Happy Place by Emily Henry

 Happy Place by Emily Henry-385 pages

Harriet is looking forward to going to her Happy Place (which is a cottage on the coast of Maine) and seeing her college friends (Sabrina, Cleo, Parth, and Kimmy). However, she doesn't expect to see her ex-fiance, Wyn. She and Wyn haven't told their friends about their break-up yet and decide to wait until the end of the week when Sabrina and Parth announce that they're getting married while they're all together. Also, the cottage is being sold by Sabrina's father, so this could be their last week together in Maine. As you can imagine, this makes for a very awkward start to the week for Wyn and Harriet. However, so much happens during the week and it's a very emotional ride for all of the friends. Will Wyn and Harriet get back together and can they make each other happy? Will Sabrina and Parth go through with the wedding? Will the friends still be together after this week? This is a really good exploration of what it means to be happy and dealing with depression, pressure, and expectations. I really enjoyed reading this book and I especially like the ending. I didn't know what to expect going into reading this because I don't usually read romance. Emily Henry has been a popular author recently, though, so I thought I'd try out her latest. I am glad that I did. 

Out of the Dark by Mandisa, Suzanne Gosselin

 256 pages / 5 hrs, 53 mins

Grammy award-winning music artist Mandisa tells an inspiring story of peaks and valleys, trials and joys, wins and losses. Through her gripping narrative, she shows that our choice to trust God can not only overcome our need to understand why bad things happen, but can help us to embrace a life of joy and freedom.

Out of the Dark is Mandisa's exploration of the journey she's taken from when she first became a Christian, to her rise as an American Idol finalist and receiving multiple Grammy and Dove Award nominations, as well as the dark and challenging times she experienced along the way. She writes personally and openly about the hardships she has faced and the way she felt betrayed by God, but also about how God has brought her out of the valley into His glorious light. Along the way, she also shares her struggles in learning how to love her body and care for her health.

Just as Mandisa's Grammy-award winning song "Overcomer" was topping the Contemporary Christian Music charts, her friend for whom "Overcomer" had been written passed away. After losing this close friend to cancer, despite years of prayers on her behalf, Mandisa descended into depression, isolating herself and turning to her familiar friend, food, for comfort.

Mandisa tells her story with warmth and vulnerability, challenging us all to focus on God's purpose for our lives, surround ourselves with friends who will fight for us, and face life's challenges with courage and faith. If you've ever found yourself in a dark place as the result of grief, depression, or loss, Mandisa's story will reassure you that even when you're walking through dark valleys, God can and will lead you on a path to joy and hope. --from the publisher

It's rare to find anyone so transparent with their faith and mental health struggles. Her story is open and honest and is not at all preachy. I give it 3.5 stars out of 5.

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

 The Midnight Library by Matt Haig - 288 pages

Somewhere out beyond the edge of the universe there is a library that contains an infinite number of books, each one the story of another reality. One tells the story of your life as it is, along with another book for the other life you could have lived if you had made a different choice at any point in your life. While we all wonder how our lives might have been, what if you had the chance to go to the library and see for yourself? Would any of these other lives truly be better?

I really enjoyed this book. It was interesting to think about how the smallest things could change your future. That pieces of your past you might have wished you could change in your life might not have been in your best interest in the long run. 

Holly and Ivy by Fern Michaels

 

Holly and Ivy by Fern Michaels  261 pages

"The flames of memory always seem to glow a little brighter during the holidays. Perhaps that's why this time of year is so difficult for airline heiress Ivy Macintosh, as she faces thoughts of yet another festive season alone. Since the plane crash that claimed the lives of her husband and two children eight years ago, she's been submerged in grief. When eleven-year-old Holly Greenwood knocks on her door, lost and frightened after a forbidden visit to her singing teacher, Ivy's self-imposed exile is shattered. Holly has an extraordinary voice, and wants nothing more than to perform in an upcoming Christmas musical. Holly's father, Daniel, doesn't allow music in their home, refusing to give a good reason why -- just as he refuses to talk about Holly's mother. Ivy has no idea how closely she and Daniel are linked by their tragic pasts, yet she's drawn to the warmth she senses beneath his gruff exterior. And as Christmas nears, their shared concern for Holly begins to draw Ivy back into the world again... and toward a family who may need her just as much as she needs them." -- From Amazon.com

This definitely pulls at the heart strings.  Even from the forward that describes that the main character loses all of her family at one time in a plane crash, I was hooked.  This book tells how a woman who felt she could not go on with her life (she literally quit her job and stopped going anywhere) found a young girl to help her live again.

Reasons to Stay Alive by Matt Haig

 Reasons to Stay Alive by Matt Haig -- 256 pages

Matt Haig’s accessible and life-affirming memoir of his struggle with depression, and how his triumph over the illness taught him to live.

Like nearly one in five people, Matt Haig suffers from depression. Reasons to Stay Alive is Matt’s inspiring account of how, minute by minute and day by day, he overcame the disease with the help of reading, writing, and the love of his parents and his girlfriend (and now-wife), Andrea. And eventually, he learned to appreciate life all the more for it.

Everyone’s lives are touched by mental illness: if we do not suffer from it ourselves, then we have a friend or loved one who does. Matt’s frankness about his experiences is both inspiring to those who feel daunted by depression and illuminating to those who are mystified by it. Above all, his humor and encouragement never let us lose sight of hope. Speaking as his present self to his former self in the depths of depression, Matt is adamant that the oldest cliché is the truest—there is light at the end of the tunnel. He teaches us to celebrate the small joys and moments of peace that life brings, and reminds us that there are always reasons to stay alive.

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig - 288 pages

Nora Seed finds herself at the lowest point in her life due to tragedy and regret  and everything is going wrong.  As she looks back at the decision points in her life she decides not to carry on but soon discovers that in between life and death there is a library filled with all the lives that could have been.  Nora's journey begins in the midnight library to find her way back to herself or to decide to move on to what's next.  

This book is odd but interesting in how it looks at how decisions both big and small impact not only our only lives but people around us, both close and strangers.  Plus a little education on the nature of multidimensional physics to boot!

The Ship We Built by Lexie Bean

 

The Ship We Built by Lexie Bean

Ellie starts fifth grade feeling as if she is alone.  She lost her friends over the summer when she accidentally let out a secret.  Now she goes through school silently not really talking to anyone.  Instead she pours out her feelings in letters she releases with balloons in the hopes of finding a friend.  Little does she know that a friend is closer than she realizes.

I read this book as I wanted to see if it should go in the kids or teen section of the library.  It deals with many issues including being transgender, experiencing incest, and feelings of depression.  Although it is a very uncomfortable book to read I think it is an important book for the library to have.  I also think that it belongs in the children's section as that is the intended audience (it also never goes into graphic detail about anything) and who would be helped the most by the book.

Dig by A.S. King

Dig by A.S. King - 394 pages

Four teenagers -- The Shoveler, WhatCanIGetYou?, Loretta the flea circus ringmistress, and privileged Malcolm -- are guided by The Freak to better their lives and discover their connection.

This book won the Printz Award this year so I decided to try to read it.  It is told from multiple points of view including the five connected teenagers, a racist teen, and a couple who have lost connection with their family.  While the premise was interesting I was very distracted by the very heavy-handed way it conveyed its message.  There was literally a point in the book where a character starts yelling at the reader to wake up and stop being racist.  I also think the book did what too many "realistic" fiction books do -- stuff too many issues into a story including racism, abuse, death and more.

Spirits That Walk in Shadow by Nina Kiriki Hoffman

Spirits That Walk in Shadow by Nina Kiriki Hoffman - 306 pages

Jaime is attending college and interacting with the outside world for the first time in her life.  She knows she is going to have to hide her magic from her fellow students.  Little does she know that her roommate is the victim of a viri, a vampire-like creature that feeds on the emotions of people. 

I really enjoyed this book.  I didn't realize that it is a sequel to a previous book.  I'll have to try to find it to read.

Northern Lights by Nora Roberts

Northern Lights by Nora Roberts - 562 pages

Nate Burke has just moved to Lunacy, Alaska to take the position of chief of police.  Meg Calloway knows just by looking at him that he's sad, depressed, and lonely.  They're just beginning a relationship, both bringing major issues to it, when a past crime comes to light that will impact both their lives forever.

I read this book when it first came out in 2004.  I decided to pick it up again when I didn't have anything to read the other day.  I enjoyed it just as much the second time as I did the first time reading it.  It's a great character study as well as an intriguing romance. 

Turtles All The Way Down by John Green

Turtles All The Way Down
by  John Green
286 pages

Read by: Kate Rudd








Sixteen-year-old Aza never intended to pursue the mystery of fugitive billionaire Russell Pickett, but there’s a hundred-thousand-dollar reward at stake and her best and most fearless friend, Daisy, is eager to investigate. So together, they navigate the short distance and broad divides that separate them from Russell Pickett’s son, Davis.
 
Aza is trying. She is trying to be a good daughter, a good friend, a good student, and maybe even a good detective, while also living within the ever-tightening spiral of her own thoughts.

I listened to the audio version of this book and enjoyed it very much.

The Viscount Who Lived Down the Lane by Elizabeth Boyle

The Viscount Who Lived Down the Lane by Elizabeth Boyle - 374 pages
Rhymes with Love series

Louisa Tempest knows that the attempt by her and her sister of a season in London is going to be a failure.  It's off to an even worse start than she imagined when her incorrigible cat causes mayhem by running into the neighboring house when they first arrive.  Viscount Wakefield is not amused by the cat and threatens to thrown Louisa out of the house.  However, that first introduction only gets worse as Louise continues to annoy Wakefield out of his solitude and foul temper.

This was an amusing book to read.  It was fun to see how many ways the two main characters could annoy each other while still falling in love.  I'm interested in reading the next book in the series featuring Louisa's sister.

Orange by Ichigo Takano

Orange, v. 1 by Ichigo Takano - 384 pages
Orange, v. 2 by Ichigo Takano - 384 pages

The day Naho starts 11th grade, she receives a letter from her future self giving her directions on how to save the life of new friend Kakeru.  Working with the letter's directions and with the help of her friends, can Naho save him?

This was an unusual manga.  It was a lot more serious in content than a lot of manga series that I have read in the past, even with the inclusion of the time travel story line.  The themes of self-confidence, depression, and suicide run through every story told in the collection.  I would recommend this to those who like more serious stories or a little mysticism with their realistic stories.

Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella

Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella-286 pages

I wanted to read this because I saw it on a list of top teen romance novels and it sounded interesting. It isn't solely about romance, but romance is a part of it and it helps Audrey get over her depression. Set in England, the story is about Audrey Turner (and her family). Audrey was previously bullied by two girls at her school and subsequently the two girls were expelled and Audrey left this school, although the reader never learns exactly what happened to trigger these events. As a consequence of these events, Audrey becomes clinically depressed and leaves school altogether for the summer (I think they go to school year-round in England with longer holiday breaks). As a part of her therapy, Dr. Sarah, Audrey's therapist/psychiatrist, suggests that she do a documentary film of her family. Audrey and Linus (Frank's friend and LOC partner) end up falling in love. Overall, it was a pretty good read and, as I have said before, I enjoy reading teen fiction.

You're Never Weird on the Internet (Almost) - Felicia Day

You're Never Weird on the Internet (Almost) - Felicia Day - 261 pages

I hate to refute a title statement right off, but I think at least a few of us have been on the internet enough to realize that yes, pretty much everyone is weird out there.  The real point is: THAT IS TOTALLY OKAY.  Unless it's ethically repulsive, it's really just awesome to be yourself and share it out there in the vast wikispace of the interwebs with all the other weirdos.  You can overshare pictures of rolly poly pugs, hack up imaginary crab monsters with a bunch of French dudes, post questions about how realistic-looking that USB drive shaped like a watermelon slice really is, and google search cosplay blog posts about how to make realistic pokeballs, and that's all totally awesome because the internet community has room for everyone.* 

It's a fantastic message that this book carries throughout.  Ms. Day relates her stories of finding acceptance, addiction, depression, and redemption on the 'net, and for anyone who grew up as this incredible phenomenon of online community and connection was exploding over the last fifteen years or so, you're totally going to get it.  What's not here is any talk about her career, so if (like me) you were curious about her Dr. Horrible or Supernatural experiences and wanted to read some fun anecdotal stories about hammers and Rocky and Bullwinkle references, look elsewhere, my friend.  Basically, this book boils down to a reaction piece about some very icky geek community splitting, hacking, and stalking, told from the perspective of someone whose experiences online were positive and self-affirming up until that point.  It's the story of a good thing gone unfortunately bad, and the ways that kind of disappointment changes a person.  But Ms. Day, a little older and wiser, still manages to maintain a positive, constructive perspective about it, and that's pretty cool.



*Yep, that's how I spent my weekend.  Not sorry.

Furiously Happy - Jenny Lawson

Furiously Happy: A Funny Book about Horrible Things - Jenny Lawson - 352 pages

Few authors could so artfully jam taxidermied raccoon rodeos and radically depressing depression together in one book, but this gal totally did it.  I laughed, I cried, I did both at the same time.

Part memoir, part logbook of arguments with her husband and with herself, the main theme here is that there's an upside to mental illness.  She's living it up, furiously happy and determined not just to survive the ups and downs of anxiety and depression, but to reap all the polarized rewards of each to the best of her ability.  Whether you have a mental illness or know someone who does, this book is just flat out hilarious and thought-provoking for all the right reasons.

Spirits That Walk in Shadow by Nina Kiriki Hoffman

Spirits That Walk in Shadow by Nina Kiriki Hoffman - 306 pages

Jaimie's first real experience with the "outside" world is when her father drops her off at college.  It's her attempt to live in the non-magical world she grew up in.  Unfortunately, her roommate seems to have attracted the attention of a creature that is feeding off of her depression.  Now Jaimie must work with her cousins to help her roommate escape from the creature's clutches.

I love Nina Kiriki Hoffman's books.  They are so delightfully weird.  They never go in the direction you think they are going to.  This book is the teen sequel to a couple of adult novels she had previously written.  I have not read those books yet but look forward to doing so.

It's Kind of a Funny Story, by Ned Vizzini, 444 pages

It's Kind of a Funny Story, by Ned Vizzini, 444 pages

First of all, it's not really funny- it's about suicide, depression, and mental health- but the parts that are funny are because they're so realistic.  Remember being a kid and not understanding the nuances between "making out" and "hooking up,"the stupid things kids do at high school parties, or the intense pressure that comes as early as middle school?   (That is all there and is sometimes funny, brings back awkward memories.)  But more importantly, the story is about a teenager, Craig, who plans to kill himself, and then decides that he wants to live.  It's about coming to terms with depression- there's no pill that will make it go away, but rather it will always stay with Craig, and he will have to manage it in order to survive.  The book is painfully honest and real, but the ending is incredibly sad when you know that the author recently committed suicide (Dec 2013).  I felt all of the emotions reading this- while the critic in me wanted to pick apart writing style or hate some of Craig's friends, that eventually all falls away when you realize that this book, itself, was a way for Vizzini to help manage what ultimately turned out to be a losing battle with depression.

Prozac Diary by Lauren Slater

Prozac Diary by Lauren Slater, 203 pages

I really liked this book. Prozac Diary is an insightful look into one women's struggle with OCD, depression, and suicide.  She fights this battle in her teens until her twenties when she sees a doctor who prescribes Prozac.  She responds well to the drug, but cannot help feel like there is something wrong because she feels too good.  Her OCD and her depression lifts, and for someone who is use to living with these afflictions, she does not know what to do when they disappear.  This is a honest look into one women's long dependence on Prozac.  She writes about the "poop-out" effect when 20 mg is not enough and has to double, triple and quadruple her dosage.  She has to deal with the sexual side effects when she becomes engaged to a wonderful supportive man.   I am not sure how often Prozac is prescribed nowadays as compared to the 1990s when this book was written, but this book was very informative into the side effects of antidepressant drugs.

Breath by Jackie Morse Kessler

Breath by Jackie Morse Kessler, 321 pages
Final book in the Riders of the Apocalypse Series

WOW! This book is a must read when it is finally out for sale on April 16th, 2013. I could not put it down. The only bad thing about the book is the fact that it is the final in the Riders of the Apocalypse series. Each of the four books in the series deal with issues. In Hunger, the first I read, the issue of eating disorders is brought up and exposed to the light. In Loss, the second, the issue of bullying and also Alzheimers was addressed. In Rage, we learn about cutting and uncontrolled anger. In Breath the issue is depression. While you are waiting for the book to be published, pick up the three others in the series and read them first. Otherwise, you'll be completely lost in this story. A word of warning, all of Kessler's books have adult content including language. They are very good reads, though, and would be fine for teens _AT LEAST_ 15 or older.