We Are All So Good at Smiling by Amber McBride
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Special thanks to Raincoast Books for sending a copy for review.
Summary:
Whimsy is back in the hospital for treatment of clinical depression. When she meets a boy named Faerry, she recognizes they both have magic in the marrow of their bones. And when Faerry and his family move to the same street, the two start to realize that their lifelines may have twined and untwined many times before.
They are both terrified of the forest at the end of Marsh Creek Lane.
The Forest whispers to Whimsy. The Forest might hold the answers to the part of Faerry he feels is missing. They discover the Forest holds monsters, fairy tales, and pain that they have both been running from for 11 years (Goodreads).
Thoughts:
TW: Talks of depression, suicide, and mental health – please proceed at your discretion!
This was a difficult read for me due to the darker topics, but the unfiltered emotions add more intrigue for readers. Written as a poetry collection, this book gave me a truly one-of-a-kind reading experience.
Plot:
The poetry collections follow the main characters, Whimsy and Faerry, on their journey to restore the Forest back to normal. In the beginning, Whimsy was in a facility for her depression, and this was also where she met a boy filled with magic–just like her. As the Forest becomes more volatile, Whimsy and Faerry work together to restore it while trying to uncover what happened to their siblings, Cole and Tale.
At its core, this is a story about healing and finding strength through others. In Whimsy and Faerry’s conquering of their sorrows, they found their way to each other even when their Forest took away their recollection of their friendship and when their older siblings, Cole and Tale, committed suicide due to depression.
Poetic Devices:
By writing this tale as a novel-in-verse, the author touched upon the sensitive subject of clinical depression and healing in an intimate and raw way. I have always loved poetry because of its layers where you can analyze it at a surface level, but when you take the time to read between the lines and let your brain pick at each line, it perfectly narrates the tale in the purest form.
Weaving an extended metaphor that chains the Forest with one’s consciousness, the author had the ideal canvas to paint out the rest of the story on. By personifying sorrow along with other emotions and traits into entities trapped within the Forest, the author portrays Whimsy and Faerry’s struggles as real and tangible. The author also sheds light on the reality of recovering from depression and the temptation of how difficult it is to want to stay alive when you feel dead inside. Together, these pieces paint a beautifully shattered image of life while using Whimsy and Faerry’s healing to represent inner strength.
Ending:
The ending crushed my soul and left nothing for me to pick back up. Whimsy, Cole, Faerry and Tale’s fight to live displayed an unrestrained and heartbreaking hope and innocence. It was 1 A.M. when I finished the book, and I broke down in tears for literally five minutes. GO READ THIS BOOK!!!
Reviewed by Jenny Y.