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A review by charmaineac
This Is My Brain in Love by I.W. Gregorio
2.0
This was not my favourite book, at no fault of the author. I didn't like living in Jocelyn's head (although I bet she didn't either).
I appreciate the message that it's "okay to not be okay." But like... couldn't anyone in this story be okay? Because as much as mental health issues are normalized these days, I think it's also good to demonstrate that people can be stable without professional help. Maybe Priya? But seriously, we ran the gamut of ADHD, depression, anxiety, and anorexia. I don't know if I believe this idea that "Everyone has demons" and "Everyone has a problem that can be labelled."
I also felt that some of these characters were a bit flat, like Mr. Wu. The accents felt like caricatures. Mostly, I felt ashamed that I couldn't understand the pinyin despite being Chinese (my fault!). I was pleasantly surprised by some of the demonstrations of parental support by the end though.
The one contradiction that bugged me a TON throughout the story was Jocelyn's perspective on Utica. She kept lamenting that all she wanted was to "get out of this town" and "not be tied to the restaurant forever." Um, that's literally what your parents were proposing at the start of the book, by moving to New York City?? Why did you go on this giant campaign to stay and save the restaurant? It was illogical, and I don't support the idea of writing off the contradiction as a byproduct of Jocelyn's own inconsistency.
I appreciate the message that it's "okay to not be okay." But like... couldn't anyone in this story be okay? Because as much as mental health issues are normalized these days, I think it's also good to demonstrate that people can be stable without professional help. Maybe Priya? But seriously, we ran the gamut of ADHD, depression, anxiety, and anorexia. I don't know if I believe this idea that "Everyone has demons" and "Everyone has a problem that can be labelled."
I also felt that some of these characters were a bit flat, like Mr. Wu. The accents felt like caricatures. Mostly, I felt ashamed that I couldn't understand the pinyin despite being Chinese (my fault!). I was pleasantly surprised by some of the demonstrations of parental support by the end though.
The one contradiction that bugged me a TON throughout the story was Jocelyn's perspective on Utica. She kept lamenting that all she wanted was to "get out of this town" and "not be tied to the restaurant forever." Um, that's literally what your parents were proposing at the start of the book, by moving to New York City?? Why did you go on this giant campaign to stay and save the restaurant? It was illogical, and I don't support the idea of writing off the contradiction as a byproduct of Jocelyn's own inconsistency.