Every Last Word : A Journey of Finding Friendship, Growth and Self
'Every Last Word' is got to be the best book I've read in a while. It tells the story of Sam, a girl with OCD. She has a group of friends who call themselves Crazy Eights, with whom she was close since childhood but now she is the odd girl out. She goes to therapy, takes medication and keeps her OCD a well-hidden secret. Sam's life changed when she met a girl named Caroline. Eventually, Sam opened up to her and learnt that Caroline was struggling too, with depression. One day, shortly after they first met, Caroline took her to a secret place called Poet's Corner. There, for the first time in life, Sam found that she was passionate about poetry. She wanted to join the poets. But there was AJ, a guitarist, singer and lyricist, who didn’t want her to be a member. Sam was mesmerised by AJ's performance, she didn’t realize at first why AJ resented her. When she did realize, guilt overflowed her. She finally apologised to AJ, in her way - by writing a poem. It took him a while to accept the apology and Sam finally got the membership of Poet's Corner. She found a place where she belonged. Her life was changing, for better. Or so she thought. I love the way the story is written. It isn’t like typical young adult fictions that I read. It tells the story of friendship and living with a mental illness, it talks about passion and how it helps us find our true selves. It’s about growth. It’s well-written. I especially find the vivid descriptions fascinating. Like AJ - I can actually picture him with his acoustic guiter and hairs and everything, or Caroline in her T-shirt. The book made me feel the characters. I found the conversations between Sam and her psychiatrist uplifting. In my opinion, Poet's Corner was the best part of the story. Also, character development. Some character developed in a way that I didn’t see coming. Near the end, a fascinating plot twist. One thing I disliked about the book is the romance. Not because it was badly written or anything, it's because I am not a fan of romance between teenagers in general. But that's just my opinion. It didn’t make me appreciate the book any less. If you are looking for a good book about mental health, I highly recommend this.