Every Last Word by: Tamara Ireland Stone Synopsis: If you could read my mind, you wouldn't be smiling. Samantha McAllister looks just like the rest of the popular girls in her junior class. But hidden beneath the straightened hair and expertly applied makeup is a secret that her friends would never understand: Sam has Purely-Obsessional OCD and is consumed by a stream of dark thoughts and worries that she can't turn off. Second-guessing every move, thought, and word makes daily life a struggle, and it doesn't help that her lifelong friends will turn toxic at the first sign of a wrong outfit, wrong lunch, or wrong crush. Yet Sam knows she'd be truly crazy to leave the protection of the most popular girls in school. So when Sam meets Caroline, she has to keep her new friend a secret, right up there with Sam's weekly visits to her psychiatrist. Caroline introduces Sam to Poet's Corner, a hidden room and a tight-knit group of misfits who have been ignored by the school at large. Sam is drawn to them immediately, and starts to discover a whole new side of herself. Slowly, she begins to feel more "normal" than she ever has as part of the popular crowd . . . until she finds a new reason to question her sanity and all she holds dear. |
Wow. This was such an unbelievably beautiful story. So happy I decided to read it.
There has been quite a bit of hype around this book leading up to its release date a couple months and now I see why. This story is about a young girl who has to grow into her own person and really discover who she is, even if that means making some hard decisions along the way. Now I know a lot of people would laugh and make a comment like "oh wow, every contemporary book is about that these days" or "what a cliche storyline", but in my opinion, there was something that made this book extra special. I think it was because I saw myself in Samantha, CONSTANTLY. She would say things that would just immediately click with me. I just felt such a connection with her because she was going through so many things that I have gone through in the past. Also, this chick was super brave! There is this line in Harry Potter that I just immediately thought of when reading about Sam and the "Crazy Eights":
"It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies but a great deal more to stand up to our friends."
I was so proud of Sam when she stood up to her friends and really embraced and came to terms with her inner crazy. I thought that was so beautiful. I also did not see that plot twist at the end. That was straight up crazy... I loved it. I think it was just what the story needed.
HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK TO ERRRRRRRRR BODYYYYYY!!
Happy reading nerds! Sound off in the comments with your opinion on this novel!