Steph’s review of My Heart and Other Black Holes > Likes and Comments
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Oh dear. I was really interested in this one. Looking forward to your review.
Aw. I've been waiting for this for months. Can't wait for your review, though!
The romance completely killed this book for me.
Same.
I really want to read this book but I'm afraid that the romance will kill it for me too, argus ._.
Well, I honestly can't recommend this because of the romance, but a lot of other people enjoyed it.
100% agree. You put into words exactly how I felt about this book and the romance. Great review!
I've dealt with depression and I was seriously intrigued by this book, but you saying those things about the romance... Ugh.
Fantastic review, as usual. I wanted to read this as I've heard that the depression is described really well (I can see it in the quotes you used), but I am so not a romance person.
Thanks, guys. I'm choosing to believe the last 50% never happened and have thought of my own ending. It involves Aysel reconnecting with her family and going to the doctor. The end.
Wonderful review. I was attracted to this because I was hoping to see some of my own experiences with depression reflected in fiction. I find the trope that "love cures all" to be a little overdone and can definitely ruin a book, as it seems to have done here.
That's exactly why I decided to give it a go too. I'm sad it didn't work out in the end.
Interesting. I didn't read the romance this way at all. In fact, in your review you mention that Roman still wants to go through with the suicide pact, even after developing feelings for Aysel. That, to me, shows that love is not a cure-all for depression. Love and depression can and do coexist. As for Aysel, one of my favorite things about the book was how we the reader could see that her depression had isolated her and warped her perspective, but she interpreted her loneliness as the town shunning her. Then, slowly over the course of the book, that veil is lifted and she sees that she does have people in her life who genuinely like and care about her, and that is what makes her feel strong enough to step away from the idea of suicide.
But reading is all about interpretation, and what we bring to the page. I respect that the same text can lead us to different conclusions, and I enjoyed reading about how you saw this book. It has given me some food for thought.
I see what you're saying, but to me it felt like Romen was very agenda based... less about being sad and more about "righting the universe." Also, Aysel's change felt too quick to me for someone who had been suffering for so long and isolated. She knew those people were around and she also knew that they cared about her. She even mentioned how she chose to distance herself from her friends. But somehow Roman showed her the light and that was so weird to me.
I can see how others might enjoy the book, hence, me giving it 2 stars, but it didn't do it for me sadly.
Oh too bad, I was looking forward to reading this.
" Love is a lot of things, but it is not a magic pill."
PREACH!!
I haven't read the book but I love your review and they way you describe depression. I feel like when you talk about the romantic elements is seems as though the idea being presented is that love can save you, when in my experience external love, or other events, can sometimes be a distraction from the inner turmoil. Its like if you can fix this one external thing you will be ok, but with depression that is never the case. I also love your confession about reading blurbs, because the reason I didn't immediately jump on reading this book is because of the blurb's ending.
So many important sentences in this review. From your disappointment on the end to you sharing your own experience. Great review, me think.
This review is so spot-on.
The beginning was so promising but it just fell flat for me. I was really disappointed that it took a guy to pull her out of depression. I think love and support are completely necessary for those struggling with depression, but I would have really loved for either her or her family to change her views on life.
Not some guy she's known for three weeks.
The romance definitely cheapened the story for me.
I didn't really hate the romance in this story. Because I do believe that love can be a cure. Ofcourse it differs from person to another. We all have different thinking and feelings. However as for Aysel and Roman I found its normal for them to fall in love with with each other because he got her and she got him, they both felt each other. They both know the feeling of wanting to die. The feeling that everything is just so dark, that they just want to escape. And I guess human feelings are kinda weird and we can never understand them or know how they work. Sometimes when we are depressed no even the ones we love can save us and sometimes they can. Sometimes when feel depressed and hopeless something small could just change us for the better or someone random can change the way we think. Thats how us humans are. We are unpredictable. Our emotions and thoughts are unpredictable and we don't find out about them till we go through life. The more we live, the more surprised we would be of ourselves and those around us. Thats just life how life goes, its full of good and bad surprises.
I've read this book and have just written my review on it. Ive only just started to review and find it hard to put how I think into words. After reading your review, its safe to say that you have spot on just said everything I wanted to say on the subject of this book. So thank you for your review. My reviews have much work to do.
"Which is why I've been saying that Me, Earl and the Dying Girl is a much better alternative to The Fault in Our Stars."
THANK YOU. I actually started to lower my opinion of FioS after reading this book, because the book that was poking fun at the genre had so much more to offer than the gooey, sugary one.
When you have that talk with your book, about the romance, and the constant NEED of YA to have one, I want to be there as well. Love doesn't cure all: see All the Rage. There can be maybe a time when romance will happen, but for now, there are more important things happening: see Torn Away. But losing the storyline to the romance is really getting old and tiresome: see The Witch Hunter.
Thank you for your review. I have struggled with anxiety and depression since I was very young, and it does run int he family. Nothing set off my depression, it just as always been around. I want to see more stories about depression. One of the best I have found in the field is Suicide Watch by Kelley Yook. But this one, where LOVE IS THE STRONGEST CURE OF ALL, holds nothing for me.
While we'll have to agree to disagree on our opinions of the book, I just wanted to say, as one sister who has lost her little bro to another dealing with the same situation: I am so so sorry and this sure does freaking suck. The quotes that you highlighted from Roman were the ones that stuck with me too. The future things we'll miss are some of the hardest things to stomach. Sending peace your way.
Love is the answer, whether it's love for someone else or love for yourself.
Wow. This is pretty much everything I felt after finishing this novel. Ok, I myself haven't dealt with depression, but the way Aysel explained it felt so genuine, I could understand her in a way. And then, it was all well after a kiss? I love me some Disney and True Love's Kiss, but not like this. There's a difference between a fairy tale and a novel that's supposed to deal with topics as heavy and important as depression and suicide. It fell too short for my taste, and I needed to see Aysel acknowledging those who were tying to reach out to her but she ignored. I needed her to see there was more than Roman. I needed her to find strength in more than just one guy. Sure, is the first person who could understand her and what she was going through, but there were other people trying to get to her, and we didn't get that closure.
Spot on review! Just finished the book and felt overwhelmingly disappointed, unsatisfied, and cheated! The book had other issues to address!
Your review is spot on of what I felt after reading this book(after dnf-ing that is but still.. ).
Ummm pretty freaking perfect! All of it.
Have you read Tully by Paulina Simons? It is my go to book that "understands" (for lack of a better word) my depression. I think though that it's a love it or hate it kind of book. (I LOVE IT) I've read and re-read the book about a dozen times. *Definitely NOT YA*
You sum up so prefectly well what I had trouble writing in my review! Your review is really perfect to me and it touched me!
Love your review! You couldn't be more right!
You're right. So much potential... Then romance. Because you know, every depressed girl needs a prince to save her from her mental issues.
Omg i love your review so much. You actually expressed what I was feeling after finishing it!
Geez, I can relate to this so much. All of the angsty teenagers are probably worshiping this book for the mentions of suicide and depression, when in reality, it falls short. Love can't just cure anything and I really expected a more emotional ending.
THANK YOU. I get that the conversation with her mum was supposed to be closure or whatever but it seemed rush to me and it didn't resolve much.
This is an excellent review that makes your points (you call them feelings, to me they looked like well-reasoned arguments) exceptionally well. I think your review should be required reading for ALL YA AUTHORS especially if they talk about depression/mental illness but in general the burden placed on romance does set up unhealthy attitudes to life. Really, really well reasoned and I am going to follow your reviews in case you always have this much (fair) critical punch!
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Paige
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Apr 17, 2015 01:50PM
Oh dear. I was really interested in this one. Looking forward to your review.
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Aw. I've been waiting for this for months. Can't wait for your review, though!
The romance completely killed this book for me.Same.
I really want to read this book but I'm afraid that the romance will kill it for me too, argus ._.
Well, I honestly can't recommend this because of the romance, but a lot of other people enjoyed it.
100% agree. You put into words exactly how I felt about this book and the romance. Great review!
I've dealt with depression and I was seriously intrigued by this book, but you saying those things about the romance... Ugh.
Fantastic review, as usual. I wanted to read this as I've heard that the depression is described really well (I can see it in the quotes you used), but I am so not a romance person.
Thanks, guys. I'm choosing to believe the last 50% never happened and have thought of my own ending. It involves Aysel reconnecting with her family and going to the doctor. The end.
Wonderful review. I was attracted to this because I was hoping to see some of my own experiences with depression reflected in fiction. I find the trope that "love cures all" to be a little overdone and can definitely ruin a book, as it seems to have done here.
That's exactly why I decided to give it a go too. I'm sad it didn't work out in the end.
Interesting. I didn't read the romance this way at all. In fact, in your review you mention that Roman still wants to go through with the suicide pact, even after developing feelings for Aysel. That, to me, shows that love is not a cure-all for depression. Love and depression can and do coexist. As for Aysel, one of my favorite things about the book was how we the reader could see that her depression had isolated her and warped her perspective, but she interpreted her loneliness as the town shunning her. Then, slowly over the course of the book, that veil is lifted and she sees that she does have people in her life who genuinely like and care about her, and that is what makes her feel strong enough to step away from the idea of suicide.But reading is all about interpretation, and what we bring to the page. I respect that the same text can lead us to different conclusions, and I enjoyed reading about how you saw this book. It has given me some food for thought.
I see what you're saying, but to me it felt like Romen was very agenda based... less about being sad and more about "righting the universe." Also, Aysel's change felt too quick to me for someone who had been suffering for so long and isolated. She knew those people were around and she also knew that they cared about her. She even mentioned how she chose to distance herself from her friends. But somehow Roman showed her the light and that was so weird to me. I can see how others might enjoy the book, hence, me giving it 2 stars, but it didn't do it for me sadly.
Oh too bad, I was looking forward to reading this.
" Love is a lot of things, but it is not a magic pill."PREACH!!
I haven't read the book but I love your review and they way you describe depression. I feel like when you talk about the romantic elements is seems as though the idea being presented is that love can save you, when in my experience external love, or other events, can sometimes be a distraction from the inner turmoil. Its like if you can fix this one external thing you will be ok, but with depression that is never the case. I also love your confession about reading blurbs, because the reason I didn't immediately jump on reading this book is because of the blurb's ending.
So many important sentences in this review. From your disappointment on the end to you sharing your own experience. Great review, me think.
This review is so spot-on. The beginning was so promising but it just fell flat for me. I was really disappointed that it took a guy to pull her out of depression. I think love and support are completely necessary for those struggling with depression, but I would have really loved for either her or her family to change her views on life.
Not some guy she's known for three weeks.
The romance definitely cheapened the story for me.
I didn't really hate the romance in this story. Because I do believe that love can be a cure. Ofcourse it differs from person to another. We all have different thinking and feelings. However as for Aysel and Roman I found its normal for them to fall in love with with each other because he got her and she got him, they both felt each other. They both know the feeling of wanting to die. The feeling that everything is just so dark, that they just want to escape. And I guess human feelings are kinda weird and we can never understand them or know how they work. Sometimes when we are depressed no even the ones we love can save us and sometimes they can. Sometimes when feel depressed and hopeless something small could just change us for the better or someone random can change the way we think. Thats how us humans are. We are unpredictable. Our emotions and thoughts are unpredictable and we don't find out about them till we go through life. The more we live, the more surprised we would be of ourselves and those around us. Thats just life how life goes, its full of good and bad surprises.
I've read this book and have just written my review on it. Ive only just started to review and find it hard to put how I think into words. After reading your review, its safe to say that you have spot on just said everything I wanted to say on the subject of this book. So thank you for your review. My reviews have much work to do.
"Which is why I've been saying that Me, Earl and the Dying Girl is a much better alternative to The Fault in Our Stars."THANK YOU. I actually started to lower my opinion of FioS after reading this book, because the book that was poking fun at the genre had so much more to offer than the gooey, sugary one.
When you have that talk with your book, about the romance, and the constant NEED of YA to have one, I want to be there as well. Love doesn't cure all: see All the Rage. There can be maybe a time when romance will happen, but for now, there are more important things happening: see Torn Away. But losing the storyline to the romance is really getting old and tiresome: see The Witch Hunter.
Thank you for your review. I have struggled with anxiety and depression since I was very young, and it does run int he family. Nothing set off my depression, it just as always been around. I want to see more stories about depression. One of the best I have found in the field is Suicide Watch by Kelley Yook. But this one, where LOVE IS THE STRONGEST CURE OF ALL, holds nothing for me.
While we'll have to agree to disagree on our opinions of the book, I just wanted to say, as one sister who has lost her little bro to another dealing with the same situation: I am so so sorry and this sure does freaking suck. The quotes that you highlighted from Roman were the ones that stuck with me too. The future things we'll miss are some of the hardest things to stomach. Sending peace your way.
Love is the answer, whether it's love for someone else or love for yourself.
Wow. This is pretty much everything I felt after finishing this novel. Ok, I myself haven't dealt with depression, but the way Aysel explained it felt so genuine, I could understand her in a way. And then, it was all well after a kiss? I love me some Disney and True Love's Kiss, but not like this. There's a difference between a fairy tale and a novel that's supposed to deal with topics as heavy and important as depression and suicide. It fell too short for my taste, and I needed to see Aysel acknowledging those who were tying to reach out to her but she ignored. I needed her to see there was more than Roman. I needed her to find strength in more than just one guy. Sure, is the first person who could understand her and what she was going through, but there were other people trying to get to her, and we didn't get that closure.
Spot on review! Just finished the book and felt overwhelmingly disappointed, unsatisfied, and cheated! The book had other issues to address!
Your review is spot on of what I felt after reading this book(after dnf-ing that is but still.. ).
Ummm pretty freaking perfect! All of it.
Have you read Tully by Paulina Simons? It is my go to book that "understands" (for lack of a better word) my depression. I think though that it's a love it or hate it kind of book. (I LOVE IT) I've read and re-read the book about a dozen times. *Definitely NOT YA*
You sum up so prefectly well what I had trouble writing in my review! Your review is really perfect to me and it touched me!
Love your review! You couldn't be more right!
You're right. So much potential... Then romance. Because you know, every depressed girl needs a prince to save her from her mental issues.
Omg i love your review so much. You actually expressed what I was feeling after finishing it!
Geez, I can relate to this so much. All of the angsty teenagers are probably worshiping this book for the mentions of suicide and depression, when in reality, it falls short. Love can't just cure anything and I really expected a more emotional ending.
THANK YOU. I get that the conversation with her mum was supposed to be closure or whatever but it seemed rush to me and it didn't resolve much.
This is an excellent review that makes your points (you call them feelings, to me they looked like well-reasoned arguments) exceptionally well. I think your review should be required reading for ALL YA AUTHORS especially if they talk about depression/mental illness but in general the burden placed on romance does set up unhealthy attitudes to life. Really, really well reasoned and I am going to follow your reviews in case you always have this much (fair) critical punch!
