Every Last Word - Tamara Ireland Stone
Book Synopsis:
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.
Move on over, The Unexpected Everything because Every Last Word has taken your place as my favorite book of 2016 so far. I thought that it would never happen, but for a book written by an author I've never read before, I was blown away.
To be honest, I didn't expect to enjoy a book about a high school girl with a mental disorder, but Tamara Ireland Stone surprised me by introducing me to Sam McAllister. Sam seems like the type of girl who has it all put together, not a hair out of place. But, that's the funny thing about life, no one has it that perfect, and while reading this book, you would soon come to the same conclusion.
Mental illness is never something to laugh at, the world we live in isn't all lollipops and rainbows, I'm sure that we can all be adults and admit to the fact that you know someone or are someone who battles with their own mental disorders. So it's time for me to be brave like Sam and since Sam is obsessed with anything in "threes", I have something important to say too... I've bipolar disorder.
In Tamara's fictional world, she was able to perfectly capture the struggles of Sam, a popular teenager living with OCD and the freedom she lacked because of having such a heavy burden of that secret illness.
Usually, I am not so forth-coming with strangers that I have a mental illness. The words in the book touched me deeply. I resonated on a personal level with Sam, and my heart goes out to those who can relate with Sam or me. Whether you are living in the shadows of despair with a secret malady or thriving in the spotlight, pretending to be happy... you should know, you are not alone. You are special, and loved.
It deeply saddens me that people have to go through life with any illness, and this book gave me hope, even if it was just for a second, a little glimmer of hope. I now know that everyone is going through something, maybe it's not a sickness, maybe it's not OCD or bipolar, but if this book taught me anything, it is to be kind: for everyone is fighting a hard battle.
I highly recommend this book, it was a quick read, and I know that each of you can get something different out of it.
Remember, once your words are out that is it. Every last word counts.
Rating: ★★★★★