A review by lillicoulson
A Lonely Girl is a Dangerous Thing by Jessie Tu

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

i found this book difficult to deal with in that there was no plot, just vibes but the vibes were depressing af. some of the writing was gorgeous and i loved the portrayal of exhaustion, burn out and emptiness that so many young people face. i feel like the origins of these feelings made them less relatable though. i also was just thinking throughout the book ‘this girl needs therapy’, but that’s never really even approached. no one suggests it to her and she never provides a reason as to why she doesn’t go. maybe it’s not considered normal, but the time frame is 2015/16/17 so i feel like the stigma is less prevalent than to suggest that nobody around her has heard of therapy, counselling or anything similar. i think the representation of mental illness can be relatable at times but the solutions the main character provides are an unhealthy portrayal of how to deal with depression. i understand that the book wouldn’t have had much of a plot if she had just gone to a psychologist, but it’s sometimes harmful to perpetuate the idea that there’s no solution out there. 
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