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sting_ray_'s review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Minor: Child death, Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Drug use, Eating disorder, Grief, Medical content, Self harm, Mental illness, Death, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, and Terminal illness
tbwhite23's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Mental illness, Self harm, and Grief
Moderate: Alcoholism, Addiction, Cancer, Blood, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, and Alcohol
libriinks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Eating disorder, Cancer, Addiction, Mental illness, and Self harm
beckyremillard's review against another edition
- 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
3.0
Graphic: Child death, Drug abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Cancer, Eating disorder, Mental illness, and Blood
alisazhup's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Eleanor grins. ‘Of course. Aren’t you? Aren’t we all?’”
I knew I had to read this after how much I enjoyed Sheinmel’s other book, A Danger to Herself and Others, and because of the way the synopsis promised to bring together my two favorite themes: boarding schools and mental health.
The characters’ issues are diverse- anorexia, kleptomania, selective mutism- and I was excited to see that the author devoted one chapter to each of the backstories. I was disappointed that some of the characters seem stereotyped, especially the characters with ADHD and OCD (ADHD goes deeper than being unable to concentrate and OCD is more than wanting to be organized). However, these stereotypes didn’t show up enough to take away from my experience. Plus, some of the characters seem very realistic in contrast (Eleanor is well done).
I was interested in the chapters where we got to see Moira (the protagonist) have therapy with Dr. Prince. I read a lot of books centered around mental health and most of them skip over when the character goes to therapy. Sheinmel most likely researched how a therapist would work through grief with a person. There are certain phrases/teachings I’ll remember from Dr. Prince (“move forward, not on”) (“this is what it is”).
I remember loving A Danger to Herself and Others because it showed the truth about how not everyone with mental health issues gets a happy ending. The Castle School showed that sometimes people with mental illnesses do recover. We need to see both things in literature.
Themes:
✅Boarding schools
✅Mental health
✅Therapy
✅Grief
Similar Books:
✅The Year After You by Nina de Pass
✅A Danger to Herself and Others by Alyssa Sheinmel
✅It’s Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini
Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Cancer, Death, Grief, Mental illness, Self harm, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, and Medical content
Minor: Bullying
katterese's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Moderate: Cancer and Self harm
imstephtacular's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
This book was beautifully executed with smart pacing. I was compelled to read it in one sitting.
It dealt with a lot of heavy issues through the perspective of a teen really working through huge emotions and circumstances. I liked that therapy was woven into the story and thought the therapy sparked some interesting discussions and points.
I look forward to reading this author’s previous works.
Graphic: Grief and Terminal illness
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Blood, Cancer, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Medical content, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Terminal illness
Minor: Forced institutionalization
theartsybookwitch's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Spoilers below
"For one second before I fall asleep, I think I hear music. But maybe I’m already dreaming."
"Natural beauty, Mei decided, was not a straight thing, not a right-angled thing. Beauty was alphabetization and carefully laid plans. Beauty was counting each bristle on a toothbrush, each slat in the blinds hanging above the living room windows. What was beautiful about something as random as the looks she’d been born with? Something over which she had no control, over which her parents had no control?"
"I always hated it that teachers got to choose what books we read during the school year—I firmly believe that what you read is a deeply personal choice—but I quickly realize why our English classes were structured that way. It’s very dull—not to mention confusing—to listen to eleven girls talk about books I’ve never even heard of."
"In stories, things always go wrong at midnight. That’s when Cinderella’s coach turned back into a pumpkin, when she was exposed for who she really was."
Graphic: Addiction, Blood, and Eating disorder
Moderate: Child death, Cancer, Drug abuse, Drug use, Violence, Self harm, and Mental illness
Minor: Car accident and Gore
TW // tattoos, death, ADHD, anorexia, drugs, addiction, heroin, eating disorders, PTSD (briefly mentioned), alcoholism, depression, knives, razor blades, self sabotage, cutting, needles, self violence, OCD, food, selective mutism, forced to leave, mention of experimentation, cancer, car accident, brain cancer, drugsthoranareads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I fell in love with all the characters, and enjoyed that the book gave us brief POVs about how each of the characters ended up at The Castle School but ultimately returned to Moria’s POV to tell the actual story. I think it helped move the plot along relatively quickly and also spoke to how what we perceive of other people’s issues isn’t always accurate. The characters all had their issues and flaws, but were quite loveable and I got very invested in their wellbeing. I highly recommend picking up this book, I think it can speak to just about anyone!
Moderate: Self harm, Eating disorder, Cancer, and Addiction
cravebooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Addiction, Blood, Cancer, Eating disorder, Drug abuse, Grief, Medical content, and Self harm
Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, Suicidal thoughts, and Terminal illness