It's hard to believe this is a YA novel and not adult biography. Very honest and realistic depiction of teenage schizophrenia, hospitializations, self-harm, and drug use. Vivid description and truthful emotional content. Excellent prose and dialogue. Very sad and disturbing content.

Admittedly, I started reading this book and thinking "uh..I'm not so sure about this." I was expecting a standard type of fiction/romance novel centered around a girl with mental illnesses because it was in the YA section of NetGalley. I guess I should have looked a little closer because then I would have realized it's more of a memoir. I ALMOST, ALMOST put it down and now I'm really glad I didn't.

This is not a light-hearted read. This is intense, dark, and truthful to the point of discomfort. The journey that Juliet goes through is tough to read about. I really liked reading about the inner workings of her mind and how one thought bled into another. It was especially difficult when I would remind myself that this was a 15/16 year old child and not a grown adult.

I liked reading about Juliet's complex relationships with her friends. I liked seeing the dynamics of a group of friends who all suffered from some sort of mental illness or addiction. Every time one of them left for one reason or another it broke my heart. I really, desperately want to know what happened to all of them,. I also would have loved a little bit of an epilogue, too!

I can't say enough good things about this book. It is so raw and poignant and I encourage every one to pick it up. It's definitely not for the faint of heart and there are absolutely some triggers, but it's worth the read.

Though I struggled with certain elements of the story, being both raw and heartbreaking, I would still definitely recommend it to anyone looking for novels about psychological disorders; it is a story not only haunting and fascinating, albeit quite horrifying, but mainly painfully sincere.