Tag Archives: Therapy

Review: How Girls Are Made by Mindy McGinnis

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , , ,
How Girls Are Made by Mindy McGinnis

How Girls Are Made
Mindy McGinnis
HarperCollins
Published November 18, 2025

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About How Girls Are Made

Sex Education meets Euphoria in this dark contemporary novel that tackles perfectionism, emotional abuse, and the dark side of social media.

Fallon is a fixer. From planning prom to organizing her college applications, she’s got it all figured out… except for when her younger sister comes to her with very basic questions about sex. Shocked that she knows so little—and her fellow classmates even less—Fallon decides some practical education is in order. And Fallon isn’t above practicing a little civil disobedience by creating a secret, underground, off-campus group.

Shelby is a fighter. Having her nose broken is nothing new in her semi professional career… but this time it’s her boyfriend that threw the punch. Now her phone is blowing up with texts from a new guy, who tells her she’s perfect, she’s special, she’s everything he’s ever wanted… except for a few small details. Shelby’s happy to adjust for him, because isn’t that what a healthy relationship is about?

Jobie is a failure. She doesn’t have enough followers and her posts never go viral, no matter how hard she crushes challenges and applies exactly the right filter. But a friendly DM from a good girl just like her points her in the direction of a whole new audience of admirers. Guys who just want to talk. Guys who give her the attention she’s always wanted. 

The lives of all three girls intersect in Fallon’s secret class, rumors of which have parents up in arms. Fallon needs to keep herself anonymous, Shelby needs to keep her new boyfriend happy, and Jobie needs to keep her followers… who keep asking for more. Each girl finds herself trapped in an inescapable situation—that will leave one of them dead. 

My Review

Not gonna lie, this book is a hard read. It’s such a compelling story. I couldn’t stop thinking about it, even after I finished reading. These are hard topics to write about for teens, and I think the author does a good job scaling the topics to the audience.

I also really appreciate that each of the main characters seem, on the surface, like they’d be insulated from the kinds of trouble they face. Fallon’s conundrum felt the least unexpected, but Jobie and Shelby both read as the kinds of girls who pretty well stay clear of trouble. Shelby, as a wrestling athlete, is not easily pushed around. Her personality is big, frank, and unapologetic.

And yet, we watch her face intense, painful situations that her physical strength can’t spare her from. As much as she wants to shake off the hurt, sometimes she can’t. Her experiences remind us that having a reaction to trauma doesn’t make us weak. It makes us real.

The ending of the book unfolds at a wild pace, with all three girls in increasingly dire circumstances. Periodic italicized scenes from an omniscient point of view remind the reader that one of these girls doesn’t make it through these events alive.

This certainly won’t be a book everyone wants to read, but I’m so glad that there are books for a young adult audience tackling these topics. Education about abuse, intimacy, and online safety can quite literally save lives. I wish that the book included a note in the back offering resources for readers who need help navigating any of the situations that the main characters face. For example, RAINN, a nonprofit organization, offers help for abuse survivors.

Fans of Courtney Summers, especially Sadie or All the Rage will want to read this one.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 16 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used somewhat frequently. Some scenes show cruel or disturbing social media comments or messages.

Romance/Sexual Content
Fallon and the girls in her club answer questions from other students about sex and sexual situations (pregnancy prevention, STI transmission, consent, etc.) The information stays pretty generalized. The group discusses the exchange of nude photos and how it’s illegal to send or receive them if the person photographed is under 18 (even if it’s a selfie).

Other references to sex. One scene leads up to a sexual encounter. Another scene leads up to a coerced sexual encounter. Later, someone discovers a video of this experience, obviously recorded without consent.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
One scene shows domestic abuse. The story catalogs an emotionally abusive relationship. Shelby practices wresling with a partner. At one point, someone body slams another person without their consent.

One scene shows an overdose. Another shows a serious car accident. Another shows a fatal accident.

Drug Content
Shelby drinks alcohol at a teen party. One character swipes someone’s pain medication and takes multiple pills.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Review: The Golden Boy’s Guide to Bipolar by Sonora Reyes

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The Golden Boy’s Guide to Bipolar
Sonora Reyes
HarperCollins
Published September 16, 2025

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About The Golden Boy’s Guide to Bipolar

From bestselling author Sonora Reyes comes a poignant and searingly honest companion novel to the multi-award-winning The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School, following beloved character Cesar Flores as he comes to terms with his sexuality, his new bipolar diagnosis, and more mistakes than he can count.

Seventeen-year-old Cesar Flores is finally ready to win back his ex-boyfriend. Since breaking up with Jamal in a last-ditch effort to stay in the closet, he’s come out to Mami, his sister, Yami, and their friends, taken his meds faithfully, and gotten his therapist’s blessing to reunite with Jamal.

Everything would be perfect if it weren’t for The Thoughts—the ones that won’t let all his Catholic guilt and internalizations stay buried where he wants them. The louder they become, the more Cesar is once again convinced that he doesn’t deserve someone like Jamal—or anyone really.

Cesar can hide a fair amount of shame behind jokes and his “gifted” reputation, but when a manic episode makes his inner turmoil impossible to hide, he’s faced with a stark choice—burn every bridge he has left or, worse—ask for help. But is the mortifying vulnerability of being loved by the people he’s hurt the most a risk he’s willing to take?

My Review

I was devastated that I missed The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School when it came out, but thrilled at the chance to read this companion novel. I recently read a short story by Sonora Reyes in For the Rest of Us, an anthology about holidays, and it was one of my favorites in the whole collection, so I knew this book would have powerful, emotive writing. (It does.)

Cesar’s story pulled me in right from the first chapter. I loved the direct, intense emotions that were so easy to sense as he navigated the relationships in his life and his feelings about them. He felt so real as a character, and he’s so open that it’s impossible not to know how he’s feeling in any given scene.

This was a tough read for me because someone in my life has bipolar disorder. Though everyone’s experiences vary, so many of the things Cesar says and does reminded me of things my family member says and does. It was almost eerie at times.

In the story, Cesar has a complex relationship with his faith. It’s like, he’s looking for a kind of validation from his faith. I liked that the story made room for his exploration here. The story could easily have demonized religion or Cesar’s faith, but it doesn’t do that. Instead, Cesar learns to ask more questions about the experience he’s having in light of his diagnosis. For instance, he needs to discern whether he’s having a spiritual experience or a manic experience. That helps him determine how to respond.

He also finds community in some unexpected places, including from a family member who shares his diagnosis. The conversations between those two were really powerful, not just about mental illness but about relationships and self-care.

Conclusion

It’s a messy story, for sure. Cesar makes a lot of harmful choices. In some ways, reading the book is like watching a slow-motion train wreck. But it also helps us understand why he makes those choices and how his bipolar disorder impacts his thoughts and emotions. This novel offers an up-close, unfiltered account of a boy’s journey learning what it means to love and care for himself and others. It’s bravely written, and offers such an important perspective.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 16 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used somewhat frequently. Homophobic comments appear a few times.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing. In two scenes, characters undress, intending to have sexual contact. Both times they’re quickly interrupted. Characters reference sex a few times.

Spiritual Content
Cesar is Catholic and spends time in prayer at confession, where he asks a priest questions about his faith and identity.

Violent Content
A group of boys bullies Cesar because he’s bisexual. In one scene, several attack him at once, severely harming him.

Drug Content
Cesar’s cousin sells pot and shares her dreams of eventually opening a dispensary. Cesar and his friends drink alcohol at a party. In one instance, one character immediately vomits on another. In a different scene, a character makes choices they deeply regret.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Review: The Renaissance of Gwen Hathaway by Ashley Schumacher

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The Renaissance of Gwen Hathaway
Ashley Schumacher
Wednesday Books
Published March 14, 2023

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About The Renaissance of Gwen Hathaway

Since her mother’s death, Madeline “Gwen” Hathaway has been determined that nothing in her life will change ever again. That’s why she keeps extensive lists in journals, has had only one friend since childhood, and looks forward to the monotony of working the ren faire circuit with her father. Until she arrives at her mother’s favourite end-of-tour stop to find the faire is under new management and completely changed.

Meeting Arthur, the son of the new owners and an actual lute-playing bard, messes up Maddie’s plans even more. For some reason, he wants to be her friend – and ropes her into becoming Princess of the Faire. Now Maddie is overseeing a faire dramatically changed from what her mother loved and going on road trips vastly different from the routine she used to rely on. Worst of all, she’s kind of having fun.

Ashley Schumacher’s THE RENAISSANCE OF GWEN HATHAWAY is filled with a wise old magician who sells potion bottles, gallant knights who are afraid of horses and ride camels instead, kings with a fondness for theatrics, a lazy river castle moat with inflatable crocodile floaties, and a plus-sized heroine with a wide-open heart… if only she just admits it.

My Review

Is there anyone who writes complicated grief like Ashley Schumacher? I’ve read all three of her books, and loved all of them. THE RENAISSANCE OF GWEN HATHAWAY introduces Madeline, a girl who’s approaching the first anniversary of her mom’s death– and her mom’s favorite Renaissance Fair, which has been redesigned by new owners. So, her grief over losing her mom and how it’s changed her life irreversibly gets kind of mirrored by this other big event. I thought it was really clever to pair those two things so closely together.

I really liked Maddie’s character, too. She’s a loner, but not in a sad, get-that-girl-some-friends kind of way. She’s an introvert who treasures close relationships with a few people.

The only thing that worried me at first was Arthur’s approach to Madeline. He gives her a nickname she doesn’t like, and plays the “I know what you need better than you do” card, which tends to rub me the wrong way. It’s a little too close to refusing to respect someone’s “no.”

However, in several scenes, Arthur listens to Madeline’s preferences and quickly adjusts his behavior in response to her boundaries, so I liked that. And I liked that it became clear that wasn’t his whole approach to relationships with girls.

One of the subplots of the story is the evolution of how Madeline feels about her body and how she behaves in response to those feelings. She’s a curvy girl who still carries some hurts from unkind things people have said to her. When Arthur first asks her to be the Fair princess, she has a hard time believing he’s serious, or that accepting the role won’t open her up to ridicule. But as she begins to explore what makes her comfortable in her own skin, she realizes that some of the things she’s been thinking about herself aren’t reality-based. And she finds ways to shop and dress that make her feel good. I liked that journey, and I especially liked that while it didn’t happen in a vaccuum– there were people who influenced her here and there– it was still her journey.

Conclusion

All in all, I loved this book. It had lots of goofy moments and starry-eyed love. I think fans of Jenn Bennett should definitely check out THE RENAISSANCE OF GWEN HATHAWAY.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
Arthur has two dads.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used somewhat frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
Madeline carries a coin that, according to family lore, predicts the future. She flips the coin before making big decisions. She feels bound by the coin’s predictions, especially since it predicted her mom’s death from cancer.

Violent Content
None.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of THE RENAISSANCE OF GWEN HATHAWAY in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Heartstopper: Volume Four by Alice Oseman

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Graphic Novel or Adaptation, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , , ,

Heartstopper: Volume Four
Alice Oseman
Graphix
Published January 4, 2022

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Heartstopper: Volume Four

Boy meets boy. Boys become friends. Boys fall in love. The bestselling LGBTQ+ graphic novel about life, love, and everything that happens in between: this is the fourth volume of HEARTSTOPPER, for fans of THE ART OF BEING NORMAL, Holly Bourne and LOVE, SIMON.

Charlie didn’t think Nick could ever like him back, but now they’re officially boyfriends. Charlie’s beginning to feel ready to say those three little words: I love you.

Nick’s been feeling the same, but he’s got a lot on his mind – not least coming out to his dad, and the fact that Charlie might have an eating disorder.

As summer turns to autumn and a new school year begins, Charlie and Nick are about to learn a lot about what love means.

HEARTSTOPPER is about love, friendship, loyalty and mental illness. It encompasses all the small stories of Nick and Charlie’s lives that together make up something larger, which speaks to all of us.

This is the fourth volume of HEARTSTOPPER, which has now been optioned for television by See-Saw Films.

My Review

The absolutely adorable romance between Charlie and Nick continues in the fourth volume of the series. All the books have been really quick reads, and all had me smiling at different moments. Sometimes I teared up, too. I love that while the story celebrates so many different loving relationships, it also gives space to talk about heavier issues.

In HEARTSTOPPER: VOLUME FOUR, the heavier issue explored is Charlie’s disordered eating. It’s mentioned in an earlier book, but Nick continues to be concerned and isn’t sure what to do to help his boyfriend through it. He has a couple long conversations with his mom and some panels show him doing internet research.

Ultimately, the story follows both Nick and Charlie through figuring out how to balance the intensity of their relationship and still maintain connections with others as well as figuring out how to have healthy support and boundaries with each other.

There are a couple of long passages that are journal entries from either Nick or Charlie. I thought those were a cool idea, but I wish more of the story was told in real time. Actual scenes unfolding in front of us.

I liked the attention to how to support– not save– someone who has an eating disorder, but I wonder if some readers will feel like the romance of the earlier volumes gets lost in the issue in this one.

I’m happy that I read it, and I will definitely read volume five.

Content Notes

Content warning for eating disorder, mentions of self-harm, and brief homophobic bullying.

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Charlie is gay. Nick is bisexual.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between two boys. Kissing between boy and girl, and kissing between two girls.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Some brief instances of bullying and homophobia.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog.

Review: Xavier in the Meantime by Kate Gordon

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Middle Grade 8-12, , , , , , ,

Xavier in the Meantime
Kate Gordon
Riveted Press
Published February 1, 2022

 Book Depository | Goodreads

About Xavier in the Meantime

Sometimes Xavier wakes up feeling hopeless.

Every new doctor … this will fix it.

Removing him from school … this will fix it.

The therapy group … this will fix it.

And his dad moving out. Maybe, this will fix it. Despite his positive affirmations, the black dog never really leaves him. It watches from the corner of his room, never straying too far away—waiting for the perfect opportunity to sink its teeth in.

But Xavier has a plan—one he hopes will help all the kids in his support group. Enlisting the help of best friend Aster, he tries to convince his dad to turn the family sheep farm into a therapy retreat for the group session kids. But he is up against decades of tradition, his parents who are on a “break,” and the spectre of the black dog.

Can Xavier learn to cherish the moments in between the struggles—the moments in the meantime?

My Review

XAVIER IN THE MEANTIME is a companion novel to ASTER’S GOOD RIGHT THINGS, which I read and loved last year. Xavier is the boy with a pet bunny Aster meets in the other book. As soon as I saw that this book was about him (and incudes Aster as a side character!), I knew I needed to read it.

Xavier is such a cool kid. He has his own wild sense of style– I loved the descriptions of his outfits. He’s a bit of a loner. Homeschooled. Aster is his only friend. And everywhere he goes, the black dog follows him. It’s not a literal real dog. But he sees it in his mind, and it gives shape and presence to his depression. I thought the way the black dog is described and used as a metaphor for his depression was really powerful and original. It reminded me a little bit of the captain in CHALLENGER DEEP by Neal Shusterman.

When Xavier meets Aster in the other book, he and Aster learn about how doing small kindnesses for others can make them feel good inside. Xavier decides that small kindnesses won’t be enough to make him feel good, but he gets an idea for a big kindness, something that could help him and the other kids in his therapy group. It was really cool watching how the people around Xavier responded to the idea of the retreat and the way it impacted his connections with other kids.

This isn’t a story where he finds a magical cure for depression. The story mentions more than once that many people have chronic depression that doesn’t just go away forever. While it’s a really hopeful story, it doesn’t pretend that Xavier has found a magical cure. Rather that finding a supportive community that will be with him when the dark days come and the black dog returns is the true goal for him. I liked that, and I liked that the story explored what a supportive community can look like and how it develops.

Content Notes for Xavier in the Meantime

Recommended for Ages 10 to 14.

Representation
Xavier has depression. Aster has anxiety. Xavier’s mom has Crohn’s disease.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
A boy comes to therapy group with a black eye after having been beat up at school.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of Xavier in the Meantime in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Glitter Gets Everywhere by Yvette Clark

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Glitter Gets Everywhere
Yvette Clark
HarperCollins
Published May 4, 2021

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Glitter Gets Everywhere

Kitty’s mother died on an inappropriately sunny Tuesday. So much has changed in Kitty’s life over the last few months, and she needs the world to stop spinning around her. She needs things to return to normal — or as normal as they’ll ever be.

Normal definitely does not include her family moving from their home in a cozy corner of London all the way to New York City. Moving means leaving behind her friends and neighbors, her grandmother, and all the places and people that help Kitty keep her mother’s memory alive.

New York City is bright and bustling and completely different from everything Kitty has known. As she adjusts to her new school, explores her new city, and befriends a blue-haired boy, Kitty wonders if her memories of her mother don’t need to stay in one place — if there’s a way for them to be with Kitty every day, everywhere.

With her wry, poignant wit, Kitty tells a universal story about the grief of losing a beloved family member, the fears of starting over, and the challenges of how to remake a family in this powerful, heartfelt debut novel.

My Review

When I agreed to review this book, I had no idea what I’d be going through when it came out. Reading a book centered around grief while grieving has been an interesting journey. A lot of things Kitty experienced really resonated with me. I loved the way the story shows different characters responding to grief in different ways, too. It’s really Kitty’s story, but around the edges of her own experience, we get to see other people wrestling with grief in their own ways.

This book is packed with a fantastic cast of characters. There’s Kitty’s older and often antagonistic sister Imogen, who knows all the things the cool kids know. There’s Kitty’s dad, treading water, trying to keep the family afloat and both be available to his girls but also shelter them from some of his own grief and fears about the future. So relatable. I loved Kitty’s spunky grandmother, with her strong opinions and fierce insights. And the wacky Mrs. Allison, the British baking star with her lovable dog, mothering everyone and fussing over them all with cookies and cakes. Something about all those people in a room together made those scenes really sparkle.

Kitty’s grief is real and raw and very relatable. I found myself nodding along to some of her observations and taking comfort in her refuge of colors. I loved the relationship between her and Imogen, with its sparks of tension and tenderness underneath. GLITTER GETS EVERYWHERE is a therapy-positive story, but it’s also real about some of the struggles of therapy. Sometimes things don’t make sense the first time you hear them. Sometimes things a therapist says don’t connect with you at the time or ever. But other times, it provides a vehicle for you to say things you didn’t know you needed to say or to hear healthy things you didn’t know would challenge what you believe.

All in all, I’m so happy I read this book. I love its tenderness and sadness and its surprising joy. I think readers who enjoyed CHIRP by Kate Messner or CATERPILLAR SUMMER by Gillian McDunn will love this book.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 10 to 14.

Representation
Kitty and her family are white and British.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity appears a few times. Strong British profanity appears a few times.

Romance/Sexual Content
A kiss on the cheek between a boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
Kitty wonders what happens after someone dies and talks about sometimes feeling her mom present with her really strongly.

Violent Content
None.

Drug Content
One of Kitty’s friends mentions that his mom has a drinking problem.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support running this blog. I received a free copy of GLITTER GETS EVERYWHERE in exchange for my honest review.