Scan barcode
A review by heykellyjensen
When Reason Breaks by Cindy L. Rodriguez
This one is complicated, especially because no matter what I say, it'll be spoiler-y. So be forwarned.
Pros:
This story features two Latina main characters struggling with depression. The biggest pro is their depression manifests SO differently, and it's utterly refreshing to see that. We have Elizabeth, who wears depression out loud and who people assume has an issue because of that. Then we have Emily, whose depression eats away at her from the inside. It's quiet and insidious, and people would never expect she's wrestling with such miserable demons.. I thought how Rodriguez leads readers through perceptions of depression from those outside the experience -- and how she renders it in third person style -- was smart and did huge service to how we think about depression in other people.
Cons:
There's a suicide attempt. It makes narrative sense, but it's bothersome because it happens so frequently in depression books. Especially recently.
The bigger con for me is the way medication is depicted as being a series of side effects and thus not worth using. Where I can see having these thoughts, I can't help thinking about why she wouldn't ask her doctor or why her doctor wouldn't be forthright about her actual chances of experiencing those things would be. When she attempts suicide, she's hospitalized and she's medicated. Things don't change immediately, but the tune about getting treatment did change a bit. I don't think it undermined the misperceptions of medication and I wish it had.
This one is definitely worth reading, especially because Emily and Elizabeth's stories are compelling. It's refreshing to read such a diverse cast of characters in a way that's normalized because it IS normal. More, seeing people of color struggling with mental illness -- and as Rodriguez notes in (an almost too long and explain-y) her author note, Latinas struggle with depression at extremely high rates and yet, we don't hear these stories. Some of the characters could have been better developed, but they're not problematic nor cardboard, so it works just fine. The mystery was never a mystery to me, but for many readers, I think it will be. But I don't think the mystery element, something that could so easily have been a distraction from the bigger issue of Depression here, doesn't take away from that issue at all.
Pros:
This story features two Latina main characters struggling with depression. The biggest pro is their depression manifests SO differently, and it's utterly refreshing to see that. We have Elizabeth, who wears depression out loud and who people assume has an issue because of that. Then we have Emily, whose depression eats away at her from the inside. It's quiet and insidious, and people would never expect she's wrestling with such miserable demons.
Spoiler
Maybe the BEST moment is one that's smallest -- Emily misses her period, and it's a big deal because she and her friend think she's pregnant, but it's not that. It's a physical manifestation of what depression is doing to her. We NEVER see this in YA and it's one of those things that's not talked about, either, how depression that's so restricted internally can cause complete havoc on your biology.Cons:
There's a suicide attempt. It makes narrative sense, but it's bothersome because it happens so frequently in depression books. Especially recently.
The bigger con for me is the way medication is depicted as being a series of side effects and thus not worth using. Where I can see
Spoiler
EmilyThis one is definitely worth reading, especially because Emily and Elizabeth's stories are compelling. It's refreshing to read such a diverse cast of characters in a way that's normalized because it IS normal. More, seeing people of color struggling with mental illness -- and as Rodriguez notes in (an almost too long and explain-y) her author note, Latinas struggle with depression at extremely high rates and yet, we don't hear these stories. Some of the characters could have been better developed, but they're not problematic nor cardboard, so it works just fine. The mystery was never a mystery to me, but for many readers, I think it will be. But I don't think the mystery element, something that could so easily have been a distraction from the bigger issue of Depression here, doesn't take away from that issue at all.