I LOVED THIS BOOK! It deals with real life issues like mental illness, abuse, self harm, and more. I read this book a few months ago but I just adored it. ( )

I LOVED THIS BOOK! It deals with real life issues like mental illness, abuse, self harm, and more. I read this book a few months ago but I just adored it. ( )

teen fiction (socially awkward teen dealing with anxiety, depression, and abusive parents, but with interesting subplots and characters and lots of humor). This goes a little bit into explaining self-cutting and depression/suicidal thoughts, with emphasis on getting help and asking for help, but without feeling didactic. You don't expect to like this character, a kooky teen who has memorized Walt Whitman (on purpose) and whose behavior is seemingly unexplicable, but before long he grows on you. ( )

Blaming it on a slump

This was actually hard to read, because it was so familiar to me, but it was also just wonderful. I liked this protagonist so much; he seemed like someone I'd be friends with now, if he were my age. I loved the way James uses Walt Whitman's poetry to get through life and figure things out, like Holling Hoodhood with Shakespeare and Doug Swieteck with the art of John James Audubon. And I'm so glad to read a young adult novel handling mental illness openly, because it's been a taboo subject for far too long. It's a quick, absolutely lovely read.