I really enjoyed this book as a look into mental health and illness, and just how easy it is to slip to the other side. Sadie is me and you, we can all resonate with and see ourselves in her. I’m not sure I would read it again (maybe I would), but I think it was still a good read that I really enjoyed. It was beautifully written, and I loved getting to know Sadie and her story. I also think it’d make a great YA movie, so take that for what it’s worth. (The Harry Potter references were a bit too much for me, though, even as an avid HP fan myself.)

I was very grateful for the chance to read The Museum of Us and I wish that I had enjoyed it more. It was a very interesting look at mental health which I did appreciate however, this book was just not what I was expecting and that hurt it for me. Overall I think it is a book that would enjoyed by those who are wanting a book that takes a look at mental health but it just wasn’t for me.

Actual Rating: 1.5

This was definitely not what I expected from the blurb. The synopsis for the The Museum of Us follows Sadie, who is living the good life with her boyfriend Henry and her best friend Lucie. When Sadie gets into a car crash, she is sent to the hospital as she cries out for George. George, her hero, her prince, her secret. One other thing – George isn’t real.

I had no idea that this story was about mental illness when I started reading it. And honestly The Museum of Us surprised me, because I could relate so much to Sadie. I too have created worlds and adventures in my mind, imagined myself as a tragic hero in order to escape from the harsh realities of the world. I too often lose myself in daydreams, and yes, I start talking to myself aloud, gesturing, and walking about. BUT ENOUGH ABOUT ME.

That was about it when it came to relating to Sadie. To be honest, I couldn’t really connect with her trains of thought of actions, and sometimes it was even a little irritating. I felt like I lacked understanding about Lucie and Henry as well, and even George. The only character that was truly fleshed out was Sadie, and everyone there was simply “there.”

The writing style was not exactly my cup of tea either. I personally am a fan of figurative language and visual imagery, but the writing style was a little more straightforward and simple. The chapters bounce back and forth between times and between reality and imagination, so it can get a little confusing, but the chapter titles do help, not to mention that they’re Harry Potter references!

What if the secret world that helped you 'keep things together' was suddenly exposed? Could you explain it? Or would you be thought to be 'hearing voices' and crazy? Although this is a book for YA readers, I think it's a wonderful book for all parents to read as well. The book does a great job in showing how kids' minds help them cope, and how sometimes those coping mechanisms seem SO much better than the real, harsher world. getting kids to find the middle- to find the support they need, to recover at their own rate, is a fine line. This book does an excellent job in taking what might seem abnormal, and making it not only understandable, but one that might tear you up a bit. It would be a super Summer read for older teens, as it would allow plenty of discussion with parents, at a time when they need it most!

Thank you Netgalley and Random House for letting me read this book for my honest review.

Sadie and George were out for a drive one evening when Sadie accidentally hit a tree and landed herself in the hospital. She's broken her leg, but has to stay in the hospital for a while. Reason being? There is something fishy about George. They're trying to figure out how the car accident happened and who/where George really is. Sadie has an amazing support system around her - a rockstar boyfriend named Henry, a best friend named Lucie who loves Harry Potter just the same as Sadie, and parents who are by her side through it all. If that's all true, why does Sadie still care about George so much? What's his story? 

I adored this book sooo much. I felt like it was such a unique storyline despite the popularity of mental illness young adult books. I felt for Sadie. She has so much that she needs to work through in her mind, and she was so afraid to give it all up.  I could not put this down... I needed to know what was going to happen to George! Most people have seemed to complain about the daydreaming aspects of the novel, but I adored them (probably because you can find me daydreaming quite often as well :P ). If you're in the mood for an emotional read that is intricately woven together, this one is for you.

5/5 Stars

We all daydream. We all get caught up in an imaginary “us,” the one who has wonderful adventures, is the side of us no one knows and we aren’t always alone. We may have a partner in our daydreams, someone who makes us brave, sees the best in us and pushes us to new heights. What happens when the lines between fantasy and reality get blurred just a little too much? What happens when we would rather go to our “happy place” rather than face reality?

THE MUSEUM OF US by Tara Wilson Redd is the story of Sadie, and we meet her after a tragic accident has her hospitalized and calling out for her imaginary friend, George and now the very depths of her soul will be exposed and it is terrifying.

As each brittle page is turned, we are witness to Sadie’s deepest fear of exposure, of having the world she goes to taken away, of being told she has “issues.” Deep within Sadie’s mind the truth is there and we can see that to tell that truth causes her to fear losing more than just herself.

Edgy, dark and tumultuous, Tara Wilson Redd’s tale is NOT a read to settle in and cozy up to. It is a tale of the mechanisms we use to cope when we cannot accept or understand life. Prepare to be uncomfortable or unsure in the beginning, but as Sadie begins to sharpen those blurred lines, you will NEED to know the rest of the story. Sadie is truly a mess, yet as we see things from her perspective, we can see that the “help” she is receiving is hitting a brick wall or falling short of finding the key to unlock Sadie’s mind. We will see, along with Sadie that only she has the key.

This isn’t an easy read, but when all layers have been torn back, it will tear at your heart, for both Sadie and her imaginary friend George.

I received a complimentary ARC edition from Random House Children's Books!

Publisher: Wendy Lamb Books (June 26, 2018)
Publication Date: June 26, 2018
Genre: YA Social Issues
Print Length: 288 pages
Available from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
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3.5 stars
It took awhile to get in to but just shy of halfway through I couldn't stop till I found out how it ended.

I didn't finish this book. I tried, but it didn't' hold my attention. I believe I read about 33% of the book.

I received this book as a ARC from Netgalley.
This book, wow, I have not been affected by a book in a long time. I was by this one.
Sadie is in her second car accident of her life. It turns out she lives in two worlds. Her real life, with her boyfriend,best friend and parents. Then there is her other life, where there are endless possibilities. In her other life lives George. A boy who is perfectly in love with Sadie and will take her on a million adventures. Together they are spies, pirates, even wizards and witches. But she’s torn as to what life she prefers. Her real life or her life with George.
This was a wonderfully written book. I found myself falling in love with both George and Henry. (Truth be told they were both a little too perfect!)
As someone who reads a lot, I sometimes too find myself daydreaming often as Sadie did. I often myself so immersed in a book, it’s as though I’m living it.
Sadie was the same, except she didn’t have to be reading to believe she was living a different life.
While it’s obvious that George isn’t real, Sadie sums it up perfectly “He was real for me”

The Quick Cut: A girl stuck at the hospital reflects on the aftermath of an accident that has caused her life to implode.

A Real Review:
Thank you to Random House books for providing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

If you read the official synopsis for this book, what you think this book is about would be entirely different from what it's actually about. Going into this book, I thought this one was about the secret life of Sadie - our heroine. Instead, it turns into a bigger conversation about mental health.

From the outside, Sadie lives a pretty charmed life. She has an amazing boyfriend Henry, a best friend in her Cross Country partner Lucie, and supportive parents who just try to support her. However, Sadie harbors a dark secret that everyone in her life can see the longer they are around her.

See, Sadie tends to disappear from conversations and let her eyes glaze over in the drop of a dime. One minute she's in the moment with you and the next her mind is somewhere else entirely, disconnected from the real world. The older Sadie has gotten, the worse this has become - to the point where she accidentally talks about loud to herself when she doesn't mean to.

Unbeknownst to anyone else in Sadie's life, George exists. George fills the space that no one knew existed in her heart and the pain that caused him to be created in the first place. He's not real, he's just an imaginary friend and there's a very good reason he isn't going away.

Overall, this is a good book that starts to have a great conversation about mental disorders and dealing with trauma. However, before they could get into a real conversation - the book ends! What?!?! I get that the story centers around Sadie and George, but I hoped for a more satisfying conversation about Sadie's real issue here. The payoff could have been huge, but instead came out as a whisper.

A good start of a conversation about mental health, this book tells an elegant tale of a girl stuck in her head. Unfortunately, it misses the mark in the end by not having the bigger conversation about the real problem.

A little too predictable. Overall, I was slightly entertained to get through the book but nothing I am going to be recommending to friends.

“ I never could resist an unread book.
You know when you read the back cover of a book and get so into it, because the idea of the story is so awesome? And even before you’ve read it, you’re super-excited just to get to spend time in that world with those people?”

This book had a very misleading synopsis but was such a beautifully written book.

Sadie has a supportive family, a best friend, and a loving boyfriend. She also has a secret life, one of magic and mystery and adventure, and George.

Sadie gets into a car accident and has to spend days in a hospital, and then a psychiatric ward. She has to face the truth - what is real?

I cannot praise the writing of the book enough. It is beautifully written and extremely insightful.

This book deals with mental health issues in a very sensitive way. Sadie has had trauma and uses fantasy as an escape from depression. I loved how supportive her friends and family were. I loved the attitude of the book and mental illness, that it’s ok to ask for help.

“Everyone runs their own race, but we are stronger when we run that race together.”

This book will appeal to a lot of readers. I think that a lot of avid readers will see bits of themselves in Sadie, of getting lost in a story.

“That’s the magic of fiction; that something can be more true than truth.”

The Museum of Us by Tara Wilson Redd was really a surprising book for me. This particular mental illness is not one that I've read about before or even heard mentioned more than a few times. I believe that is one of the reasons this book is important and should be read by both teachers and young adults and anyone who works with young people or spends much time with them. I would guess that many more people "suffer" from this mental illness than what we might imagine. The symptoms are silent until the illness is advanced, until it's much more comforting to be wrapped up in the fantasy than living a real life. On the other hand, I have a feeling that some writers have lived through a form of this illness of vivid fantasy and the characters in their books and stories stem from the characters that began as interaction with "Georges." Sometimes there is a fine line between creativity and mental illness.
I did really enjoy the book, but I have to admit, I skimmed over a number of the long drawn out fantasies that the writer described because I really was not interested in the adventures like I was interested in the "real life" of the character. I think sometimes writers believe that those interludes with fantasy interspersed with reality are a delightful treat for the reader. Most of us readers are impatient to get back to the story and could do without the side trips. True, they may be meaningful to the museum, but cut them down to a size that is more reasonable.
Overall, I appreciate the opportunity I was given to read this book and to review it.

I was very intrigued to read this because it sounded really interesting and different. The writing is excellent and I really enjoyed the way the author describes things. But I felt that it didn't go deep enough into the mental health realm. I know that everyone deals with mental health differently but most people have a harder time walking away from something, be it real or not, than just deciding to give it up. I had a hard time with Sadie not really realizing how lost she was and her doctor didn't seem to really help her issues, just prescribed a medication.
I myself have some mental health issues and for a long time it was hard for me to ask for help, but I found it in the form that I needed.
Maybe since I didn't totally relate to Sadie in going that far into daydreams that you really believe that it is happening, might have been why I didn't totally connect to this book.
Overall I thought it was a good read and well written, just wasn't for me.

received The Museum of Us by Tara Wilson Redd from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. It doesn't impact my review in anyway.

When I first received The Museum of Us by Tara Wilson I thought it was going to be completely different. The writing style wasn't bad, but the plot ended up not being for me at this time. I ended up not finishing it at 22 percent because I couldn't get more into it, but maybe it'll be my cup of tea another time. (I should really say my cup of Dr. Pepper because I don't drink tea or coffee.)

Thank you for giving me the chance to review it! That cover was also pretty.

The publisher description was not a good indication of what the plot was actually about, which led me to choose this book to read. Sometimes that works out well, but not in this case, at least not for me.

Sadie Black, 16, has just been in a terrible car accident, and as she is carried into the hospital she keeps crying out for George. No one, however, can figure out who George is. In alternate chapters, we get to know George, as he is created in her mind. Together, they go on all sorts of adventures and Sadie does “significant” things. Moreover, she is no longer alone. She has parents, but they have their own lives, as most working parents do. She has friends, too, who like her a great deal. She even has a boyfriend, Henry, who is devoted to her. In fact, it is unclear why she feels so alone and inadequate. But into the breach steps George.

At the hospital where Sadie is taken for her broken leg, she soon gets transferred to the psychiatric unit. Sadie needs to accept that if she doesn’t let go of George, she may never recover. But how can the real world come anywhere close to the perfection of fantasy?

Evaluation: I found this book profoundly boring. The subject of mental illness is not boring, but I was uninterested in the long fantasy interludes. I wish I had known what exactly the book was about before I opted to read it.

This is an interesting story -- at first I thought it was a great fantasy or at least a great imaginative story, but it went much deeper than that. Sadie ends up in a hospital after a car accident, and is moved to the psych ward when she mentions her friend George -- a mystery to everyone, as no one else was with her at the time of the crash. I loved all the children's literature references and their adventures in those places.

Wow. Very trippy book. This girl has a lot of crazy going on but you care what happens. Interesting take on a form of mental illness. Teens will love it - full of drama!

I don't know how to accurately give a synopsis of this book without turning readers away. That's how ...interesting.. of a premise The Museum of Us is. It's frustrating and beautiful and weird. It explores the whimsy that one with a mental health disorder can have, this appealing alternate reality where dealing with hardships is masked by imagination.

While I wouldn't necessarily recommend this to everyone (a lot of readers will just not want to delve into Sadie's world-- one that's more fake than real and less discussing her mental health and more discussing her love interest), it's a different kind of YA book, which I applaud.

The Museum of Us was not what I was expecting, but I couldn’t stop reading it. I loved the characters (especially Sadie, Henry and George)
This book kept surprising me and leaving me with so many different emotions. Great first book for the author, and timely subjects addressed in it.