What If? by Anna Russell
My Rating: 3.5/5 TARDISes
Series: Standalone
Date Published: December 1st, 2018
Publisher: West 44 Books
Pages: 200 pages
Source: Netgalley
Links: Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository
Synopsis: Josh Baker isn’t sure why his brain tells him to do things that other people don’t need to do: checking his locker again and again, counting cracks in ceilings, and always needing to finish a song, for starters. He is a talented drummer, a math genius, and he knows everything about rock and roll. Yet, he knows his problems have the power to hurt his family and make him fail at school. When Josh is diagnosed with OCD, it’s a blessing and a curse. Can he overcome his thoughts, or will they break him?
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*I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review*
This is a spoiler-free review.
I’ve read a number of these hi-lo fiction novels recently and this one was definitely my favorite of the bunch. This is what is considered “hi-lo” fiction—short books that are designed to encourage young, reluctant readers to read more. This one seems like it is aimed for an early middle school to early high school audience, so basically mid-middle grade and early young adult.
In this novel, we follow a teenage boy named Josh who is struggling to understand the way his brain is functioning. Something just does not feel right to him—his mind is driving him to do things he knows others don’t tend to do such as to repeatedly check door locks and counting cracks in ceilings. Deep down, he knows he does not need to do any of this, however, he feels that he must or harm will come to his loved ones. When he is diagnosed with OCD, Josh finally knows what is wrong, but overcoming it is a daunting obstacle looming ahead.
I feel a very personal connection to these types of stories as I have struggled with OCD for many years. In fact, I was around the same age as Josh—early high school—when I was officially diagnosed. This personal connection can be either good or bad. It can make me quite picky about the way it is portrayed. I think that Anna Russell ended up doing quite a good job with this. Josh’s struggles felt very realistic and accurate to what experiencing OCD is like and I believe it will be quite an informative story for readers.
It is difficult for me to put myself in the position of someone who is reluctant to read, but I felt it was important for me to check these types of novels out. I, of course, want to promote reading to everyone any chance I get. While I do wish there had been a little more to this book—not much, just that is was a bit longer and went into more detail about OCD—I do think this is a good addition to hi-lo fiction. This is definitely a story I can see readers really getting into, and I think it will not only encourage them to explore literature more but that it will also teach them some important information about mental health.
And We Call It Love by Amanda Vink
My Rating: 2/5 TARDISes
Series: Standalone
Date Published: January 15th, 2019
Publisher: West 44 Books
Pages: 200 pages
Source: Netgalley
Links: Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository
Synopsis: Clare and Zari are best friends. They write music together, go everywhere together, and they know everything about the other. At least they did before Zari started dating Dion. The more Zari falls for Dion, the less she has time for anything else. At first, Clare chalks it up to a new and exciting relationship, and she tries to be happy for her friend despite her loneliness. When Zari starts to show up to school with half-hidden bruises, Clare knows there’s something darker about this relationship that has to be stopped.
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*I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review*
This is a spoiler-free review.
This ended up being an okay read. In this short novella, we follow two teenage best friends who begin to drift apart when one of them enters into a new relationship. Soon it becomes clear to Clare that something is wrong, as Zari is acting less and less like her usual self. She realizes that there may be some abuse taking place in her friend’s relationship. Clare knows she has to help her friend remove herself from this horrible situation. I didn’t love this book, but I didn’t hate it either. This narrative deals with very serious issues that can take a while to fully understand, so while this was decent, a longer format suits this topic much better.
And this brings us to an opinion that is going to sound a bit silly given the type of story this is supposed to be. This is what is considered “hi-lo” fiction—short books that are designed to encourage young, reluctant readers to read more. This one seems like it is aimed for a late middle school to early high school audience, so basically early young adult. This story definitely fits into the short format better than some other books of this type that I have checked out. However, I still ended up feeling that it needed just a little bit more to it. It is harder to connect with the characters given the small amount of information we get on them.
That being said, I do think this is one of the more decent examples of hi-lo fiction that I have come across. It is quite hard for me to put myself in the shoes of a potential reader of this novel as I want to read every book in sight. With this one, though, I did get into it a bit more. While these are topics that are hard to fully portray in this limited format, I think the author did an okay job. Domestic abuse and speaking up about it is such an important and timely topic, and I love the fact that Vink is contributing this work to an audience that needs to learn this information.
The Quirky Book Nerd 