This likable and unreliable narrator (Hannah) tells her story from behind the walls of a mental institution and you can't stop reading. What really happened to Agnes? Where is Jonah? Why do they give her a roommate if she really is a "danger to others?" So many questions and as the narrative unfolds you learn more about Hannah and gain a better understanding of what it is like to live with mental illness. It is a bit terrifying to see our mental health system from that vantage point. Do books like this and "Gone Girl" make only child families look like breeding grounds for impaired mental health?

Thank you to Sourcebooks Fire and NetGalley for providing a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 Stars
Review by Nancy
Late Night Reviewer
Up All Night w/ Books Blog

A Danger to Herself and Others, by Alyssa B. Sheinmel, was a quick, engaging and very interesting read. A take on mental illness and those who suffer from it. I went in with an open mind and was surprised to see where Alyssa B. Sheinmel took the story.

Hannah finds herself in a mental institute after her best friend suffers an accident that leaves her in a coma. She is being accused of possibly causing the accident but, why would she hurt her best friend? That was the big question. Was Hannah involved, was she a harm to herself and to others? It took me a little while to truly understand and like Hannah— I couldn’t get a grasp on her character.

Although I did enjoy this book, I felt it lacked in some areas. The writing was great but I couldn’t completely fall in love with the story. There were a couple twists I did not see coming and those kept me reading. I was captivated up until the end, where I felt like I needed more closure than I was given. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the story!

**I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. **

It’s been a recent trend lately where the female protagonists are named Hannah (think Thirteen Reasons Why, Pretty Little Liars, Hanna Fell From The Sky) in novels, and both films and shows haven’t been immune to this phenomenon either (think Girls, Hanna, and recently The Exorcism of Hannah Grace). So when I started reading this novel I noticed that the protagonist’s name was Hannah, I somewhat groaned. I hope you five me, but I’ve overdosed on Hannahs as of late.

On the upside though, is that the author writes with such clarity and poise that I could forgive her naming the protagonist Hannah. And it helped that the story was narrated in the first person, meaning that the name would be used even less.

Apart from my dislike of the name choice, I really, really, REALLY enjoyed this book immensely. I don’t know what it says about me that I LOVE books that take place in any sort of mental institution whether it be contemporary fiction, nonfiction, or historical. I really enjoyed having the story being told by Hannah’s point of view. She’s smart, sarcastic, and somewhat manipulative. This is probably why the reader initially may believe Hannah into thinking that she has no place being in the mental institution, after all, her best friend Agnes falling out of the window could’ve been an accident, right? The majority of the book focuses on Hannah being stuck in the institute and finding a way to get out (but not as in breaking out but proving to the doctor that she’s sane). The reader receives hints and flashbacks and those are compelling enough to make one want to know what exactly happened the night that Agnes fell. Was Hannah to blame or has she been placed in the institute by mistake?

Some of the twists in the book I suspected, while others completely took me by surprise. It was one intense wild ride. If you’re into books about mental illness, asylums, deception, and unreliable narrators, then this book is right up your alley.

*Thank you so much to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for the digital ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review!

I feel like I’ve read this book a hundred times. Unsurprising plot twists that I figured out almost as soon as the characters were introduced.

I haven't read many books that are set in mental hospitals and yet they seem pretty popular in the YA community which is why I decided to give this one a try. The characters were really interesting and the writing was very personal.

A Danger to Herself and Others was a book that grabbed hold of me from the first chapters and held on through the end. While many novels set in mental institutions feel similar or monotonous and sketch the routines of daily clinical life and the trappings of mental illness, this book centers around Hannah, who is an intelligent character who struggles with her circumstances. And its no wonder, because the book forces us to question them too. What really happened to her roommate? Can she truly trust her doctor? Why is she still in the mental hospital? This book made my heart pound and my head spin and all in a good way.

"Maybe she wants to remind me that she's the one in control, that as long as I'm in this room, the truth is whatever she decides it is."

I received a free e-ARC through NetGalley from the publishers at Sourcebooks Fire. Trigger warnings: mental illness, severe injury, eating disorders, anorexia, bulimia.

When Hannah's best friend and roommate falls out a window during a game of Truth or Dare and suffers life-threatening injuries, Hannah is surprised to find that Agnes's parents blame her. She doesn't argue when a judge sends her to an institution for a mental evaluation. Hannah knows this has all been a big mistake, and as long as she proves that she's not dangerous to herself or anyone else, she'll be out in time to begin her senior year at school. Her new roommate, Lucy, is a dancer, and Hannah decides to befriend her to help prove her innocence. But Lucy has her own demons, and Hannah's memory of that night may not be as reliable as she thinks.

It took me a while to adjust to Sheinmel's writing style. Not being familiar with her other books, I'm not sure whether it's her usual style or Hannah's narrative voice, but it's rambling and repetitive. (Far too many repetitions of the phrases "Light as a feather, stiff as a board" and "a danger to herself and others". I started skipping over them at some point.) There isn't a lot of substance to it, and it's full of pointless details and Hannah's meaningless speculation on aspects of the hospital, staff, and patients. Nothing much happens in the first half of the book; there aren't a lot of other characters, so it's just Hannah's inner monologue going full speed without really getting anywhere.

Hannah isn't a very likable character. She arrogantly believes she's always the smartest person in the room, and she doesn't see a problem with using her intellect to manipulate people. In fact, the descriptions of her numerous best friends seem to imply that she chooses girls with low popularity or self-esteem and shapes them into more appropriate friend material. She calls it helping, but it sounds a lot like self-aggrandizing manipulation. Her relationship with her parents is complicated and borderline neglectful, but all we really know about them for most of the novel is what Hannah tells us. Her relationship with Lucy isn't as fleshed out as I was hoping for, and most of the other characters are shadows in Hannah's personal drama. She's also a textbook unreliable narrator, since she openly lies about some of those pointless details and misremembers others that aren't as pointless.

I have mixed feelings about this book, but I think my doubts are more about the psychological thriller genre as a whole than this book in particular. I'm wondering whether books that rely on a character's mental health for "thrills" are inherently ableist and perpetuating stereotypes that people with mental illnesses are dangerous. In that respect, A Danger to Herself and Others may have a few problems. Hannah's mental health is used as a major plot twist, so much that it edges into shock value territory, and the possibility that she may have pushed Agnes out the window somewhat feeds into that stereotype of danger. Much as the author's note claims that this is not meant to be an accurate picture of mental illness or institutionalization, the representation still matters. I'm not the best person to decide whether it's offensive; just know that there may be some issues going into it.

However, it isn't all bad. From my limited perspective, it isn't even mostly bad. Hannah receives treatment for her illness, which is already an important step. She has talk therapy sessions and takes medication. Her struggle with accepting her diagnosis is well-developed and far from complete by the time the novel is over. The book makes it very clear that her illness is lifelong, and she will have to continue to manage it--but also that it can be managed without sacrificing the rest of her life. There's some effort toward the end to convince readers that patients with Hannah's diagnosis are far more likely to hurt themselves than other people (and, in the author's note, that they're even more likely to be hurt by other people). I found the second half of the book more engaging, since it deals openly and in depth with these issues. The biggest problem for me is that the two halves of the novel seem to be at odds with each other. It can’t seem to decide whether it’s a thriller or a story about mental illness, and it doesn’t really do justice to either side.

I review regularly at brightbeautifulthings.tumblr.com.

There isn't a lot I feel like I can say in this review that wouldn't give things away to readers and I don't want to do that. I think this is one of those books that can easily go one way or another for a reader and I see review being pretty split on this one.

I have to admit that even though I was intrigued by this book and its premise I was a bit bored throughout it. The redundancy of some things that I felt could be left out after the third or fourth time made this book drag for me. I did enjoy how it was written and narrated by the main character Hannah. In the beginning we are convinced there is nothing wrong with her but as the story goes along we find she may just not be that reliable of a narrator. This gives us the perfect set up for how the story and how events have played out.

The other issue I had was the ending on this. I think the author could have and gave us a bit more of Part Three and I probably would have given this more stars. I just don't feel like this story was complete with the build up that we were given.

I think this could have easily been a 5 star for me had some things been done a bit differently.

Overall, A Danger to Herself and Others was page-turning, compulsive reading experience. Once I reached the twist around the middle, it was hard to put the book down. Ultimately I read it in less than 24 hours--always a good sign with a thriller! The writing was engaging, and I felt immersed in the world and characters. And, well, the characters, particularly the main & POV character Hannah... there were times I really didn't like her, but I think that was the point? I like that I didn't like her. :)

Content warning: those who are triggered by eating disorders and presentations/discussions of them (and the occasional joke) might have issues with some content in A Danger to Herself and Others. I am not an ED sufferer/survivor myself, but having friends in recovery, I was struck that it's possible some individuals might have difficulty with a few passages in the early part of the book. (a major side character suffers from an ED and is institutionalized for it; the MC observes and passes comment on other girls who suffer from EDs)

From here, I will give a spoiler warning, as I think it will be tricky to discuss/review the book properly without getting into some spoiler territory.

Ultimately, what rendered this a very solid 4-star read for me was the balance of my expectations and experience of Hannah's character vs. the reality of her as she's ultimately presented, and what I see as a potential blindspot in the narrative. Meaning, my reasons for knocking off a star are ENTIRELY subjective, but might speak to something other readers might experience with the book, as well.

So part of the issue here is going into a twisty book looking for the twist--a hazard of the genre. Whenever you start a book like this just based off back cover copy, the first part of the reading experience is about settling into the book's tone, style, and the characters as presented. As I read the first part of the book I became so thoroughly convinced that Hannah was a sociopath, and that that was the "twist," that I am unable to shake that expectation and that read on her character from my view of the book as a whole.

Because Hannah Gold is a sociopath. 100%. She has every hallmark of one, and until the twist in the middle, I was ready to commend the author for nailing her portrayal (save for a few quibbles I had, re: the childhood anecdotes, though those were partially rebutted later). And here's the thing: the author may not know it, but she nailed Hannah as a sociopath. She is one. So really I can still commend the author. It's one of the best portrayals of a sociopath I have read.

And so the reason I was just slightly disappointed is that ultimately the book doesn't seem to be self-aware of this, or at least never delivers it on the page, and so the latter half really lacked the complexity I was hoping for, re: addressing her sociopathy. Now, I think Hannah's diagnosis and the twist is legit. I am not a mental health professional, but it felt like a well-researched and considered portrayal. I absolutely felt sympathy for Hannah and what she was going through.

But also I felt no sympathy because HANNAH IS A SOCIOPATH. She just also has what I believe is meant to be schizophrenia, though it is never named in the text. Essentially, what I had hoped for was a killer finish and twist-twist where Hannah was also diagnosed as a sociopath, and both she and others would have to deal with the ramifications of both. You can't cure sociopathy.

BUT! Still thoroughly enjoyed the book, all the more for how ruthless Hannah is as a character. Recommend to fans of this sub-genre of thriller--the MC wrongfully (or rightfully?) committed and having to figure out what really happened.

Hannah is the epitome of an unreliable narrator and keeps you on your toes throughout the entire book. And I love it. 


Synopsis

Hannah is admitted to a mental institution after her best friend Agnes suffers an injury that everyone thinks is her fault – wrongfully so. She's determined to get out and prove once and for all that she's perfectly normal and had nothing to do with her friend falling into a coma. She tries to reach her goal but only starts to really make progress when Lucy arrives. Lucy is her new roommate and quickly also becomes her new best friend. But along the way, Hannah discovers that not everything is as it seems and that she might not even be able to trust herself. 


Writing

I absolutely adored the writing. It flows really smoothly and makes you want to never put the book down. The story telling is gripping and really creepy at times because you, alongside Hannah, try to make sense of what happened and how the information fits together. Hannah's character development felt very natural and believable; she's a very different person at the end of the book than she is at the beginning and yet it feels like that's what's supposed to happen not like the author wanted it to happen so it did. The repetition of the title "A Danger to Herself and Others" throughout the book worked incredibly well. It added to the tense atmosphere and made you really feel like you were inside Hannah's head. The repeated thoughts and memories make you feel with her, they make you scared, they keep you interested, they make you restless, they make you want to find out what was real and what wasn't. Hannah feels real. She feels like a human being. 


Hannah

She starts the novel by being arrogant, cocky, self-confident and manipulative and ends it with the feeling of her very core being shattered. I want to include an excerpt from the author's note here:

"She starts this story certain that she's the heroine in a thrilling mystery about being wrongly accused, only to realize later that she's the subject not of a thriller, but of a story about coming to terms with a mental illness diagnosis."

Nothing I could possibly say could describe her journey better than the author herself. Over the course of the book we learn so many things but at the end, neither we nor Hannah is completely sure what happened and what she's gonna do now. This is something that hit me really hard because a lot of the time, characters have their life perfectly resolved and back in order at the end of a book. But not in this book. It feels real because most of us are also unsure about life and we don't figure it out completely all at once; it's a step by step effort that takes time. 

It was also really interesting to read about a mentally ill character who isn't depressed or anxious. Most of the mainstream Young Adult books about mental illness deal with these two and while that certainly is important as well, it can feel a bit overdone at times with every author pumping out a "mental illness book". I really enjoyed reading about a character with a psychotic mental illness because it shows that the stigma surrounding that type of mental illness is even bigger than that surrounding depression. 

The character work in this book is simply stunning. All of them felt so real. Lucy with her ballet dreams, Agnes with her small town roots and all of the other side characters who are fleshed out as carefully as if they were the main character. 


A Danger to Herself and Others is a unique, well-written Young Adult book that hooks you right from the very first chapter. It's a fantastic read that you can finish in a day. I'd definitely recommend it to anyone who likes careful character work, a suspenseful plot and restless atmosphere.

A big theme of the books I've been reading at the moment are one set in mental institutions, and I have to say this is one of the best I've read.

I'd say for me, as well as this being a contemporary YA, it had a lot of elements of a thriller as well. It kept you guessing, you were shocked at the twists and eagerly waiting to know more.

Hannah was such a whirlwind of a character, and I loved being along for her journey and finding out what is and isn't really for her, and watching all that she thought she knew about life unravel, The last 1/3 of the book for me blew me away, especially with her leaving the institution and basically questioning everything she thought she knew about the future and her relationship with her parents.

Would definitely recommend!

A Danger to Herself and Others is a good book. It's brilliantly written, with an decent story line. It's fairly intriguing from start to finish, offering an interesting narrator. But I failed to connect to what I was reading. I loved the writing style, I had an open mind and understanding for the main character, and I enjoyed some moments. But it overall did not wow me. And the ending frustrated me a little.
Maybe I wasn't reading it at the best moment in time, or maybe this book just isn't for me. Kudos on the great writing though, it's what kept me reading all the way through.

A Danger to Herself and Others by Alyssa Sheinmel was an absolute whirlwind of a book. Featuring great representation of mental illnesses, this book kept me guessing the whole way through!

In A Danger to Herself and Others, Hannah finds herself in an institution after her school roommate falls out of a window. Hannah knows it's a mistake though--she didn't mean Agnes any harm! So Hannah bides her time in a small little room, waiting for the truth to come to light. While waiting, she's given a new roommate at the institution. Lucy! Through Lucy, Hannah starts down a slippery slope of self-discovery.

I adored A Danger to Herself and Others! This book exceeded my expectations in nearly every way. Fast-paced and interesting, I could have easily read this book in a single sitting.

A Danger to Herself and Others was told from a unique and interesting perspective. I had no idea what to make of Hannah when I first started reading the book. She seemed so smart and level-headed. As the book went on and Lightfoot, Hannah's therapist, was introduced, I started to question what I was reading and what I was seeing through Hannah's eyes. I loved that the book played with my perceptions and forced me to question Hannah's reality. The events had my mind spinning with so many questions!

The ending was sad. I don't think it was meant to be sad, but I found it sad because I didn't care for Hannah's parents. They didn't seem like they really wanted a child. They wanted a trophy, something worth of bragging about. Hannah's childhood, though painted through the lens of a pamper and spoiled life, felt very austere and cold. Nothing about Hannah's parents seemed warm and fuzzy, and to me, that's sad.

That said, the characters in the book were brilliantly written. Hannah was amazing. Lucy was fun. Lightfoot was intriguing. And Hannah's parents were nicely portrayed, even though they didn't have starring roles in the book. I fell in love with the cast of characters, especially Hannah. Hannah was a puzzle in the book, and I was keen to figure her out.

I enjoyed this book immensely, and hopefully you will too! Do yourself a favor and add this one to your TBR.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing the Kindle version of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley for a copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.

I was taken in by the gorgeous cover on this book when browsing titles to request, and when reading the synopsis I got really excited for the book.

To be quite honest though, this book was not for me. The book is about a girl who accidentally hurts her best friend, and is put into a mental institution as she is a “danger to herself and others” because of this. It is an interesting concept, but the execution didn’t feel sharply done.

This book needed to be a bit more heavily edited before it went to press. There a few things that could have been improved on to make it more enjoyable.

The amount of things in parentheses was overdone. Within the first few pages, there was more information being given in parentheses than there was being written. Though parentheses can be helpful occasionally to help bring more information to light, the author did not do this in a way that was beneficial to the story. It was more distracting than it was enlightening.

The sarcastic narrative was not enjoyable to read. A sarcastic narrative is a heavily used one in YA literature, so I feel like the book could have been more impactful had the character been more relatable and enjoyable to read about. Throughout the book she felt very inconsistent, so solidifying Hannah’s personality could have helped the story as well.

Overall, the descriptions made institutions and mental health professionals very stereotyped and awful. Mental health is something that many people today, especially teens, struggle with. By making the main doctor in this book completely incompetent, this sends a very bad message to those dealing with mental health issues who are looking for help.

I am always excited to see a book with a mental health rep so that people can feel understood and it can bring awareness to the community, but I don’t recommend A Danger to Herself and Others as this rep.

Please also remember that this review is based on my personal opinion, so you may love the book! It personally just fell really flat for me and did not enjoy it. There was some mystery in the writing and some interesting twists, but I personally did not enjoy it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Hannah Gold starts as a typical unreliable narrator. She is institutionalized for reasons that are revealed in time, but one thing is clear from the beginning -- Hannah is considered "a danger to herself and others." She is kept isolated, not even leaving her room to use the bathroom. And then Hannah is assigned a roommate, Lucy, and she is determined to form a friendship that will prove to the doctors that she isn't mentally ill. Hannah believes that whatever event lead her to the institution was an accident and a misunderstanding, and she should be released.

I wanted to love this book, but it just didn't do it for me. I felt like pieces of Hannah's psychosis were revealed in the writing, but it was done in a way that made me think, "was that intentional or is the writing just repetitive?" I felt that the book didn't reach it's potential as an unreliable narrator story, nor did it take a deep enough look at a patient and her family coming to terms with her diagnosis. That said, this book will certainly have readers that love it, and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to students.

Truly Breathtaking. The author is able to make you feel for Hannah and the terrible horrible events that lead up to an ending that will have you shaking with excitement. This is a one sitting book and if you plan on reading make sure to clear your schedule

This is another author I once upon a time one-starred (see The Stone Girl) so I wasn't exactly excited to dive into this. I'm happy to report I'm not giving this one the same rating since I thought this book was incredibly brave and creative—something I've noticed the author seems to often go for (from looking at her previous works after The Stone Girl. So much of mental health is touched, and I felt there was utter respect in the treatment of the story. There were also several twists I wouldn't say I saw coming, so that was enjoyable for me. Recommended for those looking for a suspenseful read, and those looking for unreliable narrators.

I don't know what I was expecting when I requested this book, but a first-person unreliable narrative was not it. I had no idea what had really happened to get Hannah remanded to the institute, but the back and forth with herself gave me a few insights early on.

This book will pull you in and have you almost believe that you are experiencing things right along with Hannah. I was so sure that Lucy was real and that having a roommate was a great thing for Hannah.

The ending seemed a little rushed, I would have liked Hannah to spend more time in treatment with her original doctor, but I understand wanting to get a child (even though she is now a senior in high school) home and back to a "normal" routine.

This novel starts readers off in a mental hospital with the main character, Hannah, after a terrible accident that put her summer program roommate into a coma. It’s immediately obvious that the parent’s of Agnes (the now comatose roommate) believe that Hannah is at fault for what happened. Now, Hannah finds herself locked in a room with a small window, no way out, and nothing to do but wait until the doctors and judge realize that “she’s not crazy“.

This story was honestly surprising. I’ve come across many novels written about psychiatric holds, but never one quite like this. Readers are thankfully taking in everything from Hannah’s point of view, so we really get an in depth understanding of what has happened and is continuing to happen. Hannah isn’t an extremely likable narrator. In fact, before I pulled some of the layers back further into the story, I was really frustrated with her. The first couple of chapters felt very chaotic because Hannah’s thoughts jump around a lot. Plus, readers don’t have any background information yet about why she is being held in psychiatric care, so you kind of just have to push through the beginning to find your footing. At first, this kind of feels like a mean-girl story, but from the POV of the mean-girl (which, after racking my brain, I don’t think I’ve read before). Even after finishing, I’m still convinced that Hannah embodies the trope. She’s quite the manipulator, and I don’t think that the idea is supposed to be that these qualities are tied to her mental illness. Actually, I’m pretty positive that they aren’t.

The other characters weren’t given much development, but for most of them, this seems very purposeful and it certainly works for the story. This novel is about Hannah’s journey to discovering her diagnosis and coming to terms with it, so it’s much more important that we see development through her primarily. In a way, some of these characters help. Lucy, for instance, doesn’t have a huge presence throughout at least half of the book, but she is still vastly important to the story and to what Hannah is going through. I think that Sheinmel did a really great job molding all of the characters to make them fit into Hannah’s world.

Now, I’ve never experienced the disease that Hannah has (which I won’t talk about because it pretty much spoils the whole story), so I can’t really say whether or not the representation is accurate or not. However, I will say that this is one of the few times I’ve come across a book that tries to break down the demonized outlook on said disease, instead of trying to capitalize off of the stereotype surrounding it. Hannah is very descriptive of her experience, which really helps the readers take in her story. However, this can be a bit of a triggering read if you’ve struggled heavily with mental illness, or have ever been under a psychiatric hold yourself.

Overall, this is definitely a worthwhile read if you’re looking for some mental health representation with a little bit of thrill to it. Hannah’s thoughts can be a bit overwhelming at times, but the story is written really well. Her journey is an interesting one to ride along with, but I think that if you do, you’ll find yourself entangled in the mess and jumble of Hannah’s reality. And you might even love it.

I like the author's intent with this story. I can't say too much because that would give away the story. But I loved reading about Hannah and being inside her head. I found her to be super smart, intuitive and funny in her own unique way. I would have liked to read more about what happens to her after she leaves the institution. There were also some big parts of her life that felt too vague. Overall, I gave this story a three star rating.