Tag Archives: mental health

Zine Review: Do What You Want

Published April 2017, edited and curated by Leah Pritchard and Ruby Tandoh.

35026501 Cover blurb: Do what You Want is a one-off magazine, curated and edited by food writer Ruby Tandoh and her partner Leah Pritchard. Focusing on mental health and illness, it features an interview with actress Mara Wilson; writing from New York Magazine’s advice columnist Heather Havrilesky (Ask Polly); recipes from food writers Diana Henry, Meera Sodha and Bee Wilson; and an exclusive Q&A with Sara Quin of Tegan and Sara.

With essays, comics and poems by contributors from all walks of life, Do What You Want shows that mental wellbeing is for everyone. This is a project in aid of mental health charities and not-for-profit organisations. All profits will be split between Mind, Beat, Centre of Mental Health and more.

My Review: As soon as I’d heard about this zine, I knew I needed to order a copy! I’ve love Ruby Tandoh. So to hear she was curating a zine about mental health with her girlfriend Leah (now fiancees – congrats you guys omg), I was over the moon. As a Tegan and Sara obsessive, my excitement was undoubtedly furthered by the announcement that the zine would include an interview with Sara Quin!

Do What You Want covers a huge variety of mental health issues, from eating disorders to anxiety, depression and the intersectionality of mental health with aspects of identity such as being queer. I adored how broad this zine was, as it’s so eye-opening to read accounts from a variety of people from different backgrounds. I’m sure that many people who read this will find something to relate to, as well as come away from it having learned something valuable. It’s rare to see so many diverse, honest stories in one place like this; that’s what makes the zine so special.

Every contribution is presented absolutely beautifully, whether it’s a personal story, report on statistics and services or a recipe. Presentation ranges from vibrant comics and portraits, to gorgeous illustrations accompanying heartfelt essays, interviews and first person accounts. I took my time reading this to admire all of the work that’s gone into making this book so visually exciting. The uplifting, wonderful artwork perfectly accompanies some incredibly hard-hitting topics.

I started reading Do What You Want during exam season, and that proved it to be the perfect read to dip in and out of. This zine is a wonderful read whether you’re leafing through a passage or two a night, or reading the entire thing in a day.

As I was about halfway through, I did notice there were significantly more female contributors than male ones. It is fantastic to see so many talented female artists and writers in one place. However, I did want to see more representation of men’s experiences of mental health, after reading around the topic previously, and being aware of some shocking statistics. This is still a teeny tiny problem for me with the zine, but it definitely was addressed really well through a couple of contributions such as George Almond’s portrayal of toxic masculinity in a moving account of his family.

Overall, I am so, so impressed with Do What You Want; it’s the kind of book you want to shout about from the rooftops and demand everyone reads. not only is it an amazing resource on mental health information; it’s also a beautiful collection of art and writing, and has raised a lot of money for various charities. This is definitely up there in one of my favourite reads of all time. After selling out its initial 4000 prints, the zine is going into a reprint, so you can still order a physical copy now, or get the ebook if you’d like it sooner!

My Rating:

Book Review: Beautiful Broken Things by Sara Barnard

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Published February 2016 by Macmillan.

Goodreads Synopsis: I was brave. She was reckless. We were trouble.
Best friends Caddy and Rosie are inseparable. Their differences have brought them closer, but as she turns sixteen Caddy begins to wish she could be a bit more like Rosie – confident, funny and interesting.

Then Suzanne comes into their lives: beautiful, damaged, exciting and mysterious, and things get a whole lot more complicated. As Suzanne’s past is revealed and her present begins to unravel, Caddy begins to see how much fun a little trouble can be.

But the course of both friendship and recovery is rougher than either girl realises, and Caddy is about to learn that downward spirals have a momentum of their own.

My Review: Beautiful Broken Things had been on my to-read list ever since I saw its beautiful cover in late 2015! I’m very much a ‘judge a book by its cover’ type. I actually went into the book knowing very little about it, other than that it was about friendship, and by my guessing, would be quite a sad read.

It took me a while to read this because it was the first book I read after exams; the last two months have been a massive reading slump and I’ve been so out of the loop, and out of the reading mindset. However, on a long bus journey the other day, I devoured over half of the book. Sara Barnard really draws the reader in, and gets them totally engrossed in the story.

Beautiful Broken Things follows the story of Caddy, who is living what she feels is a boring, average life. When her best friend Rosie introduces her to Suzanne, a new girl to Brighton, everything begins to change. Suzanne went through some horrible things before moving to Brighton with her aunt, and Caddy finds herself drawn to her, wanting to be there for her. Events begin to spiral out of control – and nothing’s the same.

The premise of the story was brilliant. Even though I did think the story was a little predictable, I still found myself feeling for the characters are the story played out. I loved the setting; it feels like Barnard’s debut is like a love letter to Brighton, highlighting its beautiful places in the pivotal scenes of the story.

The characters are all really well developed and felt very real to me, but for some reason I just didn’t connected with them like I’d expected to. Especially Suzanne. It’s not that I explicitly didn’t like the protagonists, but some of the decisions they made just didn’t add up for me and I felt a bit detached from them. I feel like if I’d grown to love them more, this book would have deeply impacted me much more.

Overall, Beautiful Broken Things is a really great debut novel, and one I’d certainly recommend. It’s a riveting contemporary story, with some characters that I’m sure most will find very memorable. Sadly, something just didn’t click for me, whilst I was reading – however, it was still a brilliant read 🙂

My Rating:

I purchased a copy of Beautiful Broken Things.

Book Review: When We Collided by Emery Lord

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Published April 2016 by Bloomsbury Books.
Goodreads Synopsis: Meet Vivi and Jonah: A girl and a boy whose love has the power save or destroy them.
Vivi and Jonah couldn’t be more different. Vivi craves anything joyful or beautiful that life can offer. Jonah has been burdened by responsibility for his family ever since his father died. As summer begins, Jonah resigns himself to another season of getting by. Then Vivi arrives, and suddenly life seems brighter and better. Jonah is the perfect project for Vivi, and things finally feel right for Jonah. Their love is the answer to everything. But soon Vivi’s zest for life falters, as her adventurousness becomes true danger-seeking. Jonah tries to keep her safe, but there’s something important Vivi hasn’t told him.

My Review: I’ll admit, this was a book I judged quite largely on the cover – it was so beautiful, I just had to see what it was about. And I’m so glad I was pulled into it. When We Collided was everything I expected and so much more; a truly unforgettable story that I want to recommend to everyone.

It’s hard not to fall in love with the characters from the opening pages; instantly, I was swept up within the separate lives of Vivi and Jonah – her bustling, art filled life, and his busy and mourning family – and didn’t want to stop reading as they, well, “collided.” Both Vivi and Jonah have awful hardships in their life, but after finding each other, it’s like they both have a new lease of life. I’ve never read anything by Emery Lord before, but I really want to now; her ability to craft realistic, memorable characters is second to none.

Mental health is a topic discussed often in YA fiction – and When We Collided is an incredible depiction of bipolar disorder. The author writes about it honestly and openly, and in a very realistic way. I think it was discussed really well in the book – Emery Lord’s writing is authentic and raw, her characters voices genuine.

I could tell from about a third of the way in that this book was bound to get quite sad at some point – it does, inevitably, but I was so wrapped up in Vivi and Jonah’s lives that I hardly saw it coming. The plot is so heartbreaking, but there are plenty of points that made me smile – Vivi’s happy moods are infectious. The whole book is a roller-coaster of emotion, and I definitely wasn’t expecting such a powerful story.

Overall, I’m incredibly glad I got the chance to read When We Collided – it was a moving, wonderful book and I can’t wait to read more from Lord in the future. I’ve never fallen for characters or gotten so engrossed in a love story so quickly. When We Collided is the perfect book if you want to read about some amazing characters, with a heartbreaking but also at points uplifting story. And the setting is gorgeous. I really can’t do this book justice – just go have a read for yourself 🙂

My Rating:

I received a copy of When We Collided from the publisher, in exchange for a review. In no way at all did this affect my thoughts.

Book Review: Mind Your Head by Juno Dawson

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Published 16th January 2016 by Hot Key Books.

27799078 Goodreads Synopsis: We all have a mind, so we all need to take care of our mental health as much as we need to take care of our physical health. And the first step is being able to talk about our mental health. Juno Dawson leads the way with this frank, factual and funny book, with added information and support from clinical psychologist Dr Olivia Hewitt. Covering topics from anxiety and depression to addiction, self-harm and personality disorders, Juno and Olivia talk clearly and supportively about a range of issues facing young people’s mental health – whether fleeting or long-term – and how to manage them, with real-life stories from young people around the world. With witty illustrations from Gemma Correll.

My Review: It’s been fantastic to see that, over recent years, YA fiction has been increasingly representative of different mental health issues – and it was even more fantastic to see that a new, non-fiction book about it was coming out. Not only that, but Juno Dawson was writing it – arguably one of the best, versatile voices in YA fiction and non-fiction right now. I was over the moon when I received a copy!

Much like This Book is Gay, Mind Your Head is written equal part serious and witty. Juno is so great at making really important topics so easy to read for many audiences. Mind Your Head is a book you could devour in a night or so – I found all of the information in there incredibly useful and informative. It’s so brilliant that, despite not being an incredibly long book, Mind Your Head takes time to explore many different types of mental health issues and causes.

I can never fault Juno’s writing – she’s just perfect at writing anything for teenagers, no matter the genre or topic. With any similar sorts of books to this, I’d expect the information to be quite bombarding or written in a very straight-to-the-point detached style – but this book is nothing like that! The topics covered in this book are very serious and are rightly treated so – but Juno is so good at making reading about these things so engaging and accessible.

I think the input from clinical psychologist Dr Olivia Hewitt was really great! Her writing can be found in small extracts across the book, describing some details in a more in-depth style.

And, of course, I can’t not mention Gemma Correll. I adore her illustrations, as they’re all over the internet and are a fantastic addition to Being a Girl, another Hot Key non-fiction title. They’re just so funny and are a great addition to the book.

Overall, Mind Your Head is awesome – it’s a really well written, much needed book for all ages, and an important, informative book whether you are experiencing and mental health issues, or want to learn more. The book and its contents are presented in an engaign, visual way, with varied formats, visuals and illustrations. Definitely recommended. What can’t Juno write?! 🙂

My Rating:

four

I received a copy of Mind Your Head from the publisher, in exchange for a review. In no way at all did this affect my thoughts.

Review-Graphic: Belzhar by Meg Wolitzer