A review by tristatereader
Glitterland by Alexis Hall

challenging dark emotional informative tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

So I finished Glitterland in one sitting. I legit could not put it down. Started at 8:30pm one night and finished around 3:30am. I had heard mixed things about this book from several different people, but I absolutely loved it. Idk if it’s the social worker in me that was positively elated with the SPMI (severe persistent mental illness) representation or what, but this book had me; hook, line, and sinker. 

Glitterland is the story of Ash, an author who is diagnosed with bipolar depression. While he doesn’t seem to cycle in the book, we do see flashbacks of past manic and depressive episodes as well as tw: a suicide attempt / mentions of self-harm. Ash is content being reclusive and engaging in occasional one-night stands. It’s during a one-night stand that he meets Darian, a bright, charismatic, ball of glitter from Essex. Although Ash assumes he’ll never see Darian again after their night together, Darian reappears at one of Ash’s book signings and the two fall into a natural and comfortable relationship.  

Alexis’ writing in this book was something I haven’t seen in his other books. It felt really intimate, personal, and I felt his passion for this story. While there is a third act breakup (something I usually hate), I think it was written in a way that made it very relatable to the reader. I think we’ve all been in a place of vulnerability where we’ve felt we needed to act like someone other than our authentic selves, and that’s what I took away from Ash’s behavior. There were characters I loved (Darian, babes, you can do no wrong ever) and characters I didn’t love (Niall, I’m looking at you 😒). I laughed, I cried, I screamed, but most importantly I loved this book. 
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