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literary_lioness's review
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
Charley wants to fit in. Correction, Charley NEEDS to fit in. She is willing to do almost anything it takes to be acknowledged at her high school, no matter the cost. Even if her anxiety becomes so bad and she runs away, a little embarrassment is worth the overall acceptance. That is until her body can no longer tolerate the abuse, and she dies.
Experience Charley’s inner thoughts as she navigates through her life in Gary Clark’s Some Kind of Comfort. A head on approach, Gary tackles the stigma surrounding mental stability, while encompassing a story complete with wonder, discovery, and even love.
Yet, there was something missing. Instead of empathizing with the characters’ angst, fear, loss, anger, love, and other feelings, there seemed to be a disconnect. The words on the page did not evoke an emotional correlation, they were just words on the page. In addition, an overuse of profanity interfered as well.
This story includes actions that may occur while facing struggles with mental illness. Please read with caution if the following may cause you distress: panic attacks, phobias, self-harm (including cutting), obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), abandonment, anxiety, physical abuse, assault, sexual harassment, heart attack, anorexia, post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, adoption, psychiatric ward, bipolar, alcoholism, foster care, missing loved one, suicide, sexism, attempted rape, school shooting, tinnitus, narcissism, coma, overdose, hallucinations, car accident, and death of parent.
A commendable accomplishment, Some Kind of Comfort articulates the inner battles many must combat when facing our own mental health.
Thank you to #SomeKindOfComfort, #GaryClark, and #GCLBooks for the opportunity to read this book and give my honest review.
Original Post found at: https://www.literarylioness.net/post/some-kind-of-comfort-review
sams_fireside's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0
Once again, it was a privilege to be an Advance Reader for Gary Clark’s new book, Some Kind of Comfort. It’s totally different from his Interland books, which are a dystopian fantasy series. This one is real-life, sensitively dealing with issues that many teenagers have suffered or are suffering with.
Charley is our protagonist. A sixteen-year-old girl with severe anxiety issues and ‘thought tangles’, her anxiety has caused Charley numerous problems as she has been growing up, but right now, they’ve hit what is hopefully the peak and she begins to deal with them.
Admitted to a psychiatric unit for children and young people, Charley makes friends with a group of people who are on the same wavelength as she is and, slowly, with therapy and the understanding she needs, she begins her road to recovery.
Gary Clark is an awesome author, and he has dealt with the topics in this book brilliantly. He delves into each character and we begin to understand why they have the issues they have and how they can be dealt with, with the correct help and support.
There are poignant moments throughout the story, each described brilliantly, and we also realise how difficult it is to be the person on the outside looking in. Parents, siblings and friends are also affected when their loved ones are suffering from mental health problems.
I rarely include trigger warnings in reviews, but I think in this case; they are warranted. Some Kind of Comfort includes issues of self-harm, severe anxiety, eating disorders, OCD and suicide.
That aside, this book is well worth a read. Aimed at a Young Adult audience, it will just as easily be enjoyed by adults who may appreciate it from a position of parents and carers. I thoroughly enjoyed reading Some Kind of Comfort and I’d like to thank the author for allowing me to be part of his Advance Reader Team.
Content Warnings
I rarely include trigger warnings in reviews, but I think in this case; they are warranted. Some Kind of Comfort includes issues of self-harm, severe anxiety, eating disorders, OCD and suicide.
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