Reviews

Charming and full of heart, THIS IS MY BRAIN IN LOVE is about two teens who deal with being first generation immigrant kids, the family business, mental health issues, and falling in love. Recommended for fans of [b:The Sun Is Also a Star|28763485|The Sun Is Also a Star|Nicola Yoon|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1459793538l/28763485._SY75_.jpg|48954670].

noracalloway's review against another edition

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3.0

I started really loving this book, but by the last 100 pages or so it just felt like it was inching on. I did enjoy the strong themes of mental health and racial inequality, it was great to see characters realistically have to deal with that. The book definitely read like the author had experienced mental health struggles, as she says in the author's note at the end. It was good, but it's not a new favourite or anything.

rbreade's review against another edition

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Two teenage characters, Chinese-American Jocelyn "Jos" Wu and Will Domenici (Nigerian-American mother, Italian-American father) take turns handling the job of narrating this story that contains subplots involving mental health, race, and class. Jos helps run the family restaurant, A Plus Chinese Garden, in Utica, NY while worrying about her upcoming junior year in high school, and Gregorio sets a ticking clock in motion when Jos's father decides to move the family back to NYC unless the restaurant experiences a significant increase in business. Will, who battles social anxiety disorder with a smart watch and cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), in search of a local story for his school newspaper, answers a help wanted ad placed by Jos, and the meet-cute is on.

Jos and Will, aided by the video skills of Jos's friend, Priya Venkatram, craft an impressive, full-court business plan to improve the restaurant's fortunes, their budding romance inhibited by her strict father. Along the way, Will has good days and bad days with his mental health, and Jos, we realize, has a mood-related issue that Will gradually realizes is depression. When he tries to talk to her about it, she shuts him down, and one plot thread involves her not only coming to terms with this part of her life--acknowledging that medication might help--but discovering that her mother, also, has been taken depression medication for years, which seems to be a verboten topic in the Chinese community, as it still is, to some extent, in the rest of U.S. society.

msvikki's review against another edition

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3.0

One of my favorite sections:
“My head is a veritable fake news factory: Hyperbolic statements of distress. Unconfirmed catastrophes. Thinly based assumptions that things are all about me.

So, every once in a while, I need someone to help me with some fact checking.”

This book dragged at moments, but I liked the characters and was invested in their success.

The messages about mental health are necessary and positive. The depictions is the inner workings of an anxious mind and depression are done in a way that allow for some clear window and mirror work.

neglet's review against another edition

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Nice romance with a strong outside plot (saving the family restaurant). Loved the diverse cast and focus on mental health.

jlwlm12's review against another edition

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5.0

A cute love story with an insight to mental illnesses. Beautifully written with cultural characters.

merethebookgal's review against another edition

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4.0

This book did a really great job portraying characters with anxiety and depression, but with a hopeful ending.

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