This Book is Making me Nervous – Novels that Feature Characters with Anxiety Disorder

May is Mental Health Awareness Month. I think that we, as a society, have come a long away in beginning to lose the stigma associated with mental illness, but we obviously still have a ways to go. It is hard for people who don’t deal with it on a daily basis to understand, so I thought I’d share some books that I thought realistically portrayed what it’s like to live with an anxiety disorder. These are characters that made me feel understood and could maybe help others understand what it’s like.

Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone

Sam suffers from not just anxiety, but Purely-Obsessional OCD. I can not even begin to tell you how much of myself I saw in her (to the point where I think maybe I have some form of undiagnosed OCD). This book is raw and real and was so identifiable to me that I often had to put the book down because it was making me so emotional.

The Real Thing by Cassie Mae

Because this book is NA, I obviously had some issues with it, but I really loved pretty much everything that had to do with Eric. He’s insecure about his weight, has anxiety attacks, and doesn’t like to be touched (FYI – I identify with each thing in that list). I thought Mae did a great job of realistically portraying what it’s like to live with anxiety. I also think she handled the treatment of it much better than most books that have anxiety prone characters. Eric has coping techniques, family support, therapy, and medication.

Crash into You by Katie McGarry

I’m not a huge fan of Katie McGarry books, but this one is one of my favorites of hers – primarily because the main character, Rachel, deals with anxiety. I don’t really remember enough about the story to say much about it, but I thought it was a pretty realistic portrayal.

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

I have read a few reviews about how people don’t like Cath because they were frustrated with her behavior. However, I loved Cath, because I understood her behavior. I have so many highlighted passages of things that Cath says that are just so relatable to someone who lives with anxiety. While I will always recommend Rainbow Rowell’s work to everyone for every reason, this is definitely one to read to help broaden your mental health awareness horizons.

What are some books you’ve enjoyed that include characters with anxiety or other mental health issues?

Reviewing the Unreviewed: February 2015

 

I read a lot of books that I don’t end up reviewing for whatever reason. Some because I wasn’t impressed. Some because I didn’t have the time. Some I just wasn’t feeling it on whatever particular day I finished. I thought I’d start doing a post once a month  with just the couple thoughts I shared on Good Reads.

The Secret of Pembrooke Park by Julie Klassen. Read February 8-12. 3 stars.

This book was a little unnecessarily long at times, but overall I enjoyed it. I liked the characters and thought they were well developed. The mystery was pretty well done, too. While there was one part of it I guessed basically right away, and another I guessed fairly early on, there were other parts that I didn’t and I enjoyed the surprise. Even though her previous book was not really to my liking, this book once again reinforces my opinion that Klassen is one of the best authors in this particular genre.

Arranged by Catherine McKenzie. Read February 18-20. 3 stars.

This book had a unique premise that intrigued me, but didn’t blow me away. I found the Blythe & Company process interesting, though a bit outlandish. I thought they were going to end up being something a little more sinister than they were and was a little disappointed that they weren’t.

I liked all the references to Anne of Green Gables.

I didn’t always care for the main character. She was shallow and annoying most of the time, but as the book went on she really grew as a person and I enjoyed that.

The twist in Anne and Jack’s relationship wasn’t what I was expecting, but I thought it was good. My biggest complaint, though, is that I was hoping for the end to be a little less predictable.

The Girl who Kissed a Lie by Skylar Dorset. Read February 25. 2 stars.

There were some humorous moments with the aunts and Ben, but there really wasn’t anything that happened in this book. Perhaps if you read it before you read the first book in the series, you might find it more interesting, but I don’t think it will make you understand the first book any better. But it was a quick read and was good to get reacquainted with the series before I read book 2.

The Boy with the Hidden Name by Skylar Dorset. Read February 25-26. 3 stars.

I debated between 2 and 3 stars for this one, but since it did ultimately entertain me, I went with 3. The story, as in the first book, is confusing. There were often times I didn’t understand what was going on. But I found most of the dialogue humorous. If you plan to read this series, I would recommend doing it all at once so it may be less confusing.

The Beautiful Daughters by Nicole Baart. Read February 22-25. 4 stars.

I read this book in February, but my full review will post in April since this is an ARC and I wanted to post closer to the release date.

I’ve never read anything by Nicole Baart before, but I think I’ll definitely be giving her other books a try after reading The Beautiful Daughters. Her writing was beautiful, even when it was heartbreaking. I was drawn in, straight from the Prologue.

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BACK ON THE TBR SHELF

Breaking The Rules by Katie McGarry. I waited a long time for this to be available at the library, but once it finally came I couldn’t get into it. It seemed like just a bunch of re-hashing of their first book and I got bored pretty quickly. I may give it another go some time, though.

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DNF

Seeker by Arwen Elys Dayton. I got this from NetGalley and just could not finish it. I was so confused the whole time and I didn’t really care about any of the characters.

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RE-READ

Illusions of Fate by Kiersten White. I enjoyed this just as much the second time around!

Monday’s Minutes

Monday’s Minutes is my weekly post where I share what I’m reading and what I’m reading next.

WHAT I’M READING

Take Me On (Pushing the Limits #4) by Katie McGarry. After reading City of Heavenly Fire, I had major book hangover and I tried starting three other book before landing on this one and being able to read more than the first chapter. So far, it’s very much  like the other books in this series, but that kind of what I expect.

WHAT I’M READING NEXT

   

I think I’m feeling a Grisha series re-read (for real this time!) to get ready for Ruin and Rising on the 17th!

WHAT ARE YOU READING?

Reviewing the Unreviewed: May

I read a lot of books that I don’t end up reviewing for whatever reason. Some because I wasn’t impressed. Some because I didn’t have the time. Some I just wasn’t feeling it on whatever particular day I finished. I thought I’d start doing a post once a month  with just the couple thoughts I shared on Good Reads.

Pushing the Limits (Pushing the Limits #1) by Katie McGarry. Read May 3-6. 2 stars.

This series seems to be so beloved in the blogosphere, but I didn’t really find it to be my cup of tea. While the characters’ drama was a little to a lot heavier than your standard YA, every other thing about it was a list of clichés. However, it wasn’t all bad and I’ll get to the rest of the series just to see if I find the next books more enjoyable.

 

Dare You To (Pushing the Limits #2) by Katie McGarry. Read May 12-14. 3 stars.

I actually liked this book a lot more than the first in the series. Beth – who I hated in the first book – grew on me in this one, though I still don’t love her. I do love Uncle Scott! Like so much. I also really like Ryan. He is basically a perfect boy living in imperfect circumstances. His character was a little unrealistic, but he was sweet and I don’t care.

The pace was a little slow and there were kind of long periods of time where NOTHING really happens. I feel like it could’ve been maybe a little shorter, but overall I enjoyed it and I’ll continue to the next book in the series.

 

Crash Into You (Pushing the Limits #3) by Katie McGarry. Read May 14-19. 3 stars.

This book was ok for me. Isaiah was not my favorite character in the previous books and he’s still not my favorite, though I liked him a lot more in this book. I enjoyed the chapters from Rachel’s perspective the most. It was interesting to read about her anxiety since I suffer a bit from that myself. This series still isn’t my favorite, but I like it enough to continue it.

Omens (Cainsville #1) by Kelley Armstrong. Read May 24-27. 2 stars.

I think this book would’ve been better if it was about 100 pages less. It started strong and then was way slow and kind of boring and then it got exciting and then it ended on an odd note. I didn’t find it satisfying in terms of the mysteries of Cainsville, but I’ll probably end up reading the next book.

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RE-READ

Anna and the French Kiss (Anna and the French Kiss #1) by Stephanie Perkins.

What can I say? This book is so cute. I was thinking that the third book in the series was coming out in May, but I guess it’s not until August. But I still enjoyed the re-read.

Lola and the Boy Next Door (Anna and the French Kiss #2) by Stephanie Perkins.

I LOVE Cricket Bell. And his stupid name.

 

Wish They Would/Wouldn’t Wednesday

Welcome to my new feature: Wish they Would/Wouldn’t Wednesday. This is where I’ll discuss issues that I wish authors would or wouldn’t do. This could include favorite styles, themes, genres, or pet peeves. And my first topic is………

I WISH THEY WOULDN’T: CREATE SERIES WITH NEW PROTAGONISTS FOR EACH BOOK

So we’ve all been there. We read a book and fall in love with not just the story, but the characters. Even if the plot wraps up in a satisfying way, you still crave more of the characters. And you’re in luck! It’s a series. HOWEVER, instead of focusing on these characters that you adore, a minor character from the first book takes center stage.

Now don’t get me wrong. There are a lot of series like this that I end up really enjoying, but each new book drives me a little bit crazy waiting for my old favorites to show up before I start to like the new characters. And even when I really get into the new protagonists, I still can’t get enough of the characters from the first installment. I wish these types of series at least included more of the previous primary characters in each new book.

Some examples of these series that I read and enjoyed, but was still annoyed with (click on the picture for summaries):

The O’Malley series by Dee Henderson

       

The Alaskan Courage series by Dani Pettrey

   

Reviews: Shattered, Silenced

Pushing the Limits series by Katie McGarry

   

Elemental series by Brigid Kemmerer

     

Reviews: Storm, Spark, Spirit, Secret

What do you think of series that change protagonists with each new book? Love them? Hate them? Read them, but are annoyed by them?

Monday’s Minutes

Monday’s Minutes is my weekly post where I share what I’m reading and what I’m reading next.

WHAT I’M READING

Crash into You (Pushing the Limits #3) by Katie McGarry. So I know I wasn’t planning on continuing this series anytime soon after I finished the first book, but they were already available at the library, so I just went with it. I only have a few chapters left and I’m kind of ambivalent about it. I like the chapters from Rachel’s POV. Isaiah still isn’t my favorite, but he has grown on me a ton in this book.

WHAT I’M READING NEXT

I’m not sure. I think I need to do a re-read of Shadow and Bone and Siege and Storm

 

Monday’s Minutes

Monday’s Minutes is my weekly post where I share what I’m reading and what I’m reading next.

WHAT I’M READING

Dare You To (Pushing the Limits #2) by Katie McGarry. Ok. So I had no intention of continuing this series anytime soon, but I found myself faced with a few review titles that are long-ish and serious-ish and I’m just not in the state of mind for serious reading. I also find I’m not in the mood to read anything I really care about it, so this came up at the library and I decided to try it. While it appears to have heavier themes than most YA romance, it’s still, at it’s core, YA romance, which always fills the bill when I need something fluffy to read.

WHAT I’M READING NEXT

  

Ruins (Partial Sequence #3) by Dan Wells and Undetected by Dee Henderson. I’ve been putting off Ruins because I was pretty disappointed with book 2 in this series. I haven’t heard great things about the conclusion to the series, either. But I still want to read it. I enjoyed the O’Malley series by Dee Henderson, so I of course had to request Dee Henderson on NetGalley. However, it’s a pdf and not an epub, so reading it on my Nook is super annoying. But I’m still looking forward to it!

What are you reading?

 

Monday’s Minutes

Monday’s Minutes is my weekly post where I share what I’m reading and what I’m reading next.

WHAT I’M READING

Pushing the Limits (Pushing the Limits #1) by Katie McGarry. The blogging community seems to love this series, so when I saw this book was free this weekend on iBooks (it might still be free, I’m not sure), I thought I’d give it a try. So far, I’m not terribly impressed, but I’m just a couple chapters in. Also, having it on iBooks means I can only read it on my ipod and or phone and not my Nook, so that hinders a bit of my reading enjoyment.

WHAT I’M READING NEXT

Ruins (Partials #3) by Dan Wells. I’m reading this book because of my need to finish series I start. The first book was not as good as I had expected it to be and the second book was about 200 pages too long. But, I still want to see how it ends.

What are you reading?