Review: Life Inside My Mind

Life Inside My Mind
Edited by Jessica Burkhart

Publisher: Simon Pulse
Publication Date: April 10, 2018

LIFE INISDE MY MIND is an essay anthology focused on YA authors’ personal experiences with mental health. Each “chapter” is a story written by a different author, and each has a vastly different focus: the topics ranged from anxiety to depression to OCD to Alzheimer's. While some of the stories were deeply personal, some were more of a reflection on societal issues and the stigma around mental health. This book was different from any I had ever read. At first, it was hard for me to make the constant switch in tone as the authors shifted, but eventually, I was able to adapt to the format, and I’m so glad I did! This book offers some incredible insights, and I really appreciated the fact that so many of the authors emphasized that there is no one “right way” to manage mental illness. 

My personal favorite essay was written in a poetry format called “This Is How You Unravel” by E.K. Anderson, which told the story of a girl living with bipolar disorder. I loved this chapter in particular because of its ability to genuinely portray the negative aspects of mental illness while offering a hopeful message. There were many essays that had a profound impact on me, though, not just this one! Even though I was skeptical about this collection at first, I would highly recommend this collection to anyone, regardless of whether they have personally experienced any of these conditions. Although I personally haven’t, I was still able to relate to all of the authors because of the honest, candid emotions that they shared with readers. Because of frequent references to suicide, addiction, abuse and violence, this book is probably best suited to older teens.

Review: Made for You

Made for You by Melissa Marr
Publication date: September 16, 2014
Publisher: HarperCollins

MADE FOR YOU by Melissa Marr is a modern murder mystery that explores a classic plot through a new and updated angle with just a hint of paranormal. After narrowly escaping her own death at the hands of a psychotically deranged killer, Eva begins a journey to discover the identity of the murderer that has started to kill her friends one by one. After waking up in the hospital after her brush with death, Eva discovers that she now has the ability to foresee people’s deaths by touch. With this newly found skill, Eva and her old childhood friend Nate race to uncover the identity of the murderer before the rest of their friends are killed. She’s on an emotional roller-coaster of grief, adrenalin, romance, and fright that will only snowball to a jumbled mess of emotional confusion as the story goes on.

I have never read a murder mystery book, and it scared me in a way I never thought possible. It was exciting and fast paced throughout, and the anticipation was palpable. I think the author did an amazing job of portraying the emotions and thoughts of each character as the story was portrayed through many different character’s viewpoints. It highlighted the tragic problems affecting our society regarding murder and mental health problems. My greatest problem with the book was Eva's "gift". It was not explained and I don’t think that she reacted realistically when discovering her ability. An idea that had so much potential did not play out in the way I hoped, and it just seemed like an easy way for the author to continue the plot. The murderer’s reveal was not as dramatic as it could have been, nor were there any foreshadowing or hints to who it was, which seemed as if the author did not make a definite decision on the murderer until long after she began to write it. Because of the events of this book, I would rate it ages 14-15+ with a slight trigger warning.