HELP ME! by Donna M. Zadunjsky
First Published: 2015
Publisher: BookBuzz.net
Pages: 126
Rating: 3*
<Disclosure: This is a review for Netgalley.com. I am not getting paid for this review. This review is 100% my true opinions and is not biased in any way. I want my readers to have honest content on my blog>
This book is available on
Amazon.co.uk for £4.70 in paperback or £2.02 in kindle edition.
I really wanted to read this book as i thought it would be a development in YA fiction with themes of mental health. I thought the cover was great in terms of warning you of the content within. The subheading, 'Once I slice, it relieves so much pressure, I can breathe, again...' is suggestive also of self-harm and is a good warning to have on the front. I believe this is important for two reasons; firstly, there is no age limit on books in the Library, a child of any age could pick this up. The novella is extremely graphic and, I believe, not suitable for children under the age of thirteen. Secondly, the cover acts as a Trigger warning for those who are affected by the content of the book and want to avoid reading anything that may encourage their downfall of mental health. It acts the same way as 'spoiler alerts' so you can choose whether you want to read the article or not.
I was a bit afraid to write this review as the book touches some sensitive topics. The main character, Mick, is dealing with trauma - The trauma of his best friend killing himself. Suicide is the most prominent theme within the book closely followed by self-injury. I believe this book is targeted to teens who are affected by self harm themselves, and for those who want to help a friend. This book would also be a good read for those in their final years of High School as it helps to break down false stigma surrounding mental health. It would be a good lesson before the students leave High School and go into a world full of labels and where mental health is profoundly misunderstood. I was very relieved to read that Zadunjsky hadn't glorified the act of self-injury as many others have done.
This short novella comes to the conclusion that the best thing for you to do in this situation is to get help. Either by informing the sufferer's parents, their school teachers or guidance counselor - and by doing so, you could be saving their lives. Another important message in Zadunjsky's writing is that friends of the victim shouldn't carry a burden or sense of helplessness. They should try to help without feeling that it is their responsibilities. Teenagers are extremely susceptible to keeping everything to themselves and trying to fix the world. However Zadunjsky makes it clear to her readers that when someone is in this situation, they cannot be solely fixed by a friend and outside help is needed.
Although this book provides us an in-depth view of one person's struggle with self harm, I would hardly say this book was educational. Whether that was the aim or not, I think that if you're going to 'go out on a limb' and talk to teenagers about mental health, there is more you could say in one book. On the otherhand, this is the first book in a series tackling mental health so I don't know what she [Zadunjsky] is going to bring to the table next. Overall, I thought she could have put more recovery strategies in the story to help first-hand sufferers who are reading this novella.
I appreciated the helpful links in the foreword, and Zadunjsky did give the readers more information of the epidemic of suicides in young people. I cannot stress the importance of this, especially in young adult/teen books as readers are so impressionable and inquisitive at this age. By providing links, you allow teens to access helpful, educational websites rather than their own research which may take them to less helpful sites.
When I started this book, at first, I found the prose difficult to read... Like a badly translated novel. However, as the book continued I discovered that it was a fast paced book. I read this in less than an hour and it wasn't only because the 126 page length of the book. The sentences were very short and the characters came alive, as though what I was reading was a diary excerpt. I congratulate Zadunjsky in her first Help Me! novella and I hope she continues to provide younger people with insights and information regarding mental health illnesses and issues. The description of self harm within this book is very real and it is evident that the author has done her research.
In conclusion, I enjoyed this book, although I don't think I would read it again. I certainly would not pay £4.70 for this book in paperback unless I felt it would help a friend. I would buy it on kindle, but as I said, I don't think I would recommend this book to others. (Unless they were suffering themselves with themes from this book, or they had a friend in this situation.) Although I wouldn't necessarily recommend this book, I believe it is important for High Schools and Libraries to have a copy of this book as it has helpful links and advice.
