“I can’t let anyone know what really happened, or what’s wrong with me. I can’t bear the thought of how they’d look at me, and treat me, if they knew how many pills I take every morning just to act more or less like everybody else.”
A Tragic Kind of Wonderful is a YA novel that tackles the important and complicated issue of mental illness. It is something many people live with and deal with on a daily basis, but do so in secret due to the fear of the stigma that may come along with it. Sixteen year-old Mel struggles with bipolar disorder and has hidden this part of her life from almost everyone in her life, apart from her parents, aunt and an old friend of her grandmother’s. She keeps her friends at a distance, not letting them see the real Mel or know about a tragedy from her past that impacted her in a significant way. It is a difficult way to live and has led to an end of a friendship with a group of close friends, and while Mel develops new friendships there is a lot left to be resolved with those who were an important part of her life. When she meets a boy who she might be interested in a relationship with, the struggle between distancing herself and wanting to let someone in brings up many emotions she must come to terms with.
This is a beautiful and heartbreaking novel. It portrays life with bipolar disorder in a real way, allowing the reader to see and feel everything through Mel’s perspective. We get a thorough understanding of her struggles, thoughts, feelings, and desires. I particularly liked the way her relationships with those around her are described and portrayed, which gives an excellent look into the complexity of emotion and the constant instinct to protect oneself. A Tragic Kind of Wonderful is a wonderful novel that takes on an important topic and does so really well. I highly recommend this one.
*ARC provided by NetGalley for an unbiased review.
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