Evan Roskos is the brother to one of my good friends. As soon as she told me about the book I pre-ordered it. That was awhile ago. I just never got around to actually reading the book. Now just last week, she sent me the trailer for the movie version of the book! I was hooked. It looks amazing! So I pulled out the book and read it all in one day.
WOW!
“She perches on the power lines of my thoughts.”
This books is incredible. It shows mental health issues in the best light. I know that might sound odd but it really does. As I read it I knew exactly how James was feeling and I have been in his spot many times as hard as it is to admit or want to admit.
James is trying to figure out his place in the world and why his sister, Jorie, was kicked out of their house and school. It has all the makings of a high school young adult novel but hidden inside is the mystery of what really happened with Jorie. James never feels like he gets a true response to his questions but then maybe he doesn't really want the answers he will find.
James has a best friend Derek and a "love interest" Beth. I love that these two people are his strength and his sounding boards, I am grateful that they are there for James and that they stick with him through all the ups and downs of teenage life...and so much more.
The book also houses a real and true talk on mental health. We have all felt that we were broken, that we were wired differently, that we were invisible... in James's case he is correct in these feelings. We go through all his motions and emotions as he winds his way through his life and his story.
Dr. Bird is just that, a pigeon that James talks to and gets advice from... and yes, it really is just James talking to himself but it is so poignant and makes you wish for your own Dr. Bird.
4 paws
I find it interesting that I read two very different books in the past week: one being female centered and the other male centered BUT they both had a mystery about them, they both had mental health issues as a main point and they both made me laugh, cry, yell and feel sooo good about myself at the end of them. Good authors are very special indeed. It is not something I could do but it is definitely something I can appreciate. And I hope that by posting these reviews, I will send them some more readership and recognition.
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