TW for depression and attempted suicide.
This book offers an honest and real look into depression, anxiety, and suicide. I was taken aback by the author's poignant examination of these three teenagers and their mental health. Tommy's POV felt authentic to me, someone who has battled depression. Harlow's POV and her character was the one I felt most conflicted about as I connected with her desire to try and fix things in an attempt to make up for her previous actions. She didn't always go about things the right way, but there is something to be said for her effort to try. And Harlow tries so hard that I felt for her. Her emotions were conflicted, troubling, and sweet; all a realistic portrait of a teenage girl. Ellis though, man he was hard to sympathize with. While his and Harlow's relationship was co-dependent and toxic at times, I really disliked him for his relationship with his brother. Ellis barely tried with Tommy and that was what damned him in my eyes. While the other characters seemed to grow or at least understand themselves more by the end of the book, Ellis seemed incapable of growth.
This book offers an honest and real look into depression, anxiety, and suicide. I was taken aback by the author's poignant examination of these three teenagers and their mental health. Tommy's POV felt authentic to me, someone who has battled depression. Harlow's POV and her character was the one I felt most conflicted about as I connected with her desire to try and fix things in an attempt to make up for her previous actions. She didn't always go about things the right way, but there is something to be said for her effort to try. And Harlow tries so hard that I felt for her. Her emotions were conflicted, troubling, and sweet; all a realistic portrait of a teenage girl. Ellis though, man he was hard to sympathize with. While his and Harlow's relationship was co-dependent and toxic at times, I really disliked him for his relationship with his brother. Ellis barely tried with Tommy and that was what damned him in my eyes. While the other characters seemed to grow or at least understand themselves more by the end of the book, Ellis seemed incapable of growth.