10 Things I Can See from Here by Carrie Mac
Expected publication: February 28th 2017
Think positive.
Don’t worry; be happy.
Keep calm and carry on.
Maeve has heard it all before. She’s been struggling with severe anxiety for a long time, and as much as she wishes it was something she could just talk herself out of, it’s not. She constantly imagines the worst, composes obituaries in her head, and is always ready for things to fall apart. To add to her troubles, her mom—the only one who really gets what Maeve goes through—is leaving for six months, so Maeve will be sent to live with her dad in Vancouver.
Vancouver brings a slew of new worries, but Maeve finds brief moments of calm (as well as even more worries) with Salix, a local girl who doesn’t seem to worry about anything. Between her dad’s wavering sobriety, her very pregnant stepmom insisting on a home birth, and her bumbling courtship with Salix, this summer brings more catastrophes than even Maeve could have foreseen. Will she be able to navigate through all the chaos to be there for the people she loves?
I really liked the writing style of this book and I definitely appreciate Maeve. I’ve never read a book where the main character has anxiety before and I thought it would be great to read about a character who has anxiety (I also have anxiety). But I actually had a hard time reading about Maeve’s anxiety without becoming increasingly anxious myself. Maeve’s anxiety is a little different from my own but she still made me anxious. It got a lot better as the book went on but it still hindered me from enjoying the book.
I do really appreciate the representation of anxiety in YA though. I think this book could help people who don’t have anxiety to understand what it’s like and see things in a new perspective.
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