A Tragic Kind of Wonderful by Eric Lindstrom

A Tragic Kind of Wonderful 
by Eric Lindstrom 

Source: Finished copy provided for review. Thank you!

My Rating: 5 stars

Goodreads/ Amazon/ TBD

Summary:

How can you have a future if you can’t accept your past?Mel Hannigan doesn’t have it easy. Mourning the death of her firework of a brother, trying to fit back into a school she’s been conspicuously absent from and struggling to deal with the loss of three friendships that used to mean everything. Struggling to deal with a condition that not even her closest friends know about.So Mel tries to lock away her heart, to numb the highs and lows, to live quietly without hope – but also without pain. Until someone new shows her that it can be worth taking a risk, that opening up to life is what can make it glorious…
And that maybe, Mel can discover a tragic kind of wonderful of her very own.

*****

I have no words to tell you how much I loved this book. Literally, no words. There’s just too much I’d like to say, but I’d probably end up saying “I loved it” again and again and again.

I think the only way to “review” this book is listing the 10 things I loved the most about A Tragic Kind of Wonderful.

So, here you are.

1.       The main character. Mel Freaking Hannigan is one of the best main characters I’ve ever read. And… Seriously, Mel is so “me”. I don’t have bipolar disorder, but I’m very (very!) paranoid and it was kind of freeing to see how much I can relate to her AND in a good way.

2.       The main character works at an elderly people home. Just like I did! I think there’s so important so see this in YA books; I don’t remember if I’ve ever a book that made me aware of how much older people needs help and company.

3.       The bipolar disorder rep was so well done. Like I said, I don’t have bipolar disorder, but I have two friends who have it. I’m also glad the book touches the importance of meds and psychiatric help. This is something so, so important!

4.       The characters were diverse and fun and likable. Except for the typical “mean girls” at school (okay, I’m not even going to lie, it bothered me a bit that the mean girls were Latinas, but it didn’t bother me too much) everyone was lovely and it made me so happy!

5.       The friendship. Mel’s friends are such good friends. They have ups and down, they make mistakes and they say the wrong things sometimes, but they loved Mel and even when they weren’t part of the same group, they were nice to each other. (This reminded me so much of my high school/church friends).

6.       The romance. The romance was almost inexistence, but I liked it that way. A Tragic Kind of Wonderful was about Mel coping with her mental illness and the grief of her brother’s dead. The romance wasn’t even necessary, it wasn’t the center of the book, but it was a plus. David and Mel were so cute together!

7.       The mystery. From the first chapter you know something tragic happened to Nolan, Mel’s brother. Until the end of the book, I made a hundred and more theories. What really happened wasn’t really unexpected, but it was gut wrenching and heartbreaking.

8.       The writing was fast-paced and addictive. I think I’ve said this everywhere, I had an ugly eye disease and surgery and I haven’t read almost anything this year and when I read it takes me at least a week to finish a book, but I read ATKOW in two days!

9.       There’s a LGBT rep I wasn’t expecting. Okay, we know from the start that Zumy is lesbian, but she’s not the only LGTB character. There’s a bi out there, and I loved it.

10.   The ending wrapped everything perfectly. I’d still love to read more about Mel Hannigan, but this ending gave me enough to feel good about saying goodbye to this characters.

Now you see. A Tragic Kind of Wonderful was kind of wonderful. A huge thank you to Harper Reach for the chance to read this beautiful book… now I can’t wait to read the other book by this author.