From Goodreads: If you could read my mind, you wouldn't be smiling. Samantha
McAllister looks just like the rest of the popular girls in her junior
class. But hidden beneath the straightened hair and expertly applied
makeup is a secret that her friends would never understand: Sam has
Purely-Obsessional OCD and is consumed by a stream of dark thoughts and
worries that she can't turn off. Second-guessing every move,
thought, and word makes daily life a struggle, and it doesn't help that
her lifelong friends will turn toxic at the first sign of a wrong
outfit, wrong lunch, or wrong crush. Yet Sam knows she'd be truly crazy to leave the protection of the most popular girls in school. So
when Sam meets Caroline, she has to keep her new friend with a
refreshing sense of humor and no style a secret, right up there with
Sam's weekly visits to her psychiatrist. Caroline introduces Sam
to Poet's Corner, a hidden room and a tight-knit group of misfits who
have been ignored by the school at large. Sam is drawn to them
immediately, especially a guitar-playing guy with a talent for verse,
and starts to discover a whole new side of herself. Slowly, she begins
to feel more "normal" than she ever has as part of the popular crowd ... until she finds a new reason to question her sanity and all she holds
dear.
My Rating: 3.5 hearts
Thoughts on the Novel: Recently, there seems to be an increasing
number of YA books dealing with mental health – a trend that I’m not only
enjoying, but one that I think is very important. Every Last Word by Tamara
Ireland Stone can be added to this list.
Knowing someone with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and having researched the topic for a few undergraduate
psychology courses, I was curious to see how Sam’s disorder would be portrayed.
From reading Every Last Word, it’s clear that Stone did her research. For
example, I really liked that she demonstrated the importance of both medication
and therapy in the treatment of OCD.
I also liked Every Last Word in terms of its characters and plot. I
found it very easy to empathize with Sam, and enjoyed seeing her slowly stand
up for herself and surround herself with people that she could open up to.
There’s a cute romance and a very unexpected plot twist as well.
Every Last Word will be released on June
16, 2015 by Disney-Hyperion.
Comments About the Cover: It’s simple, and relates nicely to the contents
of the book.
In exchange for an honest review, this book was received from the publisher (Disney Book Group) for free via NetGalley.
