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A review by betweentheshelves
The Dark Matter of Mona Starr by Laura Lee Gulledge
dark
inspiring
sad
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I think the topic of this book is important. It's about Mona's struggle with depression and how she works her way through it. The positives: there is great representation of therapy, the metaphors work well for the age group this book targets, and some of the art panels are gorgeous.
The negatives: some of Mona's struggle is equated with something physical that happens to her, which can be problematic. Her depression also seems to be solved fairly quickly, which isn't always the case with mental illness. Figuring out the right treatment plan takes time. Mona is also written off a lot by adults, which is the case for a lot of teen girls, and this isn't really addressed in the text all that much.
That being said, I do think the discussions in this book are an important addition to the discussion of mental illness in books for young people. I just think they could have been done a bit better at times.
The negatives: some of Mona's struggle is equated with something physical that happens to her, which can be problematic. Her depression also seems to be solved fairly quickly, which isn't always the case with mental illness. Figuring out the right treatment plan takes time. Mona is also written off a lot by adults, which is the case for a lot of teen girls, and this isn't really addressed in the text all that much.
That being said, I do think the discussions in this book are an important addition to the discussion of mental illness in books for young people. I just think they could have been done a bit better at times.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness