Alex Townsend

Despite good ideas and wonderful writing, Brilliant falls flat when it comes to having any constructive meaning regarding depression.

After the first two books in Jackie Morse Kessler’s Riders of the Apocalypse series — Hunger, about a girl with anorexia, and Rage, about a girl with depression — were so positively reviewed on the blog, we were incredibly excited to invite the author over for a joint interview.

I highly recommend Rage for anyone with depression, who wants to learn about depression, or anyone who just enjoys a good story. It’s moving, it’s clever, and despite its fantasy elements it’s incredibly realistic.

Romanticization is a common element of mental illness narratives, including many in the YA category; what kind of message does that send?

Many characters who may be mentally ill reject treatment out of hand, considering therapy a waste of time and suspecting medication will turn them into a zombie. Why are these narratives so popular? What are the alternatives?

I Was Here is full of wasted potential; Meg is as much of a prop to the story as Mr. Body is to Clue.

The writing and characters are wonderful, but if you’re looking for a book about depression, I’d pass on this one.