Review : Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone

Summary (from Goodreads)  

Title : Every Last Word
Author : Tamara Ireland Stone
Publication Date : June 16th 2015
Publisher : Disney Hyperion
Goodreads - Amazon - Barnes & Noble 

If you could read my mind, you wouldn't be smiling.

Samantha McAllister looks just like the rest of the popular girls in her junior class. But hidden beneath the straightened hair and expertly applied makeup is a secret that her friends would never understand: Sam has Purely-Obsessional OCD and is consumed by a stream of dark thoughts and worries that she can't turn off.

Second-guessing every move, thought, and word makes daily life a struggle, and it doesn't help that her lifelong friends will turn toxic at the first sign of a wrong outfit, wrong lunch, or wrong crush. Yet Sam knows she'd be truly crazy to leave the protection of the most popular girls in school. So when Sam meets Caroline, she has to keep her new friend with a refreshing sense of humor and no style a secret, right up there with Sam's weekly visits to her psychiatrist.

Caroline introduces Sam to Poet's Corner, a hidden room and a tight-knit group of misfits who have been ignored by the school at large. Sam is drawn to them immediately, especially a guitar-playing guy with a talent for verse, and starts to discover a whole new side of herself. Slowly, she begins to feel more "normal" than she ever has as part of the popular crowd . . . until she finds a new reason to question her sanity and all she holds dear.

Personal Thoughts

Mental health issue books seem to be the rage this year. I've shied away from most of them, but something about Every Last Word drew me in. I'm glad I took a chance with Every Last Word because it's undoubtedly one of my favorite books of 2015. Raw, emotionally gutting, but most importantly, honest, this is a book I want all my friends to read.

From the outside, it looks like Sam is like every other popular girl, but she's hiding a secret; she's battling with OCD. From my first encounter with Sam, I knew I was going to like her character. She was a girl, who was fighting with a serious condition, and her thoughts could be very dark sometimes, but throughout it all she remained incredibly endearing. The author did such a fantastic job at capturing her voice so strongly and authentically. I don't know what it feels like to have OCD, but being inside Sam's head gave me a sense of understanding. I loved how Tammara Ireland Stone dug deep into the condition and how it affected Sam. It's a beautiful portrayal of OCD, one through which I learned more about it and what it's like to live with it. Throughout it all, Sam strove to remain strong, but she came across many obstacles. What makes Every Last Word a phenomenal read was the character growth on Sam's part. Sam constantly struggled with the idea that she wasn't normal, and this book was her journey to realizing what a wonderful and brave young woman she was on the inside. I loved how this was shown in the book. It was a slow process, one with many downs, but watching Sam grow was emotionally satisfying and gave me hope.

Her growth would not have been successful had it not been for the amazing support system she had. The underground poetry group that she joins, Poet's Corner, played a significant role in making her more accepting of who she was. My favorite secondary character was undoubtedly AJ. I loved this boy so much. He and Sam have to overcome the fact that Sam and her horrible friends bullied him because of his stutter when he was younger, but I also loved that he wasn't bitter about it and decided to give Sam a chance. Their romance was slow and sweet, just the way Sam needed it to be. Sam also made some other great friends in Every Last Word who I found were better fits for her than her popular and self-absorbed childhood pals. Speaking of the poetry club. The poems in this book were gorgeous. There were many that I highlighted while I was reading because they were poignant and hit me right in the heart. Sam's therapist was also a great help to Sam's journey in becoming healthier. I think the author did a fantastic job at depicting her role. Every Last Word also managed to surprise me with a twist that actually gutted me. I didn't see it coming at all and it turned me into an emotional mess.

Every Last Word is a book I NEED everyone to read. It's a book that doesn't just have entertainment values, but it also teaches and educates readers on OCD deeper than just the scientific facts and together with the author's beautiful writing, it makes for a powerful story. I could go on and on about how much I love this book, but I can't really do the book any justice, so I'm leaving you with this : don't miss out on this gem.

Rating

Cover : 4/5
Plot : 4/5
Characters : 4/5
Writing : 4/5

Thank you to Disney Hyperion for the ARC of Every Last Word.