History Is All You Left Me

By Adam Silvera

5/5

“Griffin has lost his first love in a drowning accident. Theo was his best friend, his ex-boyfriend and the one he believed he would end up with. Now, reeling from grief and worsening OCD, Griffin turns to an unexpected person for help. Theo’s new boyfriend. But as their relationship becomes increasingly complicated, dangerous truths begin to surface Griffin must make a choice: confront the past, or miss out on his future.”

This book is absolutely beautiful from start to finish. It made me cry a lot and it is a story that will stick with me for a very long time. The story is written in alternating chapters of ‘History’, which explores Theo and Griffin’s relationship from start to finish, and ‘Today’, which explores the friendship between Jackson and Griffin.

I think grief is portrayed excellently in this book. No character is being judged for grieving differently than others and Griffin’s parents really understand and support what he is going through. His grief was unique to him which is an important message – no one grieves the same and this is ok! Griffin and Jackson’s (Theo’s ex-boyfriend) friendship was really special and I liked how it developed throughout the book as they started off really disliking each other. I liked Jackson’s character a lot despite disliking him at the start of the book as I was purely ‘Team Griffin.’ Wade is definitely my favourite character, as although we didn’t see too much of him, he was a really integral part to the story. I did also like Griffin’s character but he acted very selfishly at times. Theo was a character that I grew to really hate – I loved him at the start of his and Griffin’s relationship but he grew to be incredibly selfish and manipulative. I think what was the most upsetting was Griffin losing his best friend rather than him losing the love of his life.

Mental health is also a key component to this book but it is not the main focus. I myself don’t suffer from OCD so I can’t comment on how well it is represented but Griffin did see therapy in a positive light which I thought was brilliant. The other characters took Griffin’s illness really seriously and tried to make life as easy as possible for him in regards to his compulsions which was excellent to see.

I highly recommend this book to everyone – it will definitely make you cry but I think it’s a really important story in regards to grief, mental illness and also healthy relationships.

Am I Normal Yet?

By Holly Bourne

5/5

The first thing that I loved about this book is that a tackled a mental illness that is often overlooked and that no one but the sufferer truly knows the extent of. I haven’t read many books on mental health but those that I have read have discussed depression and anxiety, which are no less important than any other mental illness, but I feel as though people are more aware of them and understand them better than other illnesses. I think many of us will be guilty, at some point, of dismissing OCD as just wanting things to be clean and tidy, and even saying things such as, “oh, my bedroom always has to be clean. I’m so OCD!” I’ll admit that I am guilty of this, despite knowing that OCD is so much more, and reading this book has really opened my eyes to what those with OCD suffer with and I’ve come to realise that they are incredibly brave people.

While this book is incredibly sad as you watch Evie’s illness spiral out of control, it is also very uplifting as she has true friends that make her laugh and feel “normal.” Evie, Amber and Lottie calls themselves “The Spinster Club” and they discuss feminism and how boys do not know how to treat girls properly, something which Evie experiences first-hand as she goes on a couple of dates in an effort to make herself “normal.” The family dynamic is also really important in this book as it shows how mental illness affects those around you. My favourite character in the book is Rose, Evie’s younger sister, how is incredibly wise for her age and the sort of person you would want fighting your corner. Rose also goes through her own problems throughout the book and I feel this is what makes her a better sister to Evie because, to some extent, she understands what Evie has gone through.

I would highly recommend this book to everyone and I honestly believe it should be a mandatory read as so many people are dismissive of OCD and I think it would really change people’s perceptions if they read this book to understand what people who suffer with OCD really go through.