrea (28 KP) rated Mockingjay in Books
Aug 18, 2017
Takes the first two novels to a new level (1 more)
Interesting take on PTSD and mental illness
Needs more than one reading
This is a story about a traumatized girl suffering from PTSD as much as it is about war. She isn't the only one who suffer that diagnosis though as we see several aspects of the illness in various characters. All of it is handled fairly well and doesn't romanticize the distress.
Perhaps my favorite part of this book (and even through the series) is that we see "villains" who aren't wholly evil and "heros" who make inexcusable choices. Both do so because they feel they are doing the best thing for their cause, even if it ends up with a significant cost.
The ending is something that many hate, and I must admit that I didn't like it the first time either. I didn't feel happy or satisfied. It wasn't until I realized I wasn't SUPPOSED to feel happy and satisfied with the story's ending that I started to understand the depth. This isn't a pretty picture where people live happily ever after. Even when they get some happiness, if they get some happiness, there are scares that don't go away. This is the cost of war and drastic change. Sometimes all we can hope for is the ability to move on and find little joys in what comes next each and every day while we try to distance ourselves from the horrors of our past.
Perhaps my favorite part of this book (and even through the series) is that we see "villains" who aren't wholly evil and "heros" who make inexcusable choices. Both do so because they feel they are doing the best thing for their cause, even if it ends up with a significant cost.
The ending is something that many hate, and I must admit that I didn't like it the first time either. I didn't feel happy or satisfied. It wasn't until I realized I wasn't SUPPOSED to feel happy and satisfied with the story's ending that I started to understand the depth. This isn't a pretty picture where people live happily ever after. Even when they get some happiness, if they get some happiness, there are scares that don't go away. This is the cost of war and drastic change. Sometimes all we can hope for is the ability to move on and find little joys in what comes next each and every day while we try to distance ourselves from the horrors of our past.
When I Die: Lessons from the Death Zone
Book
On 29 January 2008 Philip Gould was told he had cancer. He was stoical, and set about his treatment,...
Nursing Your Child at Home: Supporting Your Child Through Fever Naturally
Book
A guide to support our children through illness and encourage a healthy immune response to disease....
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated The More you Ignore me in Books
Feb 20, 2022
31 of 230
Book
The more you ignore me
By Jo Brand
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Celebrity obsession, coming of age and cow shit - an hilarious, poignant and darkly comic novel by the Queen of Comedy.
Alice is a young girl growing up in a dysfunctional family in Herefordshire in the 1980s. Her mother is suffering a mental illness - she is on medication, is put away in an institution, but constantly escapes - while her father, Keith, very sweetly, tries to keep everything together. His in-laws, the Wildgooses, are a bunch of reckless, lawless country bumpkins and can offer very little help or sensible advice, preferring instead to remain in the pub or to use a shotgun to solve life's little problems. The only thing that gives meaning and hope to Alice as she makes her way through childhood, school and teenage trauma is her obsession with the singer Morrissey of The Smiths. She is desperate to see The Smiths at a live gig, but somehow her family always manages to derail her plans. Gradually her mother begins to share her fascination with the rock god and his presence in their lives goes someway to healing her and repairing her relationship with her long-suffering daughter.
This was really good! It was funny and darkly so. It follows the life of a young girl dealing with the effects her mothers mental illness has on her and her father. It’s has a dark underlay that as someone who struggles mentally I can relate too. So much better than I was expecting.
Book
The more you ignore me
By Jo Brand
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Celebrity obsession, coming of age and cow shit - an hilarious, poignant and darkly comic novel by the Queen of Comedy.
Alice is a young girl growing up in a dysfunctional family in Herefordshire in the 1980s. Her mother is suffering a mental illness - she is on medication, is put away in an institution, but constantly escapes - while her father, Keith, very sweetly, tries to keep everything together. His in-laws, the Wildgooses, are a bunch of reckless, lawless country bumpkins and can offer very little help or sensible advice, preferring instead to remain in the pub or to use a shotgun to solve life's little problems. The only thing that gives meaning and hope to Alice as she makes her way through childhood, school and teenage trauma is her obsession with the singer Morrissey of The Smiths. She is desperate to see The Smiths at a live gig, but somehow her family always manages to derail her plans. Gradually her mother begins to share her fascination with the rock god and his presence in their lives goes someway to healing her and repairing her relationship with her long-suffering daughter.
This was really good! It was funny and darkly so. It follows the life of a young girl dealing with the effects her mothers mental illness has on her and her father. It’s has a dark underlay that as someone who struggles mentally I can relate too. So much better than I was expecting.
Miguel Covarrubias (143 KP) rated Turtles All The Way Down in Books
Apr 30, 2019
I really enjoy John Green's novels, however, this one was only just okay. I think because I struggle with an Anxiety disorder myself, I couldn't fully engage with this novel. I did like the accurate representation of the struggle with a mental illness, though I also felt like there were way too many moments where I wanted to shake the protagonist and say, "TAKE THE HELP OFFERED TO YOU!!!! YOU HAVE SO MUCH HELP!!!!!" Again, this is a personal issue for me, and has no bearing objectively on how the book is. I did appreciate the quotes and how Mr. Green views modern adolescents as being smart and well read. I just didn't connect as much as I would have liked to.