The beginning of the book starts out very slow. I almost didnt make it past the first quarter of the book. The premise of mental health is very focused on just one ideal of being forced to be here, however I feel that there was a lost opportunity of describing more of the daily spirals that Jenny experienced and not just from the point of view of the family describing her rough patches, but really going through the emotional turmoil being a caregiver of someone with mental illness endures.

The story is interesting, but I feel it needs just an added level of depth to make it truly compelling.

I also found the music and Mississippi references at the beginning of the book hard to follow, but once a lot of those references passed. I felt a stronger connection to the book.

I enjoyed hearing about Jenny's post partum. I also suffered from post partum depression and found the way she described her love for her son without the bond that every other mother seems to have to be spot on. This is the reason I was hoping to hear more about the individual spirals from Jenny's point of view. I think the author can certainly add depth.

The hard parts for me to read or the parts that I almost dreaded hearing about were talking about guiding Phelps. Those were points where I was hoping very strongly that the characters wouldnt indulge those thoughts.

For these reasons I give the book a 3 star review. It's so close to being such a compelling read. Just one added level of depth can really transform this book.

Forced To Be Here
by MGV Sumerall
Gee, I guess I could connect with anyone in this one. It was happy times, then insane times. It just felt to me too detached. It just felt undone, but some may just get it.

This book is extremely fast paced and an emotional rollercoaster. At one moment, the characters are having the time of their life, and the next, they are at the lowest moment. My heart aches for Jenny. All these characters need therapy. My jaw dropped at the ending, it was foreshadowed, but still unexpected. There were a lot of parts that I took issue with, such as the teachers having crushes on Ford when he was only 17 and how unrealistically quick Ford got sober in rehab. This book has the potential to be good, but it needs a lot of editing.