Mental illness is a contemporary issue that I’m found very interesting to read about as it hasn’t been brought to attention as often as I would like. Statistics say that at least 20% of adults are affected by mental illnesses every year. Anxiety disorders are the most common, then depression.

The two books I am reviewing today are amazing books on mental illness that have portrayed it so beautifully and that I have learnt so much from. I wish more books like this were written and I hope that by me talking about these books, you are encouraged to read them!

GIRL IN PIECES BY KATHLEEN GLASGOW

I had heard a lot about this book going into it. I had very high expectations for it and thought it to be like one of my favourite mental health books (and favourite books of all time!) All The Bright Places to find it wasn’t. That did make me feel a little let down but nonetheless, I did really enjoy the book!

The idea was so important and I am so grateful to Glasgow for having written a book like this, for all the girls out there who might be in the same position as the main character, Charlie. The writing was beautiful and heart wrenching and it was quite vivid in its description. I liked how Glasgow didn’t shy away from telling the truth. She unflinching and unrelenting in her recount and it created such an epic read.

The only reason I feel I was let down was because I couldn’t relate. I had not been in a situation similar to Charlie so I found it hard to connect with her and the other characters. I found because I wasn’t able to connect, I wasn’t able to enjoy the book as much as others had. I couldn’t feel deeply for the characters and at times, got a little bored because of how dry the plot became.

However, I know other people absolutely adore this book, especially if they could relate with Charlie. The only thing stopping me from giving the book five stars is the fact that I couldn’t connect, which is no way the fault of Glasgow or Charlie.

This is such a wonderful read and I hope you do pick it up because I learnt so much about it and it gave me hope!

OVERALL RATING:

MADE YOU UP BY FRANCESCA ZAPPIA

What a beautiful book!

This had me hooked from the very first page and I managed to read it in one day, within the duration of 4 to 5 hours! It was funny, romantic, tense and mysterious.

I didn’t know anything about schizophrenia before this book so it was really great to learn so much! The idea was a new one and it was so well done.

I adored the characters. They were funny and real and I felt like I knew them in real life! They just bounced off the pages for me. (Also, can we talk about how cute Miles and Alex are? Yeah, okay, thanks!)

I wasn’t the biggest fan of the plot because I got confused and it distracted from her mental illness, which I feel could have been the bigger focus of the book, it was still highly entertaining and it had me wondering what was real and what was not.

All in all, I adored this book and I highly suggest you read it! More people need to be reading and fangirling over this book!

OVERALL RATING:

Thanks to Harper Collins Australia for sending me these two books. However, all thoughts and opinions are my own and this is an honest review.