This book really surprised me in a good way. Someone’s Story is about a group of high school “weirdos” that struggle with personal and social life. Main character called Someone battles with mental health issues while trying to fit in in the new environment and friends.
This book starts as a simple story of a teenager that we all could relate to in some ways but then it turns deeper and deeper. It’s a beautiful story that leaves you with some very important reminders about life, people in your life and yourself.

Thank you to Net Galley and the author – B.A. Bellec for an ARC of this book in exchange of my honest review.

Rating: 3.5 🍷 🍷 🍷1/2
Book: Someone’s Story
AVAILABLE NOW- April 12, 2020
Author: B.A. Bellec
Genre: Teens and YA
⚠️ Trigger warning- Mental illness
Sipping Synopsis: Wow this book was a lot better than I thought it was going to be. The plot is not what I normally would choose to read but I was pleasantly surprised. The storyline was a little hard to follow at first but then I was so wrapped into what was going on that the inconsistent flow of the story added to the meatiness. I did not know who “someone” was, but I know I cared about his/her journey along the way.

Final sipping thoughts: I am usually into thrillers but was asked to read and review this book back in October. I was hesitant because it was so different than my normal genre. But I am really happy that I read Someone’s Story. I would recommend this book to readers who like deep content that is not the norm. I recommend this book to someone who has felt that they are different or someone in their life has had to deal with being an outcast.

Cheers and thank you to @NetGalley, @XpressoBookTours, and @BABellec for an advanced copy of @SomeonesStory

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This really surprised me, not just for what an amazing story this is, but that it is honestly the most enjoyable and fulfilling reading experience I have had in a while. This tale is about Someone that I think we all can relate to. This 17 year old young man feels a heightened sense of pressure from the outside world and has the anxiety that goes along with that. When he begins a new school year as a senior in a new town, he doesn't just learn new things, but learns a whole new way of living. This story made me laugh out loud and also had some very emotional moments that left me in tears. I also love the author's unique writing style that fits this story perfectly. I feel like Someone's Story is a must read for YA fans and, honestly, I don't think I will be forgetting this incredible tale anytime soon.

This book is a look into Someone's story. Someone could be anyone. He could be your brother, your cousin, your son. That is the beauty of this story. The writing was clear and straight forward and easy to get into. After about the halfway point I couldn't put it down! As I continued to read I wished that I would have had this book available to read when I was younger. It's very relatable. The feelings it gave me reminded me of when I read The Perks of Being a Wallflower. I was not expecting the twist and it left me in awe of the growth of Someone and shedding light on mental health, specifically in boys/men. It's not too often you see men's mental health highlighted. Coming from a family background in mental illness, I truly appreciated this novel. I had to take a few days to digest it as I was so impressed with it! This is one of those underrated books I want everyone to read! I am so thankful I got a chance to read this thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for the copy.

If you couldn’t tell by the post title, this book gave me WALLFLOWER vibes all over. The disconnect from the characters and the world gave it the feeling of being outside a window looking in. Fittingly, the story takes place in the same time frame and has many references to it. If you are totally out of the loop on early 2010s pop culture, you may find yourself rolling your eyes at those bits (I know I did).

To add to the WALLFLOWER vibes, (SPOILER) repressed memories float through this too along with blackouts and pining for a female that has no desire in him.

Now I do want to say, I enjoyed WALLFLOWER up until the very end. Then I was pissed because wtf. I think a large part of that is that repressed memories don’t exist in real life. You may not be able to recall the memory due to poor connections but actually repressed? No.

Anyway, this isn’t a review of WALLFLOWER but of SOMEONE’S STORY.

The name Someone is definitely a huge part of why I wanted to read this book. It fascinated me. Plus the ‘group of weirdos’ aspect of the summary made me think of THE DISASTERS, which I loooooved. Who doesn’t like misfits? But they isn’t really what they are. Instead they are traumatized youth trying to make their way through high school any way they can.

I am struggling with the mental illness aspect of this book. I think mostly it’s because the author only researched parts of a “fun” and interesting mental illness then took all the false media parts of it to make a book. It totally misrepresents the illness and bothers me so much.

I will say that throughout the story the character Kevin bothered me but by the end the reason why made complete sense. He was very “preachy”, but (spoiler) he was just a figment if Someone’s mental illness.

I hate saying to not read something that is 1) from a debut author, 2) has Demi representation, and 3) discusses mental illness but this is one to leave on the shelves.

I also want to make a huge clarification for anyone who has read the book regarding (spoiler) schizophrenia. SCHIZOPHRENIA is not split personality disorder. It is the mental illness that occurs when an individual cannot connect to reality. This can result in extreme paranoia, delusion of grandeur, and hallucinations.

Split personality disorder isn’t actually the name of a mental illness. The mental illness in question in this book is disassociative identity disorder (DID). This occurs when some has multiple (most frequently two) separate personalities that have their own beliefs, memories, preferences, and so on. Two people, one body.

Someone is described with symptoms of DID but diagnosed with schizophrenia. Unless those personalities are actually hallucinations (they aren’t as Someone is later described as committing the actions the other character did), author need to get his facts straight and not buy into the media representation a very terrifying disorder.

I think this book is only good because I got to rant about two of the most interesting disorders. Someone was a decent character, but impossible to connect with. The writing was decent and the storyline could have been good, but wasn’t.

Overall, a huge disappointment.

Someone’s Story is a breathtakingly beautiful novel. Its more than just a story but a lesson for the reader. These are my favorite kinds of books. This is the kind of book that makes you a better person for having read it. The writing, story development, characters, and everything in between is beautiful. Give this one a read!

I read some reviews. I knew the writing is far different from average -I love not average-. I knew the first part might be just okay. I knew the MC had no name and was just called someone. So I read. And I read.

Let’s first focus on the writing. It’s stripped from all embellishments, using short sentences, simple words, different font sizes and dialogues as in a script. Simple and affective. Very, very easy readable. Not everyone will enjoy this kind of writing. Because there are no great phrases, no wonderful words, no beautiful comparisons.

Then the story itself. Yeah, the first part was just okay, a teenage boy, living in a new place, finally finding friends and living an average life. Going to school, working, partying now and then. When I was almost halfway something happened inside me. The story hadn’t changed, still normal stuff but I felt tense, like something big was going to happen. Nothing in the story that indicated that but still. Then unease kicked in, slowly. I felt discomfort in my gut. And as I read on, the discomfort grew. Tears in my eyes at the end. Not just because of the ending but also because of the Author’s note.

Just an average story? So not true. Someone is not just someone. He’s so much more than that!