There's something that was very unsettling for me about this book.
Upfront: we know that something is a little off about Bea. She goes to a psychologist because of something that happened. But it was 'no big deal'.
That psychologist seemed to cross a few therapy lines (which I know a teeny bit about because of my experience in Direct Care as well as a close friend of mine being a social worker). Then again, the argument could be made that perhaps they were just a terrible psychologist. I am reminded that fiction usually has to hold more truth to it than reality.
So this book was a bit of a struggle for me.
An amazon summary to get me somewhere, "In this raw and relatable romance, Bea learns that some things just can’t be controlled.
When Bea meets Beck, she knows instantly that he’s her kind of crazy. Sweet, strong, kinda-messed-up Beck understands her like no one else can. He makes her feel almost normal. He makes her feel like she could fall in love again.
But despite her feelings for Beck, Bea can’t stop thinking about someone else: a guy who is gorgeous and magnetic…and has no idea Bea even exists. But Bea knows a lot about him. She spends a lot of time watching him. She has a journal full of notes. Some might even say she’s obsessed.
Bea tells herself she’s got it all under control. But this isn’t a choice, it’s a compulsion. The truth is, she’s breaking down…and she might end up breaking her own heart." AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE
Disclaimer: if you find this romance 'relatable', it should be a strong consideration of yours to seek out some therapy. This book is, in the literal sense, a bit crazy.
Bea is obsessive. No in the 'haha, you're so obsessed' sense but like the 'whoaaaaa, let's cross to the other side of the sidewalk to avoid that one' unnerving sense.
She goes to therapy, she pinches her thigh, she takes notes about people in her notebook, and she constantly thinks she is a danger to others that are around her. She also drives incredibly slow, all the time. She always thinks there is a chance that she might have hit someone or something so she'll circle back around two or three times to make sure nothing has happened.
She's obsessive.
The entire narrative is like that. There is some humor here and there, but I think I powered through this book because it was a little compelling to see an in depth narrative of that level.
But it could be tedious/obnoxious/underwhelming at times as well.
Especially with her love obsession.
So Bea becomes a bit of a stalker which is potentially one of the patterns in her behaviors, and she struggles in school in the social sense. She does have a best friend that seems to get her, but the friend seems a little off-balance as well.
Then again, this book might also be trying to make the examination of the question, "What does normal mean/look like?"
If it was, it didn't do it well enough.
I DIGRESS. A LOT.
What should you know about this book?
There is a lot of compulsions, there are a lot of obsessions, and there really isn't a silver lining happy ending because people who have a form of mental illness don't truly ever get better from it usually; they hopefully find more effective ways to cope with it. It's not something that can be 'cured' per say, but it is something that can be managed with therapy, drugs, or personal coping skills/will power, etc.
So there's that.
I'm still on the fence of this book of whether or not I liked it as the narrative was compelling, but the book really seemed to struggle against accomplishing anything.
...
Happy reading!
No comments:
Post a Comment