Review of 'Sex, Suicide and Serotonin' by Debbie Hampton

This really has been a year for mental health reading for me, and I've loved delving into non-fiction for pleasure for the first time in my life. Sex, Suicide and Serotonin has been one of the most eye-opening books of 2018 for me. It's filled with a whole plethora of information on how the brain functions, as well as an insight into what it's like to be someone who has survived a suicide attempt.

The book starts with Debbie's attempted suicide. After swallowing a concoction of alcohol and pills, Debbie was found by her teenage son and brought to the hospital. Unable to ascertain exactly what had been consumed, the doctors were unable to pump Debbie's stomach and she experienced severe brain injury as a result of her actions, but survived. The story tells the tale of Debbie's recovery from someone who is unable to speak, walk or eat without assistance, to someone who's written her own book and leads an independent life.

The thing that most interested me was the sheer range of techniques that Debbie tried to help her in her recovery, both mentally and physically. Not satisfied with traditional medicine, Debbie finds additional therapies to help nudge her along to health.

This book was such a powerful read for me, especially as you really don't hear much about adult suicide attempts in the media. As someone with a parent who's struggled with this, I found it an incredibly insightful read, and one that I would recommend.

Have you read it, or anything similar?

Follow me on Bloglovin | Twitter | Instagram | Youtube

Review of 'Beautiful Broken Things' by Sara Barnard

Most YA fiction that I've come across has focused on romance, which I LOVE, but sometimes friendships get completely overlooked in the face of a cute teen love story. Yet friendships make up a massive part of being a teen, or young adult, and even outweigh the romance. I think it's *so* important for books to recognise this, and remind us all that friends are important, and they can revolutionise some really important years for us all.

Beautiful Broken Things is a book primarily about friendship. Caddy and Rosie have been friends for years, but live on opposite sides of the track: Caddy goes to an expensive private school, and longs for a significant life event to happen to her, whilst Rosie's already experienced trauma in her life. The girls are inseparable, until Suzanne comes along. Troubled and mysterious, she joins Rosie's school and unwittingly creates a wedge between the two best friends.

I think we've all been in that position of anxiety, when our best friend threatens (albeit passively) to become best friends with someone else. Caddy feels undermined, and at first she's determined to push Suzanne out, but eventually she becomes even better friends than Suzanne is with Rosie.

Suzanne is beautiful, but has some serious mental health issues, and a tragic past that keeps catching up with her. The exploration of her mental health problems was incredible - it was an accurate portrayal of a teenage girl struggling to make her way in the world. She made a whole host of mistakes, she was conflicted, and I just really think the author nailed what it's like to not be sure of yourself when the world is telling you that it's time you should know.

I honestly believe the media has such a detrimental effect on the way girls treat each other: we're always portrayed as enemies, as not to be trusted, and as creatures that spend their whole lives trying to hunt down a man. It's just not the case. Beautiful Broken Things is an important book because it completely avoids romance, and focuses on the issue of female friendship, finally showcasing that this often is what a teen girl's life is all about.

I'll be giving this 5 stars, and I really would recommend it to fans of YA fiction.

Follow me on Bloglovin | Twitter | Instagram | Youtube

Review of 'Germinal' by Emile Zola

Every so often, you come across a translated book that makes you wish that you could read the language the author intended the book to be written in. Germinal is one of those books for me. Every scene was described beautifully, and so much emotion seemed to be placed into every word, that I couldn't help but wonder how much more intense the language of the French original was. 

This book is considered as one of the greatest works of French fiction, telling the story of a great miners' strike of the 1860s. It delves into the intense poverty suffered by French miners and their families when they upheld a lengthy strike to protest against the pitiful wages being offered.

Zola tells the tale of a whole myriad of sufferings the miners face, including the placement of women in the pits, landslides, the impact of injuries, illnesses that come from mine work, and how all of these worked together to make an unliveable environment for French miners.

Although it's not a book that I would say I particularly enjoyed, it's definitely one that I'm glad I've read, as it taught me so much about a time period and a group of people that I would otherwise know absolutely nothing about.

Have you read it? What other of Emile Zola's books would you recommend?

Follow me on Twitter | Instagram | Youtube | Bloglovin

Review of 'The Power' by Naomi Alderman

The Power is a pick from my 2018 bucket list of things I *have* to get through before the end of the year (worringly I've got quite a few left still, considering we're in November!). It's something that I've wanted to read since it came out, and I had such high hopes for it that I was left feeling a little deflated. Don't get me wrong, it was a good book, and definitely an interesting read, but it just didn't quite hit the mark for me.

Review of 'Fierce' by Gin Phillips*

It's rare that I sit and read a book in one sitting. If I don't like a book, it's hard to force myself to read it all, and if I like it, I want to treasure the story and make it last a little longer. Fierce is a book that's designed to be read in one go, as the story takes you through an intense tale of one afternoon. I gave this a good go, but after reading two-thirds of the way through I put it down for the day because it just wasn't gripping enough for me to get through the whole thing (and if I'm honest, I can't really think of a book that would be, so there's no shade being thrown here).

Fierce tells the story of Joan's and her four year old son Lincoln's disastrous trip to the zoo one Sunday afternoon. It's their favourite place to spend time together, until they hear shots fired. Two gunmen are making their way around the zoo and Joan has no idea where's safe. She calls her husband, and keeps in touch with him over the phone, but as it starts to get darker she fears that the phone light will attract the armed men, and abandons it in some bushes. 

Joan will do anything to protect her son, even if it means making questionable choices to leave others behind. But as Lincoln gets more tired and upset and loud, Joan realises that they need to do something drastic, because they can only hide for so long ...

This was quite a gripping read in some places, but I just felt as though it was missing that big twist that shocks you and changes the force of the novel. There were quite a few parts where I felt the narrative dragged, and there wasn't enough action to rectify it. It was definitely readable, and I'm glad to have pushed myself out of my comfort zone by trying to read it in one sitting, but I'm not sure if it's something I'd recommend.

*This book was gifted to me, but as always my words and opinions are my own*

Follow me on Bloglovin | Twitter | Instagram | Youtube

Review of 'Stand Tall Little Girl' by Hope Virgo

Books about mental health can be a bit of a challenge for me. Whilst I find them inspiring and thought-provoking and beautiful, they can awaken thoughts that I've been trying to squash down and get rid of (although I guess it's probably good to end the repression). 

Stand Tall Little Girl was such a powerful read for me. It's a true story, and almost a memoir, of the author's struggle with anorexia as a teen, and moving into adulthood. Hope started developing the illness when she was 13, and the book follows her hopsitalisation and eventual recovery. This all makes it sound pretty straightforward, but Hope opens up about the devastating effects that eating disorders have not only on your mind and body, but on all aspects of life and those around you.

There are snippets from Hope's mother in the book, which I think are so important, explaining how things can get out of hand when you have an eating disorder. I always see people asking 'how did the parents not notice?!' when a teen gets to a point of extreme illness due to an ED, and Hope's mum explains how hard it actually is.

I think it's so important that Hope shows there's no quick fix to an ED, and the reality of relapse, even when it's way down the line from the start of your recovery journey. This was a book I really connected with, and I would definitely recommend it, especially to parents of teens that want a better insight into what might be going on.

Hope's also doing some fantastic charity work to raise money for the Shaw Mind Foundation, and you can donate here if you want to support her!

Follow me on Bloglovin | Twitter | Instagram | Youtube 

Review of 'Extraordinary Means' by Robyn Schneider

It's been a little while since I read this (I'm super behind on reviews, but I WILL CATCH UP WITH YOU 2018 BOOK PILE), and I'd almost forgotten how much I loved this until I picked the text up again. This is one of my favourite YA reads of the year, and it came at me totally unexpectedly. I downloaded it to my Kindle, thinking it would be pretty average, and it blew me out of the water so much that I started to hunt down everything Robyn Schneider's ever written.

This dystopian YA starts off with Lane moving into Latham House. All he wants to do is to be back at school studying to ensure he gets the best possible results in his tests to set him up for the future. But Lane is sick. A rare form of TB has emerged in modern society, and Lane has tested positive for this. He's not showing the signs of his illness yet, but at some point it'll happen, and there's no going back. 

Latham House is part boarding school, part hospital. Lane's completely isolated from his family, friends back home and his old life. Although he's not sick yet, a lot of the other kids are and life at Latham is tense. There, Lane meets Sadie, a girl he once knew from a summer camp years ago. There she was shy and quiet, but she owns the room here, making everyone chuckle. 

All Lane has ever wanted to do is study to become the perfect student, but as his illness starts to catch up with him, he's forced to realise that there are other things in life worth enjoying.

This is an incredible coming-of-age story that broke my heart a little as well as making me smile. The characters were so easy to connect with, and I feel as though I've left a little bit of my heart back in Latham. I would definitely recommend this if you're a fan of YA fiction! 

Follow me on Bloglovin | Twitter | Instagram | Youtube