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cassidybrohl's review
5.0
This book is one of my all time favorites! I love how it focuses on people who are so different, but their situation is identical! I really connected with the characters in this book & I can’t wait to read again!
lmohhhh's review
1.0
Someone who has experience mental illness themselves and through other people I love to read a good mental health based fiction. I don't know what it is but generally the characters draw me in, I can usually see parts of myself in them or others.
But this book was so terrible, it was a book I begged for the end to come faster, it was straight up boring.
We get to hear about everyone's mental illness in depth but not Stella's, there is no closure, the characters don't go forward but generally go backwards in their mental health.
This book annoyed me, frustrated me and was poorly written.
Boring is the key takeaway.
But this book was so terrible, it was a book I begged for the end to come faster, it was straight up boring.
We get to hear about everyone's mental illness in depth but not Stella's, there is no closure, the characters don't go forward but generally go backwards in their mental health.
This book annoyed me, frustrated me and was poorly written.
Boring is the key takeaway.
ronron00's review
3.0
Got an ARC from a giveaway. This book was what is said it would be - 5 angsty teens at a 4 week camp for high schoolers with mental health issues. It read like any other YA book. Overall an okay read, just unremarkable.
let_therebebooks's review against another edition
5.0
Wow, is this really over?!
I ADORED this book. The characters were funny and relatable, the subject matter was important, and the story line was emotional. I laughed out loud at the banter and teared up near the end. The ending was well, but I wanted more! I fell in love with each of the characters and their mental illness, and just wanted to know how their lives continued after camp ended.
Each character is dealing with a different mental illness. One has anorexia (a male), one has Narcissist Personality Disorder, one has OCD, one has manic depression, and the other has depression and honestly, probably some PTSD. As someone who suffers from depression myself, I thought Jennifer Yu did a very good job representing and writing about depression and mental illness. This book easily made it's way into my heart and became one of my favorites of the year. These characters should be protected at all costs honestly.
Also - I loved how one of the character's POV was written as a movie script.. how cool!
"... and how she hopes we always remember that emotional health is something maintained, not simply won."
"You start Prozac. You go to wilderness therapy camp. You try to fall in love, and then you try to fall out of love. And you wait. You wait and you wait and you wait for the second when these things all come together in a flurry of sparks and sunlight and you magically transform into a happy, well-adjusted person who goes to school and has friends and doesn't spend half her days lying in bed trying to remember today's excuse to keep living. You wait so much that you forget that there are things that used to make you happy, that there are kinds of love that make you a better person, that life is worth living even if it really, really sucks."
"
I ADORED this book. The characters were funny and relatable, the subject matter was important, and the story line was emotional. I laughed out loud at the banter and teared up near the end. The ending was well, but I wanted more! I fell in love with each of the characters and their mental illness, and just wanted to know how their lives continued after camp ended.
Each character is dealing with a different mental illness. One has anorexia (a male), one has Narcissist Personality Disorder, one has OCD, one has manic depression, and the other has depression and honestly, probably some PTSD. As someone who suffers from depression myself, I thought Jennifer Yu did a very good job representing and writing about depression and mental illness. This book easily made it's way into my heart and became one of my favorites of the year. These characters should be protected at all costs honestly.
Also - I loved how one of the character's POV was written as a movie script.. how cool!
"... and how she hopes we always remember that emotional health is something maintained, not simply won."
"You start Prozac. You go to wilderness therapy camp. You try to fall in love, and then you try to fall out of love. And you wait. You wait and you wait and you wait for the second when these things all come together in a flurry of sparks and sunlight and you magically transform into a happy, well-adjusted person who goes to school and has friends and doesn't spend half her days lying in bed trying to remember today's excuse to keep living. You wait so much that you forget that there are things that used to make you happy, that there are kinds of love that make you a better person, that life is worth living even if it really, really sucks."
"
cc_shelflove's review against another edition
3.0
Four Weeks, Five People follows a group of teens as they navigate their way through a wilderness therapy summer camp. Jennifer Yu does a great job of depicting various mental illnesses, including depression, anxiety, anorexia nervosa, narcissistic personality disorder, and OCD. The book kept my interest enough, but the writing was so elementary that I just didn’t FEEL anything. The therapists often spoke to the teens as though they were toddlers. With such strong topics, I expected my heart to pull toward these characters, and it didn’t.
literary_han's review
3.0
Now I am not sure what I think about this novel.
I have suffered mental illness for the last 8ish years and have been hospitalised both in general and psychiatric. I like to think that I have some idea of what mental illness entails and how treatment works. Granted I live in the UK and I have three mental illnesses so in other mental disorders I am very much ignorant.
I liked how this book was very much true and did not shy away from the horrors of mental illness. It also showed hope. It was easy to read and I found that the writing flowed. Also I resonated with some of the thoughts the teenagers had.
I did have some negatives however, there was very little character growth in all of the young people. I know that four weeks is very little time to even think about and heal from mental distress. But I did expect to see some growth.
The therapy was virtually non-existent and the counselling was shockingly bad. The therapy in this book was very 'hippy' and not, at all, what I experienced in my own recovery. And is unlike any counselling/therapy I have ever heard of with people with serious mental illness.
I don't know. Like it was an entertaining book but didn't really portray recovery from mental ill health.
I don't know if I would recommend this book. It was okay, but not enlightening or particularly factual.
Hannah
xoxo
I have suffered mental illness for the last 8ish years and have been hospitalised both in general and psychiatric. I like to think that I have some idea of what mental illness entails and how treatment works. Granted I live in the UK and I have three mental illnesses so in other mental disorders I am very much ignorant.
I liked how this book was very much true and did not shy away from the horrors of mental illness. It also showed hope. It was easy to read and I found that the writing flowed. Also I resonated with some of the thoughts the teenagers had.
I did have some negatives however, there was very little character growth in all of the young people. I know that four weeks is very little time to even think about and heal from mental distress. But I did expect to see some growth.
The therapy was virtually non-existent and the counselling was shockingly bad. The therapy in this book was very 'hippy' and not, at all, what I experienced in my own recovery. And is unlike any counselling/therapy I have ever heard of with people with serious mental illness.
I don't know. Like it was an entertaining book but didn't really portray recovery from mental ill health.
I don't know if I would recommend this book. It was okay, but not enlightening or particularly factual.
Hannah
xoxo
haleyferg's review
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
mlvreads's review
2.0
I have read so many great books about mental illness and treatment, so I can't help but be stingy when it comes to the way these things were treated in this book. Considering it was the entire concept of the book, I'm a little disappointed in the way some things were handled.
There are 5 different perspectives from characters each seeking treatment for different disorders. I think Yu did a good job of distinguishing the character voices and adding interesting elements that helped highlight their experience (Ben's disassociation as a movie script, the lines that separate Clarisa's paragraphs). That was a great approach.
Still, I really didn't like the way their treatment was done. I know they were doing both group and individual therapy, but we didn't really see much of that. And I. Really. Hated. Jessie. Jessie was more concerned about foul language than allowing the campers to express their feelings. I've never read a book where people attempting some sort of recovery or treatment were meant to hold back their feelings. Heck, I go to therapy and my therapist assures me that it's okay when I curse, because that's the space to do it.
I know that there needs to be rules and regulations, of course. But language? Really? OMG. No.
Also, and maybe I'm wrong here, but wouldn't watching a movie like "Girl, Interrupted" at the camp be triggering for some? Why are they not being sensitive to these things?
I couldn't help but get the feeling that the campers were meant to fend for themselves and that the counselors, professional therapists BTW, were just there for paychecks. Especially the founder of the camp who showed up TWICE.
I dunno, man. Obviously, the individuals need to put in the work. But I've read books with much more support and honesty in the handling of treatment and this book pales in comparison to so many amazing others.
There are 5 different perspectives from characters each seeking treatment for different disorders. I think Yu did a good job of distinguishing the character voices and adding interesting elements that helped highlight their experience (Ben's disassociation as a movie script, the lines that separate Clarisa's paragraphs). That was a great approach.
Still, I really didn't like the way their treatment was done. I know they were doing both group and individual therapy, but we didn't really see much of that. And I. Really. Hated. Jessie. Jessie was more concerned about foul language than allowing the campers to express their feelings. I've never read a book where people attempting some sort of recovery or treatment were meant to hold back their feelings. Heck, I go to therapy and my therapist assures me that it's okay when I curse, because that's the space to do it.
I know that there needs to be rules and regulations, of course. But language? Really? OMG. No.
Also, and maybe I'm wrong here, but wouldn't watching a movie like "Girl, Interrupted" at the camp be triggering for some? Why are they not being sensitive to these things?
I couldn't help but get the feeling that the campers were meant to fend for themselves and that the counselors, professional therapists BTW, were just there for paychecks. Especially the founder of the camp who showed up TWICE.
I dunno, man. Obviously, the individuals need to put in the work. But I've read books with much more support and honesty in the handling of treatment and this book pales in comparison to so many amazing others.
karah_k's review
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
flaviaaalouise's review
4.0
This is one of those books that I really wanted when it was released but didn't get and now 5 years later I finally read it. This was an interesting spin and I liked it well enough. Read for Dewey's 24 hour readathon April/May 2022.