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4.11 AVERAGE
4.11 AVERAGE
I'm weird when it comes to books about mental illness written in first person. I've read a few books where there tends to be a disconnect between me and the main character because the main character that's suffering from a mental illness is disconnected from everything around them. I feared that this would happen with The Weight of Zero and I wouldn't connect with Cath. But I did.
The Weight of Zero was a great book. It struck the perfect balance between angst and hope. I felt for everything that Cath was going through and her fear of not being accepted due to her bipolar disorder hurt my heart. I loved her angst-filled relationship with her mom, loved her relationship with Kristal, liked her relationship with Michael, and absolutely LOVED Nonni (what an awesome character). I also really liked the dynamics between Cath, Kristal, and the others in her IOD group. In fact, I would have liked to have more of those sessions in this book.
The reason The Weight of Zero gets four stars instead of five is that I felt like there were some things that weren't wrapped up to my satisfaction, like the pervy jerk in Cath's class or Anthony's own problems. Sure, they're minuscule things that don't have a lot to do with the book as a whole, but I still would have liked to have them resolved.
Overall, I liked The Weight of Zero. It seemed like a very real account of people who are suffering from some sort of mental illness. I liked that, for the most part, it was angsty, but I also liked that we had lighthearted moments (NONNI!) in it, too. Highly recommended.
The Weight of Zero was a great book. It struck the perfect balance between angst and hope. I felt for everything that Cath was going through and her fear of not being accepted due to her bipolar disorder hurt my heart. I loved her angst-filled relationship with her mom, loved her relationship with Kristal, liked her relationship with Michael, and absolutely LOVED Nonni (what an awesome character). I also really liked the dynamics between Cath, Kristal, and the others in her IOD group. In fact, I would have liked to have more of those sessions in this book.
The reason The Weight of Zero gets four stars instead of five is that I felt like there were some things that weren't wrapped up to my satisfaction, like the pervy jerk in Cath's class or Anthony's own problems. Sure, they're minuscule things that don't have a lot to do with the book as a whole, but I still would have liked to have them resolved.
Overall, I liked The Weight of Zero. It seemed like a very real account of people who are suffering from some sort of mental illness. I liked that, for the most part, it was angsty, but I also liked that we had lighthearted moments (NONNI!) in it, too. Highly recommended.
I absolutely loved this book. It's so deep and has so many things to take away from it! It just touched my heart in a way. I loved Catherine and just seeing how she went through life and how things changed for her. It was incredibly written and I just loved this book so much!
This would have been a 3 - 3.5 star rating if not for how insensitive the ending was. Other than that, an engaging and strong read.
I want to say there wasn’t anything special about this book. Nothing that moved me greatly or brought me to rocking sobs. Yet, Catherine’s story was one that I hope I’ll hold onto for a long time. The hope and simple truth this story gives is strong and I would recommend it to anyone, no matter your age, who lives with a mental illness. The author captured the fear of depression so well, but not only that, she was able to capture how comforting one grows in their illness and how miserable that is. I really appreciated this story.
Honesty time: I was very reluctant to read this book.
Let me explain why, and why I ended up loving it.
I went to see Sara Megibow give a talk to members of SCBWI. (The talk was great, but that’s not the point.) At the end of her talk, Sara gave away a pile of books. I ended up with an advanced reader’s copy of THE WEIGHT OF ZERO. The back cover copy describes a story of a girl who is dealing (poorly) with bipolar disorder. Possibly interesting, I thought. The book went into my massive “to be read” pile.
A few weeks later I stumbled across a Writer’s Digest post looking at successful queries. This one was Sara Megibow talking about the query letter she received from Karen Fortunati. Something in the way Sara described the book made me pause. This was starting to sound like a book that had an agenda. My experience with books that have an agenda is that the story is usually lacking. Maybe I wasn’t interested in reading this book, after all.
THE WEIGHT OF ZERO made its way to the top of my pile. I opened the book to find a letter from the editor at Delacorte Press. She talked about the importance of this book, both to her personally, and the world as a whole. She laid out the message of the book in black and white. Oh boy. Definitely a book with an agenda.
I started reading. And I kept reading. I read about half of the book in one sitting. Yes, this is a book with an agenda. More importantly, it is a great, well-told STORY.
Catherine knows that she has bipolar disorder. She has experienced both the crippling depression (she has named it Zero) and the euphoria and boundless energy of mania. She has tried to commit suicide while in the grasp of Zero before, and has a clear plan to succeed the next time Zero grabs her and crushes her under its weight. But she has one thing she wants to do before she dies. One thing. It’s a thing that would be on the bucket list of many teenagers if they made one.
Catherine goes after this one thing, the only thing she thinks she wants to do before she dies. Along the way she begins to accumulate other things. Things that are given to her that she didn’t know she wanted, things she didn’t know she needed.
Yes, there is a message to this story, an agenda. Hope is sneaky. Even when you refuse to acknowledge it, it can find a way in. Also this- you are not your disease. And this- you can live.
And I loved it. This is just a great story of a girl on mission. It just so happens that she is dragging THE WEIGHT OF ZERO on that mission with her.
Let me explain why, and why I ended up loving it.
I went to see Sara Megibow give a talk to members of SCBWI. (The talk was great, but that’s not the point.) At the end of her talk, Sara gave away a pile of books. I ended up with an advanced reader’s copy of THE WEIGHT OF ZERO. The back cover copy describes a story of a girl who is dealing (poorly) with bipolar disorder. Possibly interesting, I thought. The book went into my massive “to be read” pile.
A few weeks later I stumbled across a Writer’s Digest post looking at successful queries. This one was Sara Megibow talking about the query letter she received from Karen Fortunati. Something in the way Sara described the book made me pause. This was starting to sound like a book that had an agenda. My experience with books that have an agenda is that the story is usually lacking. Maybe I wasn’t interested in reading this book, after all.
THE WEIGHT OF ZERO made its way to the top of my pile. I opened the book to find a letter from the editor at Delacorte Press. She talked about the importance of this book, both to her personally, and the world as a whole. She laid out the message of the book in black and white. Oh boy. Definitely a book with an agenda.
I started reading. And I kept reading. I read about half of the book in one sitting. Yes, this is a book with an agenda. More importantly, it is a great, well-told STORY.
Catherine knows that she has bipolar disorder. She has experienced both the crippling depression (she has named it Zero) and the euphoria and boundless energy of mania. She has tried to commit suicide while in the grasp of Zero before, and has a clear plan to succeed the next time Zero grabs her and crushes her under its weight. But she has one thing she wants to do before she dies. One thing. It’s a thing that would be on the bucket list of many teenagers if they made one.
Catherine goes after this one thing, the only thing she thinks she wants to do before she dies. Along the way she begins to accumulate other things. Things that are given to her that she didn’t know she wanted, things she didn’t know she needed.
Yes, there is a message to this story, an agenda. Hope is sneaky. Even when you refuse to acknowledge it, it can find a way in. Also this- you are not your disease. And this- you can live.
And I loved it. This is just a great story of a girl on mission. It just so happens that she is dragging THE WEIGHT OF ZERO on that mission with her.
Check out the full review here: https://www.instagram.com/p/BKOypoZgfVS/?taken-by=thebooksbuzz
**I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher. This has not affected my review in any way.**
This is definitely one of the best books encompassing mental health I've read all year, if not the best. What sets itself apart from other similar books on the market is simply the perspective of mental health in which the author has decided to write about.
Catherine Pulaski is a 17-year-old girl who suffers from bipolar disorder. She spends her days living in fear that one day Zero will return for her. Zero, the devastating depression born of Catherine's bipolar disorder, which almost triumphed through her first suicide attempt. She knows Zero will come back for her, and she will take whatever time she has left before she ultimately decides to end her life when Zero makes its imminent arrival. But before that... she's got a bucket list of things to do.
Fortunati really emphasizes the longevity of Catherine's mental illness, something that is often neglected in most of the mental health-related books I've read. I feel like some books portray a character's mental illness as this hurdle to be knocked down or conquered and that once it's treated, it's gone forever. I believe quite the opposite actually. Mental illness is something that stays apart of a person forever and all one can do is not 'treat it' or 'extinguish it', but just to learn how to live with it. Even embrace it, in some cases.
Catherine may be one of the most compelling characters I've ever read about. Her perspective on her own life is so morose and grim. In the beginning of the book, she's literally just waiting for Zero to come so she can take her own life. She believes herself to be such an inconvenience to her teachers, her (ex) friends and to even her mom. These parts of the book were often most painful to read about, as I can imagine so many other teenager girls and boys feeling this way.
There was also some dark humor, which was pretty obvious through Fortunati's word choices. It gave the story this light-hearted sense and quelled the fact that, yes indeed, we're talking about mental illness and depression.
I found myself marking the pages with the phrase '#relatable' on more than one occasion. As someone who has experienced mental illness, I found everything that Catherine felt to be true to my personal experience. Even the little things like how her throat would tighten to the bigger things such as how alienated she felt from the world. My ability to empathize with the main character made my reading of her all the more enjoyable.
The side characters played as big a role as the main protagonist did. This isn't a story about just Catherine's struggle, but the struggle of so many others she has touched and met along the way. For example, we learn a lot about her mother's hardship between juggling 2 jobs and worrying about if and when her daughter might try another attempt on her life. She's a single mom who is obligated to pay for all of Catherine's medical bills and put food on the table. I loved Catherine's mom so much! She was such a trooper and through all the sacrifices she made for Cath, I wanted to pat her on the back for being such a supporter. We also meet Kristal, who is a fellow patient at the St. Anne's support group. Kristal is a recovering patient of an eating disorder. Rarely do I read books where the side characters play just as an important role in the story as the main character.
I liked the symbolism scattered throughout the book. One really important symbol was her stockpile of meds she keeps in an old ballet shoe box. I thought they were a concrete visualization of her control of her own life. She had the power to take her own life in her hands, yet she refused on more than one occasion. If I were to reread this book, a closer analyzation of this symbol would have to be in order!
Catherine was such a complex and endearing character, who was in this constant battle with her depression. As the reader, you could see Catherine getting better with each visit to the support group and her interactions with her friends and family. Due to her grim perspective on her illness, however, Catherine fails to see that and plunges in further into the abyss of her bipolar disorder. It wasn't so much of Catherine using her strength to fight off her illness, but more like her having to find that strength through the duration of the book.
I've read a lot of books that romanticize mental health, and I'm so so so so so glad that this book wasn't one of them. There was a romance in this book, don't get me wrong, it's just that the romance wasn't the main focal point of this story. Catherine didn't find her strength through meeting and falling for Michael. Their relationship is even awkward at times, which I thought was very realistic and well-done. Yep that's right people, the princess saves herself in this one.
I'm surprised this book isn't getting more hype. It was beautifully written and such a great addition to the genre of mental health. I'm ready to jump into anything else Karen Fortunati has for me to read!!
**I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher. This has not affected my review in any way.**
This is definitely one of the best books encompassing mental health I've read all year, if not the best. What sets itself apart from other similar books on the market is simply the perspective of mental health in which the author has decided to write about.
Catherine Pulaski is a 17-year-old girl who suffers from bipolar disorder. She spends her days living in fear that one day Zero will return for her. Zero, the devastating depression born of Catherine's bipolar disorder, which almost triumphed through her first suicide attempt. She knows Zero will come back for her, and she will take whatever time she has left before she ultimately decides to end her life when Zero makes its imminent arrival. But before that... she's got a bucket list of things to do.
Fortunati really emphasizes the longevity of Catherine's mental illness, something that is often neglected in most of the mental health-related books I've read. I feel like some books portray a character's mental illness as this hurdle to be knocked down or conquered and that once it's treated, it's gone forever. I believe quite the opposite actually. Mental illness is something that stays apart of a person forever and all one can do is not 'treat it' or 'extinguish it', but just to learn how to live with it. Even embrace it, in some cases.
Catherine may be one of the most compelling characters I've ever read about. Her perspective on her own life is so morose and grim. In the beginning of the book, she's literally just waiting for Zero to come so she can take her own life. She believes herself to be such an inconvenience to her teachers, her (ex) friends and to even her mom. These parts of the book were often most painful to read about, as I can imagine so many other teenager girls and boys feeling this way.
There was also some dark humor, which was pretty obvious through Fortunati's word choices. It gave the story this light-hearted sense and quelled the fact that, yes indeed, we're talking about mental illness and depression.
I found myself marking the pages with the phrase '#relatable' on more than one occasion. As someone who has experienced mental illness, I found everything that Catherine felt to be true to my personal experience. Even the little things like how her throat would tighten to the bigger things such as how alienated she felt from the world. My ability to empathize with the main character made my reading of her all the more enjoyable.
The side characters played as big a role as the main protagonist did. This isn't a story about just Catherine's struggle, but the struggle of so many others she has touched and met along the way. For example, we learn a lot about her mother's hardship between juggling 2 jobs and worrying about if and when her daughter might try another attempt on her life. She's a single mom who is obligated to pay for all of Catherine's medical bills and put food on the table. I loved Catherine's mom so much! She was such a trooper and through all the sacrifices she made for Cath, I wanted to pat her on the back for being such a supporter. We also meet Kristal, who is a fellow patient at the St. Anne's support group. Kristal is a recovering patient of an eating disorder. Rarely do I read books where the side characters play just as an important role in the story as the main character.
I liked the symbolism scattered throughout the book. One really important symbol was her stockpile of meds she keeps in an old ballet shoe box. I thought they were a concrete visualization of her control of her own life. She had the power to take her own life in her hands, yet she refused on more than one occasion. If I were to reread this book, a closer analyzation of this symbol would have to be in order!
Catherine was such a complex and endearing character, who was in this constant battle with her depression. As the reader, you could see Catherine getting better with each visit to the support group and her interactions with her friends and family. Due to her grim perspective on her illness, however, Catherine fails to see that and plunges in further into the abyss of her bipolar disorder. It wasn't so much of Catherine using her strength to fight off her illness, but more like her having to find that strength through the duration of the book.
I've read a lot of books that romanticize mental health, and I'm so so so so so glad that this book wasn't one of them. There was a romance in this book, don't get me wrong, it's just that the romance wasn't the main focal point of this story. Catherine didn't find her strength through meeting and falling for Michael. Their relationship is even awkward at times, which I thought was very realistic and well-done. Yep that's right people, the princess saves herself in this one.
I'm surprised this book isn't getting more hype. It was beautifully written and such a great addition to the genre of mental health. I'm ready to jump into anything else Karen Fortunati has for me to read!!
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Don’t judge a book by its cover: the cover is terrible but the book is not.
Let me stress that my distaste for this book is all about me rather than the book, which is a fairly standard and readable story of a kid dealing with an issue (bipolar disorder) with all the grace and dignity expected of a stereotypical teen. In other words, none at all. But the book charts her slow understanding that even having a problem and being a teen does not justify utter self-centeredness, and that in fact learning to look outside yourself and think about other people can reward itself with more solid relationships and friendships.
Even selfish people can learn to be social!
(I find that dealing with a problem in real life makes me less forgiving of books dealing with that issue, and I deal with teens in real life so for the time being and probably for the next few years I won't enjoy YA realism.)
Even selfish people can learn to be social!
(I find that dealing with a problem in real life makes me less forgiving of books dealing with that issue, and I deal with teens in real life so for the time being and probably for the next few years I won't enjoy YA realism.)
The Weight of Zero clearly relates the difficulty of dealing with a treatable mental illness for a teen and her friends and family. Catherine has always known that there is something 'wrong' with her, but until she is diagnosed as being bipolar, after attempting suicide, she had no idea how or why Zero, as she has named it, comes after her. With the help of a battery of doctors and therapies and drugs, Cath begins to understand that her disorder is not a death sentence, allowing her to see a better future ahead, as well as allowing her to be much more empathetic with others in mental and physical pain. Fortunati also deals with issues of bullying, helicopter parenting, and high school drama which place this story in a very real world for teen readers. Nice shout-out to The Perks of Being a Wallflower, too!