REVIEW – ARE WE ALL LEMMINGS AND SNOWFLAKES? by Holly Bourne

Olive is a brave and sensational young woman. Sometimes you don’t really know how to take Olive at first, she loves photography though, seeing her through a camera lens lens and developing them calms her. She’s an emotional rollercoater – the way she uses humour and jokes to cover how she feels.  She’s unable to stand still, she’s like one of those po-go sticks, pulsing with energy. Oh and she hates labels and she thinks she’s a failure. Living with mental health is one things, figuring out what she may have is another, so she just knows she has a strange brain and needs support to help it, to understand it. What I loved was that, Olive is the catalyst of the novel, she’s the main character, the main instigator in starting a revolution and that’s why she is an inspiration to young people and readers everywhere.

Who I really loved was Olive’s friends like Ally, her best and only friend who was always there for her and who is unafraid of telling it how it is and that’s why Olive loves her. Then you have others Olive met at Camp Reset, I won’t go though all the characters but there are some that really shined like Sophie who just lifted my heart, her vulnerability to life but the camp and her friends like Olive let her overcome her mental illness in small steps. Her confidence and strength grew and grew, it really made the novel. Then you have Lewis, Jamie and the rest of The Prime Numbers, each with their own vulnerabilities, their persona that it’s hard to grow attached to them. The Prime Numbers defines the book.

The representation of mental health in Holly’s book’s is very impressive. What I find is that Holly’s writing and narrative of her characterization of Olive was very moving and the impact of metal health on individuals and the world just makes it more intense at times. The emotional attachment you have with Olive and also The Prime Numbers but also more than that the joy you experience as it comes to an end. This book is more than just mental health, it’s about being kind to yourself, it’s about having some hope in this very complicated and sometimes dark world, it’s about appreciating and spreading the love and happiness you feel that others don’t feel so alone.

I’m a reader entranced by Holly’s stories she writes, to me it’s more of an understanding of mental health, it’s makes me realise that this is the world we are living in and we all need to help, to support younger people more. Working with young people every day as a librarian has opened my eyes to so much with what they go through and knowing that Holly’s books has not only found a place in my heart but also a place for others to resonate, a story for them to relate too gives me hope, that the world is a much kinder place to have Holly representing it in YA. She’s opened up YA to everyone. It was like we didn’t think to talk about mental health, friendships, reality until Holly came around.

I LOVE Holly’s writing. There’s something about it that just sings to your soul. Holly brings out all the emotion from page 1, her writing style is singular and unique. No one I’ve read, writes with such insight and sincerity and then BAM – insert the humour. It cracks me up every time but it just makes the it that more realistic and more human to read. With each of Holly’s book there’s always a moral to live by and which stays with you after finishing this book. This one is powerful and life affirming and changing is sharing kindness and it starts with yourself.

Holly Bourne is waiting at the top of the avalanche waiting for us to join her. This book truly moved me in a way that Holly’s books haven’t before. This is her greatest achievement and it’s shines with hope, friendship, kindness and strength. This book defines Holly Bourne at her best!

Rating – ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Don’t forget to join in in the #KindnessIsContagious virus on Twitter.Thank you to Usborne and Holly for a copy in exchange for an honest review.