Book of the Month
Every Last Word | published in 2015 | Young Adult Fiction
The book for this month was not a recent pick for my Book Club, although I may pick it for our next read! The book I chose for this month, Every Last Word, was first read by my daughter, who then gave it to my youngest son to read, who then gave it to me. This young-adult novel tackles an important and vital topic, especially with young adults in today’s society: mental health.
The main character, Samantha “Sam” McAllister, is a popular high school junior who secretly struggles with Purely-Obsessional OCD, which fills her mind with intrusive, dark thoughts, along with worries she can’t turn off. She feels she is not “normal” and doesn’t believe her popular friends would understand. So, she hides her true self from everybody, putting on a mask to “fit in.”
When Sam meets the quirky Caroline, she has to keep her new friend a secret from her popular friends, along with her weekly visits to her psychiatrist. Caroline introduces Sam to the Poet’s Corner, a hidden room in the high school, and a tight-knit group of misfits who carry their own secrets. Sam is drawn to them immediately, especially a quiet guitar-playing guy. Sam starts to discover a whole new side of herself. Slowly, she begins to feel more “normal” than she ever has with her popular friends.
The characters are well-defined and realistic, especially the main character, Sam. Although some reviews found that some of the characters were two-dimensional. Remembering that the book is aimed at younger readers, I thought the author did a good job in the way he wrote it to effectively reach and touch young adults. The book explores themes of mental health, specifically OCD, anxiety, and depression, on Sam’s journey to discover how to deal with and accept her illness and not let it command and define her life. The author portrays Sam’s treatment for her mental illness in realistic ways, with therapy, medication, and Sam’s love of swimming helping to manage her OCD. I thought the author did well at painting medication and therapy as positive things, not shameful things. For young readers, the message conveyed is that reaching out for help is actually a strength, not a weakness. The pages bring you on Sam’s journey of self-discovery, identity, hope, and resilience. The book illustrates the power of poetry and words, of finding true versus toxic friends, and of redefining what normal actually is. When Sam begins to write out her feelings, she begins to find her own voice.
You see Sam’s determination and resilience throughout the story. The author also puts a positive spin on the fact that some people’s brains are “special,” not “broken,” and they just work differently than other people’s. The relationship Sam has with her family is very strong, and the book establishes well how important family support is to someone who is struggling.
This book contains a twist at the end that might surprise you. I’ve seen multiple mixed reviews—some liking it, some not so much.
For me, I felt the book was real, in the sense that it accurately portrayed the agonizing mental rollercoaster, anxiety, and social challenges a teen girl would face while trying to hide her mental illness, ultimately discovering her inner strength and her authenticity. I found the representation of Sam’s intrusive thoughts and how they present themselves in the beginning of the story to be powerful. It highlights that there is no one-and-done treatment solution to recovery and healing. You never really know what’s going on with someone, and outward “perfect” appearances don’t always equal a perfect life. Although it’s aimed at young adults, I believe adults would get something out of it as well. I know I did.
