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A review by silver_anchor4
Girl Against the Universe by Paula Stokes
4.0
To be completely honest, I didn't have a lot of expectations for this book. I only picked it up because the plot didn't sound completely boring and the cover was colorful. I was in need of a colorful-cover-book.
I began reading the book while stuck in traffic. My mother was driving me home from my first appointment with my new psychiatrist. The first few pages didn't seem at all special to me, but they were well written and kind of entertaining, so I kept reading. An hour later, still stuck in traffic, I found myself laughing out loud, completely immersed in the story. My mom kept giving me concerned looks, but I almost didn't notice. The plot was great, the characters were relatable, the humor was on point. I was really surprised at how well the author depicted mental illness and CBT. This was one of few books I've read were the therapist wasn't a complete unhelpful jerk or totally absent. Of course, as said in the author's note, creative liberties were taken with mental illness and CBT, but she managed to keep it real.
I finished the book that same night; it was so good I just couldn't stop reading. I was smiling when I put it down, not only because of the story, but also because of the author's note. Most authors who write about mental illness forget to remind you that what you just read about does happen to people and could even be happening to you; but the fact that she didn't forget warmed my heart.
I completely loved this book. The main characters were very real and so... human; I couldn't help but see myself in them sometimes. This book made me think about things I usually try to ignore and I found hope in its pages; hope that one day, I can too face my fears head on, take back my life and make peace with the universe.
Second read:
Still good. I've been feeling a little down lately and hadn't read a book in a long time, mostly because I just couldn't find the energy. But I remembered this one and felt like going back to it. It was a really good decision.
I began reading the book while stuck in traffic. My mother was driving me home from my first appointment with my new psychiatrist. The first few pages didn't seem at all special to me, but they were well written and kind of entertaining, so I kept reading. An hour later, still stuck in traffic, I found myself laughing out loud, completely immersed in the story. My mom kept giving me concerned looks, but I almost didn't notice. The plot was great, the characters were relatable, the humor was on point. I was really surprised at how well the author depicted mental illness and CBT. This was one of few books I've read were the therapist wasn't a complete unhelpful jerk or totally absent. Of course, as said in the author's note, creative liberties were taken with mental illness and CBT, but she managed to keep it real.
I finished the book that same night; it was so good I just couldn't stop reading. I was smiling when I put it down, not only because of the story, but also because of the author's note. Most authors who write about mental illness forget to remind you that what you just read about does happen to people and could even be happening to you; but the fact that she didn't forget warmed my heart.
I completely loved this book. The main characters were very real and so... human; I couldn't help but see myself in them sometimes. This book made me think about things I usually try to ignore and I found hope in its pages; hope that one day, I can too face my fears head on, take back my life and make peace with the universe.
Second read:
Still good. I've been feeling a little down lately and hadn't read a book in a long time, mostly because I just couldn't find the energy. But I remembered this one and felt like going back to it. It was a really good decision.