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A review by alistairlowe
It Helps with the Blues by Bryan Cebulski
5.0
Actual rating: 4.5
Thanks to BookSirens and the author for providing me with an early copy. The book comes out in April 2022.
"It's the thing you do when you're out of other options; when you feel so irrelevant to the universe, you do something extravagantly foolish just to feel something."
That feeling when you randomly pick a book and go into it without any expectations and then end up loving it.
I would describe this kind of as a “slice of life” novel that follows a group of teenagers who are all to some degree affected by a suicide of a boy they knew. There are multiple povs, each giving us bits of information on what happened as well as how these teens are connected. Now the novel is pretty short and it's more of a character study that brings out certain topics of growing up, sexuality, depression and so on. The characters we get to know are quite mature and capable of self-reflecting on their past actions as they’re also trying to determine their place in the world. I think the story has this certain aura of sadness and the feeling of being lost that you experience when you’re about to enter adulthood, and even more when you get faced with serious issues for the first time.
Although it wasn’t directly specified, I have to say I was also pleasantly surprised that there is a whole chapter dedicated to a boy who describes his experience of being aromantic asexual. I have such a hard time finding books with ace representation but now one has found me.
Overall, a nice little read that definitely made me feel a bit nostalgic for those teenage days.
Review also posted on my blog.
Thanks to BookSirens and the author for providing me with an early copy. The book comes out in April 2022.
"It's the thing you do when you're out of other options; when you feel so irrelevant to the universe, you do something extravagantly foolish just to feel something."
That feeling when you randomly pick a book and go into it without any expectations and then end up loving it.
I would describe this kind of as a “slice of life” novel that follows a group of teenagers who are all to some degree affected by a suicide of a boy they knew. There are multiple povs, each giving us bits of information on what happened as well as how these teens are connected. Now the novel is pretty short and it's more of a character study that brings out certain topics of growing up, sexuality, depression and so on. The characters we get to know are quite mature and capable of self-reflecting on their past actions as they’re also trying to determine their place in the world. I think the story has this certain aura of sadness and the feeling of being lost that you experience when you’re about to enter adulthood, and even more when you get faced with serious issues for the first time.
Although it wasn’t directly specified, I have to say I was also pleasantly surprised that there is a whole chapter dedicated to a boy who describes his experience of being aromantic asexual. I have such a hard time finding books with ace representation but now one has found me.
Overall, a nice little read that definitely made me feel a bit nostalgic for those teenage days.
Review also posted on my blog.