“The Art of Insanity” by Christine Webb deals with mental illness in a way which I have not seen before. By making Natalie Cordova, a highschool student, the protagonist of this story we as a reader get a rather unusual point of view. It all starts with Nat – as she is called by friends and family -returning to school after summer and after “the accident” as her family calls it. What actually happened was that Nat after having found out that she suffers under Bipolar disorder is, that in the heat of the moment she attempted suicide. Neither suicide attempt nor her illness should become public. At least this is what her mother insists on.
Therefore, we follow Nat as she returns with a big secret and starts questioning her relationships as well as her lifegoals so far. What often helps her cope is on the one hand art, on the other hand the new connections she makes to people as well as one peculiar pug.
The most impressive thing about Christine Webbs book is that even though she does not shy away from touching very serious aspects of mental illness, she manages to do so in a very positive manner that in the end we as a reader get a better understanding of different illnesses without the urge to pity the people living with it. Nat learns that she is who she wants to be and this message makes this book one of my favourite reads this year.

A relatively light hearted read even though it deals with some really heavy topics (bipolar disorder, anxiety, suicidal thoughts and family trauma). Natalie’s perspective is really interesting as it shows us the life of a teenager with bipolar; how she deals with pressures from her mum, wider family and friends. I just wish it didn’t wrap up so quickly towards the end!

THE ART OF INSANITY is a powerful story that I didn't just fell in love with, but that made me feel loved, too. As a teenager who is getting diagnosed with bipolar disorder right now, I can't even begin to explain what this book did for me, but I'll definitely try to do it justice.

I've been having a lot of feelings lately. Feelings I didn't know what to do with since I didn't want anyone to know about my new diagnosis, scared of how their perception of me would change. I didn't know a lot about bipolar disorder, except that I had it and what I did know about it felt so true to me.

And then I found out about this book.

It took so many of my emotions and put them into words, all woven into a beautiful story of friendship, embracing yourself, mental illness, family, and art. The characters and their characterization are wonderful, the writing fits the story so well, and what I appreciated most of all: it doesn't shy away from anything. Christine Webb talks about the good, the bad, AND everything in between. There's so much nuance in this book, and I simply loved it.

I finished THE ART OF INSANITY in a few hours, but it will mean something to me for a lot longer than that.

Natalie is a high school student who has two big secrets: bipolar disorder and the reason behind the car accident.

Natalie is a likeable protagonist. Natalie’s struggle with her bipolar disorder and the pressure of getting into art school and showing her art in an art show were well portrayed.

I enjoyed following her character development throughout the novel.

Natalie and Ella’s friendship was adorable. I liked Ella because she didn’t judge Natalie or act weirdly because of her bipolar disorder. Ella treated Natalie like a normal person, just like Natalie wanted.

I felt like Natalie’s mom didn’t put much effort into educating herself on mental health issues.

The author has touched upon topics like stigma surrounding mental health and misconceptions related to it.

It was a quick and easy read. The message related to mental health was well written. Somewhere in the school, high school drama was also there.

Overall, it was nice to read a book related to mental health.

The Art of Insanity seemed like a realistic depiction of bipolar disorder to me and the stigma that can come along with mental illness, even from the people closes to us. Natalie's mom desperately wanted her to keep her diagnosis and the truth about her car accident. Along with mental illness, one of the other focuses of this book is art and Natalie trying to get into art school.

I liked it. I like the focus on art I want more books about kids doing art.
This book made me feel a lot of feelings. I'm so angry that her friends and mother are so awful. Gah. I really think Natalie should have ditched her "friends." They were garbage.

I think Ella is a great friend. Keep her. She's wonderful.
Also, Petunia, is *chefs kiss*
After reading this I just want to paint.

I did not enjoy the fat phobia. A couple lines were unneeded and weren't necessary to move the plot forward.

Between a car crash, a newly diagnosed bipolar disorder, her mom's expectations, and the pressure to get into art school, Natalie is determined to be the okayest, definitely healthy, totally-not-hiding-anything, high school senior. But pretending for the sake of normal is even harder than she antecipated.

This is an extremely lighthearted read despite dealing with some heavier topics. It breaches important situations where nothing is ever black and white, and illustrates both the anxieties related to social stigma and the perspective of someone with BPD so, so well, that I feel even those with little knowledge or misconceptions about it can follow easily.
This is why own voices are so important: <i>there's detail and great care into describing each of Nat's struggles.</i>

I devoured this book in one afternoon, and genuinely laughed out loud in a couple scenes. I personally like that what I thought would be a dreadful clichê turned out interesting, instead of being there for the sake of a gotcha. My main complaint is that the story could've benefited from a few more pages towards the ending, where it wrapped a bit too quickly to be completely satisfactory.

<i>The Art of Insanity</i> is very teen, from the adorable love interest to the school gossip drama, but I'm all in for books about mental health that are easier to digest, not filled with suffering and triggers. It's exactly this type of story that can reach a larger audience, and educate younger people.

Nat's journey towards self-acceptance is insightful and heartwarming, even if a little bumpy.

<i>Thanks for NetGalley and Peachtree for an advance copy for review purposes.</i>

So, I really liked this book! As someone who’s struggled with mental health (and still is, tbh) this was such a nice read. I understand Natalie, the main character, so well. This was a great portrayal of Bipolar disorder, and I liked how the author handled this.
It’s about Natalie, who was recently diagnosed with bipolar disorder. She’s in high school, and struggles with lots of things; becoming homecoming queen, getting her art pieces ready for a big show, hiding the fact that she has a mental illness. Just normal teenage problems. She struggles a lot, and things get a bit tricky. Eventually, she starts to realize that being mentally ill isn’t necessarily a bad thing, and that she’s not as weird as she thinks she is.

I would very much recommend this book, to everyone. Especially if you want to know and understand a bit more about Bipolar disorder.

Nat's story means the world to me, so having it out in the open and written so eloquently makes my heart swell with happiness.
it's just so hard juggling both the disorder and the stigma that comes with it, so seeing it handled so beautifully, was amazing.
I have to admit though the main character (Nat) was kind of boring? like i can't explain it? But she just felt off even through the good narration (never felt she was unreliable just, that her perspective dragged on)
but overall this was great, thank you netgalley for the arc.

As an ownvoices novel, there has to be a certain amount of leeway given to The Art of Insanity. While I don't relate to Natalie's experiences as clearly as one might think, considering we're on the same medication, matters less when there is the accountability of the author and the assurance that this is a loving and caring portrayal of real mental illness. And it does seem real- most of Nat's less rational states are well explored rather than being othered or sensationalized; her delusional and manic states are obvious to the audience, but they aren't separated from the feelings, and it all makes a fair amount of sense. Young readers might have trouble connecting their own experiences to Natalie's in part due to youth- if a reader does not hate their medication, Nat might feel unrealistic or immature, and be dismissed,

On the narrative layer, I don't care much for the romance, but it's relatively inoffensive and inconsequential. Other than Ella, Nat's friends are not fun to be around and read about, but part of the story is Nat growing to realize this, though the story would have benefited from a real ending to this aspect, or at least Natalie's reflections on it. Ella however is charming and fun, an earnest portrayal of a girl who loves her autism but recognizes how isolated it can make her feel, presented sympathetically long before Nat verbalizes it in her defense. Jokes aren't made at her expense, and she even tells some that are pretty funny. The aspect of the dog feels like a forced connection between the two- there are other ways these characters might have been tied together, with a bit if thought- but ultimately it can be passed over.

The surprise of Natalie's father is interesting but hard to properly feel invested in; books can contain and generally thrive on sensationalism and extreme coincidence, but something about this feels too quick and easy.

I very much enjoyed the idea of Natalie painting inside her closet. That was one of the things that felt most authentic and pure.

This book follows Natalie as she deals with her mental health and the general struggles of high school. Truly a beautiful story that helps to normalize mental health concerns.

A quirky, fun and light-hearted read that also addresses some serious topics with wisdom and grace.

Although I thought some scenarios were a bit too exaggerated for comic effect, I nevertheless enjoyed the characters and their journey towards self understanding.

In my opinion, this could quite possibly be the “I Never Promised You A Rose Garden” of the 21st century. Heartbreakingly honest, Natalie is asked by her mother to keep her new diagnosis of bipolar disorder a secret,

Not only did it explore mental health so unbelievably well, (I myself have OCD, anxiety and co ) it highlighted the difficulties of being unwell and managing multiple responsibilities which is a super important insight in my opinion,.

It’s all to common for people to hide their illness and go on as though they are okay, but as humans there is only so much of a facade that we can uphold, and I think this particular fact was acknowledged really superbly,

I loved this book. As someone that struggles with mental illness & was part of the weirdos in high school, I felt like Natalie’s is a great example of what it’s like to manage a mental health diagnosis while wanting to be “normal”. Her journey of learning that having a diagnosis is her normal was amazingly told and the support and lack of understanding dynamics from friends was amazing to see

This is a very quick read for me. The story tells about a girl coming to terms with her mental illness, but she gets shoved down by her 'best friends', her mother and her brother - until she learns that some of them are struggling themselves.

It is a credit to the author that I absolutely hated Nat's best friends - it means they are well written. I absolutely loved Ella and Ty, and love that Nathalie actually chose them.

The whole parking lot scene with Nathalie's brother almost made me cry - and I don't cry that often with books. It was so emotional and it broke me a bit.

I also love how this is an #OwnVoices book, and it has content warnings at the start - extremely important to add those, as some things in this book are very hard to read.

It was a nice read, and I enjoyed this book a lot. I don't know a lot about bipolar disorder, and it made me learn about it.

This is a great look at mental health as a teenager and how it can affect friendship and family.
I didn't love that her mom wanted her to keep her diagnosis quiet, people were going to find out anyways. But I also understand why.
This is such a great look into a teenage mind of someone struggling to find her footing with a new diagnosis of bi-polar disorder.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!

Reviewed for NetGalley:

A decent read with a realistic portrayl, for the most part, of mental illness manifesting in a teenager.

Natalie, after suffering a recent car accident and subsequent hospitalization, and diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder, is resistant to understand and her diagnosis. Her mother, wanting to keep Natalie’s real cause of her accident and diagnosis a secret, only compounds the stigma of her newly diagnosed mental illness.

Making a few new friends, expressing herself through art, and discovering a family secret help her to recognize that mental illness does not describe who she is.

I think this was a great fundamental look at different areas mental illness, and easily geared towards the young adult crowd, who may not have any prior knowledge.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to review this book.

Natalie Cordova has a big secret. She has Bipolar disorder and doesn't want anyone to know. As the stress mounts from her senior year and her trying to get into a prestigious art program, will it all break her down?

I thought this novel was beautiful. Natalie was very believable and when her moods shifted the reader could feel those shifts. It was so vivid it nearly stole my breath. Her struggle to come to terms with her diagnosis and learn to truly manage it felt weighty and real without being overbearing or maudlin. The author captured the struggle well.

“I’ve recently discovered that mental illness is in a lot of places. It’s in schools, friend groups, family trees. It’s not the stuff of CSI; it’s the stuff of friends and family. The more I look, the more I find it.”

I really, really enjoyed this read. Bipolar disorder often gets negative representation in media so I was excited to see a book which a protagonist from this POV who makes mistakes but also learns to accept her diagnosis and seek help. As an autistic person, I also loved her friendship with Ella, and how Ella’s acceptance of her own autism models to Natalie that a diagnosis isn’t the end of the world. Ella was absolutely relatable and a fun autistic character to follow. Narratively, I think there’s a little too much going on in the story. I think some of the subplots (I think I counted 6 plots in this book) could’ve been trimmed for focus, but I also understand why they’re here. All the ideas in the story work well together to show different perspectives on mental health to help Natalie come to a healthier understanding of her bipolar disorder. A fantastic mental health read I'll definitely be recommending to others!

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Netgalley & Peachtree Teen for the opportunity!

I read this over the course of a day, and it was good! I enjoyed the plot, the characters were interesting, and the narration was alright. I found Natalie to be a relatable character and her experiences in school took me back to my high school days. Bonus points for this book taking place in Michigan and having a Pug!

I found myself relating a lot to the internalized stigma that Natalie fights against throughout the book and the pressure to be “normal” and neurotypical for the sake of her family and keeping up with appearances.

Overall, it was an enjoyable read. I wouldn’t say it’s my favorite book, but it caught my eye and lived up to expectations! 3 stars means I enjoyed it and would read it again if given the chance.

Thank you again to Netgalley and PeachTree Teen!

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