Reviews

Received via Edelweiss in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

There's been a misunderstanding. Easy enough to make, Hannah knows these things happen. Everyone is very upset about what happened to her roommate Agnes, and they are confused about her involvement. She certainly didn't do anything to Agnes, Agnes was her best friend.

Once the doctors and judges get their facts straight, she'll be released from this institution and be able to go about her life.

Finally. FINALLY. After far too many duds, a thriller worth my precious time. In the past few months, I have seriously considered giving up on the thriller genre, outside of Gillian Flynn, who is, for me, the unbeatable Queen of Thrillers.

Hannah is a fantastically terrible character. Extremely intelligent, "mature for her age", manipulative, and just the slightest bit quirky. A model student, dream daughter, and the best friend you could ever want. Friend to the underdog, she wants to be your friend. Forever. Totes normal.

During a summer program for college prep, Hannah becomes best friends with Agnes. They spend all of their time together, they stay up late, talking and giggling. They are occasionally joined by Agnes' boyfriend Jonah, who eventually ends up being another thing the girls share, though Agnes doesn't know that.

And then. There is an accident. And Hannah ends up in paper clothes, trying to explain and show Dr "Lightfoot" that she would never, could never, hurt her best friend.

This isn't a very long book, but it packs one hell of a punch. It's semi obvious where the story is heading, but there are plenty of slammed brakes as you hit curves you weren't ready for.

Is this an accurate depiction of mental illness? I'm not the one to answer that. None of the characters is ever truly diagnosed, other than the ones with disordered eating. There are some conclusions we are left alone with. But as we start peeling back the layers, and finding the truth in the lies, and the lies in the truth, it feels like a very real exploration of a diseased mind.

Thank you, Alyssa B Sheinmel. Because I have a few more thrillers lined up in the coming weeks and I have been dreeeeeading them. Hannah has reinvigorated my spirit, and given me the gentle adrenaline rush I needed.

cathyolibrarian's review against another edition

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4.0

Hannah is an unreliable narrator with a story to tell. We are given glimpses of truth through a reality that may or may not be real, through the eyes of the self-assured girl who believes for all the world that she does not belong in the institution she has found herself in. Very readable and intriguing from the start.

tatbookshelf's review against another edition

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4.0

4.5
A DANGER TO HERSELF AND OTHERS is different than what I normally read, but all the same: mystery needing solved: Was she pushed? Did she fall? + there are twists and turns as Hannah's life is changed (new friend, accident but was it? real or imaginary). This book is tense, and the author does enough to keep the reader intrigued by Hannah's story, rooting for her as she learns to navigate her diagnosis, her friends, etc.
I liked this book, but there were parts that irritated me. There were spots where the information was repeated, and it wasn't entirely necessary to do so. Other than that, A DANGER TO HERSELF AND OTHERS was a relatively fast-paced read with shocking moments that had me engrossed from page one.

ktag's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I actually really enjoyed A Danger to Herself and Others. It kind of threw me for a loop because I wasn’t expecting the last bit of it. But I do have to say I really enjoy a good mental health book that kind of lets you see the perspective of what others might be going through. I do have to say I wish Hannah had better parents. It’s not the reality of things I know but I felt so bad for her and the fact that they treated her like crap all her life.

kleonard's review against another edition

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3.0

A bright but unreliable narrator tells the story of her summer program experience gone bad. Hannah finds herself in a psychiatric hospital after her roommate at a prestigious summer program falls from a window and remains in a coma. But it's all a misunderstanding, Hannah tells the readers, and proceeds to try to convince herself of that as well. The unreliable narrator trope is handled well, and brittle, overachieving Hannah reminds me all too well of someone I know who has similar problems telling reality from perception.

megwilliams573's review against another edition

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sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes

3.0

maceyhoff3's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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