This book was hard to read, but definitely worth reading. As someone who has been in Sam's shoes, it was almost hard to swallow everything that happened, especially finding someone going through the same thing as her. I think books like this one are so riveting and important to talk about. I would definitely recommend this to a friend.

I feel like this would be a great book for some people, but personally, I had a hard time getting into the beginning due to it being kind of slow. I ended up not finishing this book, but still rated it 3 stars because I can see that it has potential, and I can see myself picking this up to read again when I am in a different headspace.

This is a tough read for anybody. Whether you’re in the throes of MH as a teen- struggling with the same or similar battles, an innocent who picked it up thinking the cover was pretty, or a parent trying to understand what their kid is or was going through. The depth of Sam’s character is incredible and incredibly raw. Some of her thoughts were hauntingly familiar. You can’t get that without experience, not really.

Sam looks like your average 16-year-old, moody girl. That’s what makes her so relatable. But she hides secrets from everyone, that no one would understand. She‘s tired of the monotony, of nothing ever changing. And with the loss of her beloved Nan, then dismissal from her only friend, she truly feel alone. One evening she ventures out into a rainstorm, finding herself at a graveyard, and an unthinkable situation in front of her. Her classmate, Michael, standing with a rope dangling from a tree. Carefully, she talks him down, then the two form a friendship of survival, all the while trying to hide secrets from each other, and the world.

I’m almost afraid to say how much I relate to Sam. This quote and many of the following (I’ll list more below) sent chills down my spine. If I hadn’t been so afraid to write it, I could pull it from my own journal, but alas we’re left only with my memory. “I could see the question formed on everyone’s lips: why? I had nothing to complain about; no great trauma, no horrible abuse. I didn’t have the right to complain.”
And while to my knowledge I didn’t have a friend with a situation like Michael’s, I had other friends who were just as significant.
At times I forgot the book took place in Ireland, it felt like it took place on my street or at least in my town. I actually had a strange memory trigger because of one of the city names. I remember being on a forum, chatting with a girl a couple years older than me, we had a lot in common with Sam, I don’t know why, but something about the authors voice reminded me of her.

Thank you, Kelly, for sharing your story. For sharing such a huge part of you. It reminded me why I started writing the book I wrote in highschool, why it’s so important to get these stories out when it can be so incredibly terrifying to do so.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author via Netgalley and Cranthorpe Millner Publishers in exchange for an honest review

This was incredibly heartbreaking, but also oddly comforting in some way. I have no doubt, if I had read this when I was around 15/16, this would've been one of my favourite books. Even now, I can appreciate what this book does and how it might be absolutely perfect for some readers.

This book follows our main character Samantha, who we quickly come to realize struggles quite a bit mentally. And when she hesitantly tries to open up about it, nobody in her family or of her friends seem to understand or take her seriously. So she turns to self harm as a way to lessen the pain she's feeling.
The story takes off as Samantha one day goes to the graveyard to visit her grandma's grave, and see's one of her classmates there with a noose hanging behind him. She manages to talk him out of his plans, and they eventually form a friendship. But as they grow closer and spend more time together, it becomes clear they both have big secrets they keep from each other.

I really liked this. I think the portrayal of mental illness was quite accurate, at least for the parts of it I can speak on. It was often difficult to read, as it got pretty graphic and because it was so realistic in it's portrayal, it hit a little too close to home at times. I really appreciate the way it tackled these difficult topics though. I also feel like it balanced itself out pretty nicely, with the more light hearted sections of the book. The overall theme, plot and feel of the book is definitely quite grim, but there were lighter points as well, which was really nice.

I liked the way the characters and relationships were developed in this. We very gradually got to learn more about the side characters that were closest to our main character, and I liked that a lot. It made for a very nice build up of the story.
One of my main issues with the book, and the reason i gave it a 4 rather than a 5 was the writing. While the writing at times were really nice, overall it felt a little simple for me. And the pacing was kinda off at some points in the story. But overall, it didn't bother me too much, and the story was still interesting and 'enjoyable' (it feels weird calling a story with this theme enjoyable, but you probably get what I mean.)

Overall, this was a great portrayal of mental health, and it discusses som pretty hard and important topics in a really good way. I'm glad I read it, and if it's a subject matter you can read about I would definitely recommend you check it out!

It is incredibly graphic. If you are at all sensitive to topics surrounding self-harm and suicide, I would probably stay away from this book. There are also multiple other trigger warnings, some of them include: grief, depression, abuse, domestic abuse, and probably more that I did not pick up on or don't remember. So while this was a good book and I really appreciated the message and what it did, I would highly recommend you look into trigger warnings before checking it out for yourself.

I received this book for free via netgalley and I'm leaving my honest review in exchange.
Tw: suicide, self harm, abuse.
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This book wasn't an easy read for me, though I still finished it in a day. There are some seriously heavy topics involved, as mentioned in the trigger warning.
I grew up with a habit of self harm, and I to this day struggle with it. Sam's character is relatable in that sense, especially when it came to not having many friends. I can remember a time in my life where my "friend" called me an attention seeker for doing it. When in reality, a lot of people who self harm hide it because of that stereotype.
If there's anything I don't care for, it's the fact that Michael and Sam end up together. Two people with such severe trauma and mental illness generally do not need to be together imo, at least not without them both getting help. Loving someone with mental illness is complicated--my boyfriend sees my struggle with it everyday. It's not romantic, its really sad. I would have 100% preferred it just be a friendship. But that's my opinion.
Not an easy read. But a worthy one.

This book is so raw in how it deals with all of the things that Michael and Sam are going through. It was hard to read but it was really good.

I received an arc through netgalley.

Thank you Cranthorpe Millner Publishers and NetGalley for sendong over a copy in exchange for an honest review.
Powerful, strong and devasting. This book is amazingly written, with exciting plots. It has certainly took me on a roller coaster ride! This book really touched me immensely as Sam, who has done so much harm to herself, was able to recover with some help. I will strongly recommend this book for fans of All the Bright Places.
5/5 Chev's picks

Trigger Warnings for the book include: suicide, self harm, abuse

'Cuts and Bruises' is a powerful and emotional debut written by the talented Kelly O'Flaherty. I really enjoyed the writing style of this book and how descriptive it was in regards to Sam's feelings throughout. I found myself feeling really close and connected to the main character which I think was really important for this book as it was mainly about her experiences and struggles with mental health. It was definitely a difficult read at times and one that discusses very serious topics in a accurate way. I feel that, like myself, many will feel represented in regards to her emotions and struggles.

This book had well developed characters, each dealing with their own issues. I think this book is important as it shows that you are not alone and that help can come in all kind of unexpected ways.

Would definitely recommend this book, but it may be a difficult one so do check the warnings before reading.

Thank you for allowing me this arc.

This was a good, heart wrenching story. My heart broke for Michael and the way he handled his mother was an interesting take That I wouldn’t have thought of. This was a harrowing look into the struggle of people with depression and self harm tendencies.

This was an incredibly hard read. There were so many raw moments between these two characters that were so deeply flawed but connected. I loved how the author talked about mental health because it felt very real.

Life has become monotonous for 16-year-old Samantha Ward. After the death of her Grandmother, along with the loss and rejection of her best friend, loneliness, and the pressure of school, she finds herself dragging the blade across her skin, the only thing that makes her feel alive, that makes her feel real. Samantha feels invisible and falls further into the grips of dark depression.
One evening Samantha ventures out into the rain and finds herself drawn to the graveyard where her grandma was buried. While at the grave, she stumbles across her classmate Michael Gallagher and a friendship is born between them like none other.

I love that the author put her experience with mental health into this book. You can tell she knew from experience what she was writing about. she discussed the topic with heartfelt honestly and respectfully to those suffering.

Thank you To Netgalley and to the author for allowing me the arc.

A powerful debut.

This books speaks volumes a bout mental health.

It follows samantha and Michael. As they struggle through their lives and minds they find a true friendship in one another.

Definitely a decent contemporary.

This was breathtaking, heartbreaking yet soothing to the heart all at once. The bond between the two main characters is unforgettable. The story shows challenges faced by people with mental health issues and how they are facing it alone versus the flipside when you have others helping you along your journey. I'm not going to lie -- this was heartbreaking on so many levels, in many different parts. I cried. However, it was eye opening and makes you want to reach out to those around you (and even strangers) so they know someone cares for them and to see how they're doing. Beautifully written, will absolutely be reading more by this author!

Cuts & Bruises is such a powerful read that hits really hard.
HIGHLY recommend. Not to sound aggressive, but,
READ THIS WHEN IT COMES OUT!
I really have no words
that was such a heartbreaking novel.
it was so utterly real and honestly, in an odd way, really beautiful.
this was super fast-paced and I really couldn't put it down. I couldn't stop reading it until I ultimately finished it.
such a raw depiction of mental health
be prepared to be sucked into this story and to <i>feel things</i>
bring the tears!
I really love the characters so much and all the flaws they had. Nothing was sugarcoated and it really showed reality.
On the writing, it was overall really good, however, some of the vocabulary was limited with a lot of repetition, which I'm not saying is a bad thing! Those words were needed to be repeated in order to get their point across.
This was overall just an incredible book in every way :)

Content warnings (from the publisher): Self-harm, attempted suicide, suicide, abuse.

thank you again NetGalley and Cranthorpe Millner Publishers for providing me with the e-arc of this novel!
what and incredible debut! i will definitely keep an eye out for kelly o-flaherty!!

(3.5) This was a heavy read. O'Flaherty did an amazing job of capturing raw and real emotions from the cast of characters. Sam felt like a real person I was connecting with through the pages, her feelings are made to be so understandable and worded amazingly. Michael was also such a realistic character, and I thought that their relationship was realistic for the circumstances they are in.

This book was really fast paced, and by fast, I mean it skipped through many months and weeks at a time, and I think that it's because the author was showing that in high school, everyday is mundane and the same. The thing with this is that the timeline ends up being confusing, as there isn't time stamps or anything like that, and it was hard to keep track of where they were in the year. However, the build up and pacing of the romance in this book is great, and I liked how it wasn't even a big part of the story. I think the romance was a good addition, but ultimately, I enjoyed how this was more a book about self-growth.

Also, I will say is that the writing lacked a better use of vocabulary, "all too" "tears flowed out" was used many, many times, I get why that was, but it made it a bit weird to read those phrases every other page.

Overall, I really liked this raw, and real depiction of mental health, and the characters really executed the message that the story was trying to send.

Massive suicide, self-harm trigger warning.

The first 3rd of the book, the pacing was a bit slow. Time was confusing at the beginning of the book too. You can see that it's been days/months since something has happened, but it, everything seemed smudged together since there's no time headers. The setting does feel like high school all over again, every day is mostly the same.

If you're even slightly predisposed to self-harm, this book is so relatable! What one feels, what one thinks, what one hides, they're all true. At first, when Samantha was trying to explain her condition, it sounded like the usual classic definition of it, but as time goes on, it all starts to make sense. The author describes everything perfectly, shows everything through Sam's eyes and you start to feel how she feels too.

Around halfway mark, things picked up fast. First, something happened to Sam, everything finally peaking and spilling over.
Then when everything comes back down to normal again, another thing happened to Michael this time. And it just peaked even higher than the first time. I couldn't put the book down after the halfway mark, I was on the edge-of-my-seat and mostly crying as I'm reading since every lesson here, every thought, are exactly what someone in Sam's/Michael's position would have thought too. It's all so relatable!

I really love what Sam & Michael have together. Yes, they enabled each other, but they also help each other out. They both learned from their mistakes and became better because of it. I'm really glad it's a happy ending, though a vague happy ending. I would have liked to see something about Sam & Michael meeting up in college together as a bonus story or another epilogue for example.

This had so much potential, but unfortunately, it didn’t live up to my expectations. I loved the message and theme the author was trying to put across, and in that respect, they conveyed that well; it was just the way it was written that bothered me.

Maybe this is just the writer in me, but I struggled with the amount of adverbs and filter words in the prose. It was very jolting, and I felt like I couldn’t completely immerse myself in the story because of it. It made the prose seem wooden and quite dull to read.

Saying that, it handled mental illness well. It was powerful and meaningful, and that, for me, is so important. You could feel the author’s dedication to raising awareness coming through their characters and through this story they were telling.

It’s not a bad book by any means and the problems I had are just a matter of opinion, but I couldn’t get on with the writing and that sadly impacted my enjoyment of the entire book. Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and author, for a chance to read and review this book.

This book was a heavy read, but at the same time definitely a must read. I think we’re still not focusing on mental health enough. And this book showed me a darker side of it.
I related to Sam so much. Teenage years could be the hardest and sometimes we can’t even explain it why are we feel what we feel it even why are we do what we do.
I’m still under a kind of shock, I’ve just finish reading and I can’t find the right words.
I loved that it placed in Ireland. I live here and it was so good to read about this country.
I truly loved the story, but somehow I find myself annoyed by the main characters. And I didn’t like myself because of it.
But this book give back the feelings in a realistic way. I was glad that by the end the problems get solved.
Thank you for the opportunity. I’m glad that I could read the book before its pub date. I hope many people will read it and see the world in a new way.

This was a good YA novel that handled a tough subject with grace and balance. I wish we ha more like it YA.

This was such a good read but I found it very difficult at times due to losing someone to self harming. It deals with mental health and in particular self harming in such a sensitive way. It is beautifully written. I would say this is suitable for mature young adults