Review: My Heart and Other Black Holes by Jasmin Warga

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Rating: PG-13

Genre: Contemporary, Mental Health

Score: ❤❤❤❤

Page Count: 320

Stand Alone

Publisher: Balzer + Bray

Published: February 10th, 2015

A stunning novel about the transformative power of love, perfect for fans of Jay Asher and Laurie Halse Anderson.

Sixteen-year-old physics nerd Aysel is obsessed with plotting her own death. With a mother who can barely look at her without wincing, classmates who whisper behind her back, and a father whose violent crime rocked her small town, Aysel is ready to turn her potential energy into nothingness.

There's only one problem: she's not sure she has the courage to do it alone. But once she discovers a website with a section called Suicide Partners, Aysel's convinced she's found her solution—Roman, a teenage boy who's haunted by a family tragedy, is looking for a partner. Even though Aysel and Roman have nothing in common, they slowly start to fill in each other's broken lives. But as their suicide pact becomes more concrete, Aysel begins to question whether she really wants to go through with it. Ultimately, she must choose between wanting to die or trying to convince Roman to live so they can discover the potential of their energy together.

Rating:

PROS:

1. I've been wanting to read this book ever since it first released but I never actually got around to reading it until now. Whoops. However, when I finally bought a copy of the book for myself, I was even more eager to read it and decided that this year of 2017, I was going to devote as much time as possible tor reading the books on my TBR that have been sitting there for LITERALLY FOREVER. And I'm not exaggerating there. Anyhoo, before I can ramble on anymore that I already have, let's get onto the review! 

2. First off, I thought the writing was beautiful. I loved all the emotions that just lifted right off the page and really enveloped me in the story. It was such a raw story about depression and grief and I was really impressed with how easily the mood of the story is set and stays consistent throughout the book. It followed the same emotions and patterns that you get in THE FAULT IN OUR STARS or THIRTEEN REASONS WHY. The characters felt so real because of how honest and insightful as well as sensitive the book was when it came to the subject of depression and suicide. 

3. I also thought the story was very clever in including the theory of relativity and perspective. Everyone's mind is different and emotions affect everyone differently based on their personality and what type of person they are. I thought the story did a good job of making that known, showing that you don't have to come from a broken family or have a dark past in order to suffer from depression or any other mental illness. The author also did an amazing job of writing descriptions of Aysel's inner struggles and the emotions that the people around her such as her mother are going through. Mental illness affects more than just one person, it affects the people around them too and I loved that that point was evident in this story.

4. Finally, I loved the characters. I thought Aysel was such a smart and talented girl and it was sad to see that someone like her could be so willing to take her own life. Even Roman who was a very talented basketball player and closeted artist had so much going for him but since both of them suffered from depression, it was difficult for them to see past that darkness and grief they felt. I also loved that Aysel's voice felt so much like a real teenager dealing with these heavy and dark feelings. She had an intelligence to her that went past her love of physics and into describing what depression really feels like and what it is exactly:  

"What people never understand is that depression isn’t about the outside; it’s about the inside. Something inside me is wrong. Sure, there are things in my life that make me feel alone, but nothing makes me feel more isolated and terrified than my own voice in my head."

CONS:

1. This book had such a strong story going up until the last hundred or so pages, give or take a couple of chapters. I thought this book was developing and carrying such a great story about depression and suicide until Asyel admits her feelings for Roman and almost instantly, her depression is almost completely washed away. Asyel starts finding reasons why it might be hard to leave her loved ones behind from the start of the book but they didn't really have any effect on her so the romance aspect being the thing that changes her mind was too much along the lines of a trope and stigma. It was disappointing, to say the least, especially since the story was such a good one. I still really enjoyed the story, however, and I still think it's worth the read.  

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I hope you all enjoyed this book review! Read on, bookworms! See you in the next chapter!