Mental health representation matters, and this book understood and welcomed me with mine. Perfectionism can be such a slippery slope, and Margeret Lesh illustrates the road so many teens in our spurred society find themselves on, in an incredibly skilled manner. While it was compelling to enter Becca‘s mind, it was also incredibly refreshing to see how the path to wellness and recovery is shown. Instead of capitalizing on the difficulties, this book acts as a glimpse of hope in showing that there is help, and there is a way out of the darkness. Thank you for that.

I liked this book alot. It actually was very well written and researched in my opinion. It's perfect for young adults who are looking for something different to read.

I requested this because I liked the concept, and I’m glad I did! Thank you for approving my request

There has been a growing trend over the past few years to write stories that have mental health at the heart of it. This is a great thing. Without examples of how people are struggling, how are people to learn when to be compassionate. Sure, people should be raised to show compassion but as someone who works with adolescents I can assure you that it isn’t always the case. Therefore, YA fiction that tackles the issues of mental health awareness really is making a difference.

My Friends Are All Strange tells the story of Becca who has always teetered on the edge with her mental health but since the loss of her father her actions have grown more and more manic until she is institutionalised to try and help her come to terms with her condition and also learn to control it. At her mental health facility she meets a plethora of people who have a variety of conditions and we watch Becca and her friends dealing with the hand life dealt them.

Lesh run the risk of having the setting as a mental health facility of creating a competitive nature of look my mental illness is worse than yours. Equally, it could have gone the opposite way of becoming a bit saccharine – I saw all these other people with mental illness and I realised my life isn’t so bad. Fortunately, Lesh did not do this. She handled the topic with dignity and the message that I got from it was that mental health problems can happen to anyone. It doesn’t discriminate.

My Friends Are all Strange is a powerful book and every library needs a copy.

My Friends Are All Strange by Margaret Lesh is available now.

For more information regarding Margaret Lesh (@MargaretLesh) please visit www.margaretlesh.com.

Seventeen year old Becca has lost touch with reality, and is sent to a mental hospital. We follow her journey as she struggles with the medication that has been given to her to help her sleep, the wizard who appears in her dreams and also when she is awake, and her feelings of disconnect from reality. I like that she makes friends with the other teens in the facility with her and seeing her gradually get better while realizing that some of her friends there may never get better. I think this is an excellent book about mental illness for teens and I like that it is hopeful while still realistic. I highly recommend this book.

Imagine you’re an overachieving, highly-intelligent teenager, and you’ve just had a complete freak out in your school cafeteria. With what appears to be a schizophrenic episode involving a wizard named Todd and the ripping off of her own top, a young teenager girl suddenly finds herself inside a psychiatric hospital. Initially concerned for her future, she slowly comes to terms with her situation and meets a series of fascinating friends. There’s Kat, a young teenager frozen in perpetual Hello Kitty- obsession due to a memory disorder. There’s a teenage boy that has severe anger issues and lashes out. There are people who come and go, and therapists that help her work through her frustrations.

My Friends Are All Strange is a fast read, but occassionally heartbreaking. The main character has a very loving and supportive boyfriend who sticks with her through the whole story, even visiting after she has tried to break up with him. Kat’s story involves the loss of her parents at an early age, and the fact that she relives the memory almost constantly when not talking about leaving the hospital. The novel does end on an uplifting note, but even so, not everyone who enters the psychiatric facility is going to go home and have a normal life with their family.

Margaret Lesh’s My Friends Are All Strange is now available from Amazon.

I received a review copy in exchange with an honest review.

The story begins with Becca, a high school student and our MC, taking her clothes off in her school's cafeteria. All of the school stress, sleep deprivation because of her insomnia, and having a wizard that is always talking to her in her head, led to that mental breakdown.

She is directly admitted to a psychiatric facility to begin her recovery journey. She meets and befriends other people, Like Kat who had a tragic past that makes have a short span memory, and Bobby, who might seem to be normal, but tends to have sudden outbursts .

How Becca thinks and feels is done in such an exquisite way, that you are able to connect, feel, and kind of understand the weight of "what does it mean to struggle and live with Mental Illness."

After being admitted to this facility, Becca begins her road towards self-recovery. I like how Margaret was able to show how this is an extremely bumpy road; how after doing well for so long, a person could be sucked back in. It is a continuous battle to take; how getting up every time you fall is hard, yet very crucial. I, myself , am struggling to work on this book review because I feel so low right now, but I can't give up. I, at least, need to try and yell no to the negativity that is creeping inside my mind.

There was also a point were Becca realized that she isn't normal, nor are her friends in this facility. They are all strange people who look okay from the exterior. But being strange isn't a bad thing, it simply means that MUNDANES might not always understand why they are acting like that. Yet still, there are people who truly love them. Love them the way they are, and not who they want them to be.

The author also touched on how sometimes being strange could be a burden to the people they love. Low Self-Worth and and feeling like they are selfish, intertwine when it comes to this Matter. However, every relationship is a two-way street. Don't assume that you are not worth fighting for just because this is how you feel. It might surprise you how many people are not just willing, but wanting to fight these battles with you, for you.

The only thing that pissed me was how a girl who was abused by her boyfriend was working on an Afghan in one of the scenes. It is as if saying" You know, because Afghanistan is such a barbaric country". I doubt that this was the authors intentions, by wordings these days are everything. Like how many people think terrorism when the hear the word Islam.

I am wondering if we are going to get a sequel, or at least companion novel that revolves around certain characters who were with Becca in the Facility.

This was an emotional ride for me. I give it 4/5 stars

Although this was only a 3-star read for me, I did thoroughly enjoy this book. Becca ends up a mental hospital after stress and hallucinations begin to get to her. There, she meets some strange new friends will trying to get better. The plot to this book was good, but the characters felt very lacking to me. Becca was very flat and boring, and then other characters just lacked development, like Bobby and Roman. I would've appreciated more back story and details. Doing multiple perspectives might have even been beneficial to this story too. I also felt as if the ending was rushed, and that there could've been more plot development. It was an enjoyable book, I just believe it could've been written better.

If I'm honest, I had high expectations with this book. The synopsis was interesting and all the reviews in Goodreads are positive. Although I enjoyed the story, I felt it a little soft, if that makes sense.

The secondary characters (Kat, Bobby and Roman) were more intriguing than Becca, I wanted to know more about them, about their lives.

The chapters are short and easy to read. I loved the style: how the beginning is a great confusion that perfectly reflects Becca's fragile mental state and how she tries to get better in Brookside.
This may not be one of the best books I've read about mental health, but it's interesting and a light reading.