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A review by vermidian
Some Kind of Happiness by Claire Legrand
4.0
This is a very specific brand of family trauma, and that specific brand was MY specific brand. Nothing like growing up in a large family where the head of the family is your grandparents on one side with a big house and where no one talks about the unpleasant problems that they should absolutely talk about, they just pretend they didn't happen and you have to glean it from others what details you can to put together a more complete story. That's my specific kind of family trauma. Now the book's circumstances are a lot more dramatic than what my family doesn't talk about, but the situation is damn familiar.
I thought the book handled the perspective of an eleven year old struggling with mental illness very well. The doubt that their sadness is valid in the face of others' struggles, the not wanting to talk about it yet, the feeling alone - it's a very real feeling that a lot of people, even children, go through. I think it's especially true of children worried about their parents' impending divorces.
It's not a book I can see myself rereading, but it's a very well crafted story and I enjoyed it quite a bit. I would happily recommend this to others, but with a few content warnings.
I thought the book handled the perspective of an eleven year old struggling with mental illness very well. The doubt that their sadness is valid in the face of others' struggles, the not wanting to talk about it yet, the feeling alone - it's a very real feeling that a lot of people, even children, go through. I think it's especially true of children worried about their parents' impending divorces.
It's not a book I can see myself rereading, but it's a very well crafted story and I enjoyed it quite a bit. I would happily recommend this to others, but with a few content warnings.