“People always talk about mental illness like it’s a heroic war with a monstrous disease. But the fact is, we’re fighting ourselves. Just a bunch of smaller battles. Getting up, every day, facing the beasts because I can never beat them. Because they are me.”

Where was this book when 16 year old Hannah was hospitalized with anxiety that was taking away her ability to walk, talk, and make her have suedoseizures? This book needs to be in libraries and readily available because so many people fight these battles alone and you do not have to suffer in silence.

Please look for the trigger warnings before you read. This is a deep book that touches on many triggering topics such as suicide and self harm among others.

The author's writing style sucked me in right from the beginning. For me, relating to Lily on such a personal level elevated this book, but if you take that out of the equation, the overall story was just as beautiful. Erin has a way of really making you feel the emotions she is writing about. From the grief of finding out her sister is bipolar, the anxiety of feeling like she has have to be perfect, the butterflies of first love, the euphoria of finding her art again. Lily’s narration through her story was so captivating and raw which added even more depth to the story.

The author has crafted a heartbreaking and beautiful story. Her characters are relatable from the emotions they are feeling, the hardships they face, and the way they show what it is like to live with these crippling mental illnesses.

For those that struggle with anxiety or depression, or love someone who does, this is especially for you. I have never felt so seen and understood on the pages of a book. We are not alone. We do not have to be ashamed.

I am so thankful for the author for putting herself out there in this honest book. I know it is going to touch so many lives like it did mine. If 16 year old Hannah had had this book, she would have felt a lot less alone and not so crazy.

I really enjoyed the unique writing style of this book. Because our lives are consumed with emails, texts, and social media I found it very relatable. Also, having went to school to become a teacher (only student teaching left to graduate) and having been in many of these situations, I found this book incredible and also nostalgic to me.

Naomi just basically wants to help everyone and is a YES woman. So of course she gets into way more than she handle. Her students need help, her best friend, and of course her own daughter.

This book is a wonderfully and uniquely written book about family, friendship, and the need to help others. Highly recommend checking it out!

The Quick Cut: A teen girl struggles with her own mental health three months after catching her older sister reaching a low point with her own.

A Real Review:
Thank you to Delacorte Press for providing the ARC for an honest review.

Mental health is still one of a few topics that is seen as inappropriate to talk about. Yet, it is something that many of us struggle with and have to learn about ourselves. What would you do if you felt your mental health slipping? Would you be comfortable asking for help or silently struggle? This is an important question for Lily.

Three months after the night in the bathroom, Lily's older sister Alice is coming home again. Alice has always been adventurous and exciting, but now she's coming home with a bipolar diagnosis and a different attitude. Lily doesn't know how to interact with her sister and her new attitude. Making even harder? She's struggling with her own mental health and scared she's too much like Alice. Will she find a way to get help? Or reach a low point like her sister?

I'm a big advocate for having mental health conversations in the open. It's by bringing these topics out in the open that we take the stigma away. Still, it can be a frightening topic and almost impossible to start the conversation comfortably. This book does a great job at opening up the conversation in a less confrontational way.

Lily is not only dealing with the terrifying experience of catching her sister, but she is also dealing with new issues she never had before. Issues sleeping, feeling an urge to pick scabs, and others. As a teen, being labeled as weird can feel like a horrible sentence. Seeing her go through what she does if you've been there can feel relatable. It makes my experience of learning my own autism diagnosis feel less uncomfortable too.

The downside to this book is it's slow start. It doesn't really take off until well over halfway through, but once it does it's hard to stop. The buildup was well worth it for that ending.

A book that highlights the importance of talking about mental health.

My rating: 4.25 out of 5

The Words We Keep was a struggle to read. Not because it was written badly, or because I didn't like it. No, this just dealt with incredibly heavy subject matter. The portrayal of anxiety and mental illness felt so real, it was impossible to avoid the thoughts it conjured. So it was a hard read, but not one I regret reading.

The thing that made this one so strong for me was the guerilla poetry. Although I'm not normally a fan of poetry, I loved this. I loved how it was a window into Lily as a character, and how although incredibly simple, it had such expansive results. It was integrated into the story super well, and whenever it appeared, i knew my heart was about to take a hit.

Another thing I really loved was the family dynamic in this one. It wasn't pretty, and it wasn't anywhere near perfect. But it was realistic. (Note how the realism is a common thread). They felt like a family - one with issues. They felt real, and watching them interact was incredibly touching.

As for the romances, I wasn't a huge fan of it. But I don't think we (as readers) are meant to be. Instead of being a major plot point, Micah is almost a mirror to Lily and Alice. He isn't developed as a character because this isn't his point. He serves as a catalyst for Lily and for the development of the story.

This one hit me right in the feels. I opened it up blind, and although I don't have regrets, id definitely recommend checking out the trigger warnings for this one. A great read, but a hard one.

Thanks to Turn the Page Tours for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review!

The Words We Keep by Erin Stewart is a visceral and raw exploration of the pressures of being a teen facing the challenges of what seem to be increasiingly common mental illnesses.The Words We Keep is a wonderfully crafted book. The layers the author creates with the title and related themes make this book a literary gift to everyone trying their best to get by in this complex world. Having personal experiences, I can tell you that, without a doubt, Stewart gets it right.

The protagonist, Lily, strives to maintain stability for herself and her family while her older sister (with the entire family too) struggles to accept her mental health diagnosis. On top of this, Lily’s personal goals are seemingly thwarted once she’s been thrown together with a new student (who has his own problems) to complete a poetry and art project that could result in an opportunity to chase her dreams. As the author helps Lily navigate her relationships with her sister, her partner, and herself, her parents, and others, she creates a beautiful tribute to those who face life with anxiety, depression, and bipolar disorder.

With appropriate warning about the issues addressed, teens who read this who are struggling with symptoms and/or diagnoses will see themselves respectfully reflected, and their friends and peers will get a good look at how hard life with mental illness can be.

Thank you to Random House Children’s Delacorte Press, Netgalley, and the author for early access to this book.

A tender and heartfelt story about mental health and healing. I loved the crossed-off unspoken words and the guerilla poetry, and Lily's raw fight to connect with herself, her sister, and her delightfully-eccentric love interest, Micah.

*Trigger warning: mental health issues, including discussion of suicide attempts*

Stewart takes a raw, thought-provoking look into the mind of a teen struggling with anxiety.

Her sister Alice's suicide attempt has sent Lily's anxiety soaring, bringing thoughts that she compares to monsters in her head. She's trying to hold it all together in a family where she feels like she needs to be perfect, while worrying that she's going crazy herself. She focuses on her dream of attending Berkley while working to make the state championship for track. But when she gets paired with rumor-mill fodder new student Micah in a poetry project, she finds out that he knew Alice from their joint treatment facility. Despite her wariness, Micah's quirky socks and his hot takes on topics like coloring books keep almost convincing her to give him a chance. When Alice returns home, Lily finds herself creatively blocked, and Micah offers to help her find her muse.

This book is at its best as the guerilla poets try to come grips with their struggles through poetry and art, and it quickly grows into a school-wide project where teens anonymously share the truth they are afraid to say out loud. Lily's poems are powerful, and her peers' additions make them sing.

Lily, Micah and Alice all have different mental health conditions, which the author treats with sensitivity. Even though other characters are mean to them at times, the main three try to always have each other's backs, and the author both takes their struggles seriously and shows how much more they are than their diagnoses. I also love how supportive and loving Lily and Alice's dad is.

Micah's got the patience of a saint as he waits for Lily to be willing to act on her feelings for him. He's open and up front about his struggles with depression and anger, which led to him being kicked out of his last school. He's brooding, alternating between cheerfulness and sadness, and uses his art to work through his emotions. He's the perfect pairing for Lily, as the two of them can help pull the other one up.

But Lily has to find out just how far she'll spiral before she admits she needs help.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and TBR & Beyond Tours for the advance review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

After her sister returns from a mental health treatment center with scars on her wrists and a diagnosis of bipolar disorder, a driven high school junior begins writing anonymous poetry in public places to help her express the ways that she fears she is losing her mind.

This is both high praise and a warning: the depictions of an anxiety disorder, self-harm, and suicidal ideation in this novel are so real and raw that readers will feel them right along with the character. For some readers, this will be validating--a rare and powerful experience of seeing their own struggles reflected by another person, realizing they are not alone, seeing a path forward to hope and mental health care. For other readers, it may be triggering. Be aware before picking this book up and share trigger warnings with kids you recommend it to.

That praise/warning aside, I highly recommend this novel for YA Contemporary fiction fans and YA library collections. In addition to the realistic portrayal of mental illness, the novel features a strong, determined, witty narrator and a heart-warming romance, both of which buoy the reader up in the book's darker passages. And the "guerrilla poetry" movement that the protagonist starts--and the way that poetry allows her and others in her community to anonymously express thoughts they fear to admit and forge unexpected connections--will warm the heart of any readers who have found themselves in the arts and literature (and of course every teacher and librarian!). It is a well-crafted and important story, and I highly recommend it.

This book truly affected me more than I thought! It literally ripped my heart apart!

The slow burn start and getting stuck inside struggling heroine’s head shouldn’t make you stop reading this meaningful and heart wrenching story because its pace gets picked up after the introductions to the characters’ entire predicaments, struggles, suffers, sadnesses, challenges.
And it’s truly worth to keep going!
Here’s a quick summary of the plot:

I hear Lily’s pain completely: she pushes herself too hard to be the exemplary daughter after her sister’s bipolar disorder shakes the entire family to the core. She acts like everything is all right as she falls into pieces, fighting with her own inner demons.

She’s straight A student, track-star, golden child.

When she becomes partners with Micah for English project, she realizes she has found the only person who can truly understand what she’s been through because Micah also spent time at the same center her sister was sent. He still deals with his mental health issues, trying to get healed as school bullies are insistent to give him a hard time.

This book is thought provoking, heartfelt, realistic and definitely educational to learn and understand more about the people who are brave enough to fight against mental health issues.

I truly loved it!
Special thanks to NetGalley and Random House Children’s / Delacorte Press for sharing this amazing digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me an ARC for an honest review.

Truth time-I didn't think I was gonna like this book as much as I did. I was ready to bail about 100 pages in because the main character was a hot mess. I'm glad I stuck it out and I'm glad it didn't end how I thought it was going to end.

Lily is struggling with how to process her sister being bipolar. On top of this, she is seen by her father as the "perfect daughter"-great grades, track star, and overall awesome. However, she's barely holding it together and is starting to question her own mental health. Enter Micah who becomes her partner for an English project, but he also knows her sister from the center they were both in to address their mental health diagnoses. As the story progresses we see Lily spiral out of control because she realizes that she can't control everything and be the perfect daughter any longer.

While this was a slow start, sticking with it paid off. I think it's a testament to how much pressure is put on to students and showing that the need to hustle begins early but sometimes at a cost.

The Words We Keep is an incredible story of navigating mental health obstacles and family dynamics, showing up for friends in crisis, and the trials of high school/young adulthood. It was well-written and will leave readers better people.

This was a cute read, despite all the bad that was going on. It showed many aspects of mental illness, and I think that's important. These subjects need to be touched on more.

4 stars. Definitely for fans of books like All The Bright Places. We follow Lily, who feels the need to be perfect, because her older sister Alice is currently in a treatment center and Lily doesn't want to cause her dad anymore worry. However, Lily has issues of her own that she desperately tries to hide. The only person that sees through her facade is new classmate, Micah, who knows Alice from the treatment center where he was also a patient at.

Let me start off by saying… WHAT. A. BOOK.

I was captivated by Lily’s narration and how her inner thoughts, the monsters, would just jump in when they wanted to. There were words that she wanted to say to her family and friends, but wouldn’t and instead of just thinking them, they’d be off to the side with a strikeout through them to indicate she was scared to reveal how she really felt. The use of poetry in the book was perfect to show her struggle with anxiety and trying to not let the monsters win.

All the characters were great in this, even the ones I hated (*cough*Damon*cough*), as they were real, raw, and a perfect portrayal of how people function in real life. You have those who are outwardly struggling with mental health, like Alice and Micah, those who try to help them, the girls’ dad, step-mom, and youngest sister, those who are silently suffering, Lily, and those who are insensitive to mental health, Damon and other students. I obviously wanted to punch characters like Damon and Kali, who were complete jerks about knowing Micah had been a patient at Fairview, but sadly, there are people like them in the real world.

I really felt for Lily in this book. Not only is she struggling to deal with her sister’s attempted suicide months after the incident, but now feels like she needs to be the one in the family to keep herself together. Except, she’s kind of losing it. Ever since finding Alice that night, the monsters in her head have only gotten worse. Telling her to be more perfect, yet also that she’s not enough, and that she failed Alice when Alice needed her the most. I can see how other readers found Lily annoying – she did repeat herself a lot – but I think that goes in with her anxiety disorder. I know from my own anxiety that I can fixate on something and be repetitive about it until it’s perfect, or until I fix it.

The thoughts about how other perceive her are very relatable as well. Not in just the normal “I don’t want to look like a weirdo in front of everyone” thoughts, but the ones that are stuck on repeat and convince you that someone hates you (when, in fact, they don’t). So yes, Lily’s thoughts could be repetitive, self-centered, and annoying, but that’s life with an anxiety disorder. Trust me, I know. I annoy myself with my thoughts, but sometimes you just can’t make them stop.

Micah, what can I say about him? He was a delightful angel who was battling his own demons. Since we meet him when he’s out of Fairview, we only learn a little of his past and struggle with depression, but enough to want to hug him and make it all better. He used his own knowledge of fighting monsters to recognize it in Lily before she was ready to admit it, and helped to give her strength to start fighting them. His way of fighting his demons is through art, but he’s able to use that to help Lily find her inner muse to write poetry.

Note: give me a brooding, male artist with a troubled past any day and I’ll love him to bits, and that’s exactly what I did with Micah.

This book beautifully tackles multiple mental health disorders and the stigma against them. It also tackles the aftermath of a suicide attempt and how it affects those close to the person in a real way that deals with the trials and errors of helping that person after. It’s just a great book that I didn’t want to put down, and one that I highly recommend, especially if you loved books like All the Bright Places or Girl in Pieces.

I 1000% will be buying this when it comes out on March 15th!

How much did I love this novel.

I am an habitual reader of addiction and recovery books, so I am use to dark reads, but this one went above and beyond, while striking a note of reality that come happen to any of us.

The importance of mental health help is the central message here, as the characters each face their own mental health issues.

Yes, there is a romance here, but for me, that was not the importance in this important telling of the story.

LOVED, LOVED it.

There's a bit of romance, and a lot of mental health discussion. I think this could be a great book for a small group focused on mental health--our school counselor is always asking for titles like this.

Erin Stewart is becoming my favorite YA Author! Loved how this book addressed mental illness and the stigma in society preventing us from talking about it. Post pandemic where teens are recording record amounts of anxiety and suicidal ideation, books like this are going to be more important than ever. Stewart's characters are relatable and her "guerrilla poetry project" may take off nationwide. Five stars! (I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.) #TheWordsWeKeep #NetGalley

Books that deal with heavy subjects, such as mental health, are books that I gravitate towards. They bring out so many emotions and let us all know that we aren’t alone in this world. That we are loved and belong on this planet.

This one stuck out to me immediately. It sounded like a unique take on mental illness and I was ready to try something new from an author that I haven’t read before. While I appreciated the deeper look into anxiety, bipolar disorder, and a family coming trying to come together, it just wasn’t one that will stick with me.

It took a long time for me to be a tiny bit interested in this book. I almost gave up quite a few times but I did power through to see the outcome. This one wasn’t my favorite. There were a few things that I liked but most of it I didn’t. The book was almost over before I actually started to enjoy it.

What took away from the story was most of the characters. I didn’t feel any connection with them and Lily was the worst. She was very conceited and acted horribly. I know she was dealing with her own issues but she neglected everyone and everything. It was all about her and I wasn’t into that. Not one person in Lily’s family was likable. They all swept things under the rug instead of dealing with things. No, thanks.

Who turned out to be the savior was Micah. He has quite the reputation that followed him and he never let that stop him from being his true self and bringing others out from their shells. He was the perfect fit for this story, his love interest just didn’t fit nor make sense.

What I really enjoyed was the guerrilla poetry. The little pieces of inspiration and hope throughout the school was a very special touch. It brought out a lot of love in others and support in time of need. No one knew what others were going through but those words helped someone along the way. Words are magical and powerful, we should use them in the right ways.

I also liked Micah. He inspired others in very special ways and made them see that they were shining stars in the dark. He is the one who made this story thrive.

The Words We Keep wasn’t that great of a story and I found myself bored. It contained so many clichés that it wasn’t an original story. There were some points of light in there but you have to read a lot before you find them. This book wasn’t for me but I can see others really enjoying this one.

Just remember that you matter and I’m glad that you’re here.

The Words We Keep explores mental health and healing through the means of poetry and drawing. I didn't agree with everything Lily did but I could relate to her struggles with trying to achieve perfection. I felt like her and Micah were a little too dependent on each other which sometimes negatively impacted them so I wish that was portrayed differently. This was a good read and I will definitely pick up anything else Stewart creates.

Such a beautiful book about the power of poetry and the importance of seeking help for your mental health. Thank you for writing this.