A Tragic Kind of Wonderful by Eric Lindstrom is a heartfelt exploration of mental health, friendship, and resilience. It follows Mel, a teen managing bipolar disorder while balancing secrets and relationships that challenge her sense of self. With authentic characters and emotional depth, Lindstrom’s writing brings warmth and empathy, making it perfect for readers who appreciate realistic, thought-provoking YA.

Reading books about mental illness is so important because there is still a lot of misinformation out there about what mental illness is, especially in regards to certain conditions such a bipolar disorder. There are stereotypes that seem to have stuck and I appreciate a good try at getting rid of them because as someone who has to deal with it themselves, it's good to have representation on the page.

That is not the reason that I rated this book so lowly. The representation of the various "types" of bipolar disorder was good. I think the author showed that it isn't a singular diagnosis that makes everyone the same. There were three characters in this book that were diagnosed as being bipolar: Mel, her aunt HJ, and her brother Nolan. As the narrative is mostly focused on Mel we hear the most about her experience, a bit more from HJ's corner, but unfortunately not much about Nolan due to circumstances the took place before the book started.

The problem that I had was that the story itself felt flat. There were a lot of plot points that tried to take over the main story of Mel, but none that really had emotion attached to them. Even the story line with the friend from the past that is alluded to in the summary didn't have the tension or shock that I would expect from something like that. The first 50% actually went alright, but the pacing really started losing steam in the second half from the aforementioned extraneous plot points. I think the book was trying to be too many things at once and suffered for it.

All in all, it was a good effort, but A Tragic Kind of Wonderful felt like a cardboard setup for a play with characters on sticks dancing back and forth. You might get the story, but there's not going to be a lot of emotion conveyed behind those painted on eyes.

I wouldn't recommend this if you've never read an Eric Lindstrom novel before; you'd be much better off reading his book Not If I See You First.

It was a change of pace to read a book about a teenager that has a mental illness and how it affects her life. As an individual who was diagnosed with several life threatening autoimmune diseases as a teenager, I found it relatable when she talked about all the medication she needed to take to keep her “normal” even if normal meant different things to us. This was a quick and easy read.

I think it's a hard book to read, or frustrating rather, which makes for an effective showing of bi-polar disorder. Sometimes it's hard, sometimes it's frustrating, sometimes you don't like the person.

I loved Eric Lindstrom's previous book "Not If I See You First" about a blind teen who wants to be a track star. I thought he did an excellent job of writing a book from not only a teen girl's perspective but also one who is blind. I was really excited when I saw that he had a new book out. This book, "A Tragic Kind of Wonderful" is about Mel Hannigan. She is bi-polar, something that runs in her family. She tracks her moods in an interesting way - rating different things based on animal names. She has been hiding her mental illness from friends - new and old. In the story we watch Mel go from keeping things under control to spiraling out of control when things come to light that she wanted to stay hidden. I myself don't suffer from bi-polar disorder but I have family members that do, and I felt the author did a good job in writing this book. I enjoyed this book and watching Mel develop as well as learning what happened to her brother. My favorite character was Mel's aunt. She also has Bi-polar disorder but she handles things differently than Mel. She is a fun character and I'm glad Mel has her in her life to support her and give her perspective.

As we watch the main character grapple with bi-polar disorder and the death of her brother, I was happy to see that there was a positive light shining on the proper way to get the help that you need if struggling with the same or similar things. There were some problematic things relating to gay people (specifically her lesbian friend Zumi), which was something I strongly disliked.
I felt that there were a lot of different plot points and topics covered, but none of them felt flushed and deep enough.
Overall, I love seeing mental health properly represented, but everything else about the story fell a little short.

I love reading about books that include mental health. I love how this book showed depression in its true form, how it's completely ugly, how you cannot just fix it. Mel showed so much strength in moving forward and trying to keep on going with her life. I enjoyed how present the family was there for Mel through it all.

This book annoyed me on so many levels that I wanted her to flind herself off the bridge and forget that she even planned on getting better. As the pages moved forward, I kept thinking about what she might have done to her brother and my imagination ran so wild that I was giddy with excitement. And here it comes, and it's coming and then I'm highly confused and disappointed. Ugh! Noooo!!! Thats not how I wanted this to go. I need difference in my life and off the wall settings. You'll not find that here.

Mel, afraid to alienate her friends, keeps her bipolar disorder a secret. But some symptoms are difficult to remain hidden. And she will soon discover that letting your best friends in, is way better than pushing everbody out.

At first sight, I thought the story constantly shifted between timeframes (past, present, short term past), and I was glad to see it become linear as the story progressed. Mel dealt with many emotions caused by other life problems (family death, controlling friend, new relationship) that it was interesting to see her associate many of these rollercoaster feelings with her BD condition. I could tell the author placed a lot of energy in research and characterization.

All in all, a good book.

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this title. Unfortunately, I have lost interest in the title, partly due to trusted reviews, and will not be reviewing the title. I have, however, promoed the title through my weekly recap with links to Amazon. Thank you again, and I apologize for the inconvenience this may cause.

A TRAGIC KIND OF WONDERFUL by Eric Lindstrom explores the life of a teen trying to maintain friendships while dealing with mental illness.

Between the death of her brother, her parent’s divorce, and a bipolar diagnosis, Mel’s life has spiraled out of control. Trying to hide her problems only makes her relationships with friends more strained. The author’s authentic portrayal of a teen’s quest for acceptance is will appeal to many teens.

Librarians will find fans of Lindstrom’s NOT IF I SEE YOU FIRST pleased with his latest title. Many teens are drawn to contemporary young adult novels focusing on friendship and overcoming obstacles. This title does a particularly good job helping young people better understand bipolar disorder.

Published by Poppy, an imprint of Hachette on February 7, 2017. ARC courtesy of the publisher.

REALLY, REALLY loved the mental illness rep in this one, as well as the writing.

They are so few books about mental illness for teens and even fewer about Bi Polar disorder. With a negative connotation, mental illness is often hidden by teens and adults. I would love for there to be more books about this disorder for teens. This book has interesting characters and situations that may help teens affected by mental illness and their friends. Cool cover too.

I really enjoyed it, plenty of mystery concerning Mel's life. I only have it three stars because I feel like I can't really boast nor rant about it. It was just a good book, with fun quirky characters and a real feeling of having bipolar disorder through the eyes and narrative of Mel.

It is fantastic to see mental health disorders being incorporated into YA novels and represented in an honest way.

For a more in-depth review check out this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHKBbBFjbWQ&t=4s

For Mel Hannigan every day is a struggle. She has to accept her parents divorce, she is trying to recover from her brother's death, and she is learning how to deal with her bipolar disorder. Mel had given up her friends when she was diagnosed but now they're back and Mel must begin to deal with what happened when she was first diagnosed and what really happened to her brother.

This book is difficult for me to review. I loved Lindstrom's "Now You See Me" and I felt that the characters in "A Tragic Kind of Wonderful" didn't quite live up to those in the first novel. Plus, Mel's bipolar felt a little too textbook for my tastes. However, I liked the characters and their relationships in particular I appreciated a friendship between a female and male character that was in no way romantic. This was definitely a good book but it just didn't quite get to great for me.

Being 16 can be hard. Being 16 with a brother who committed suicide is even harder. Being 16 with bipolar disorder? Hard to even imagine. But that is Mel’s reality. She’s been taking medication for a year and it helps, but so much happened before that, and in an attempt to try to hide the past from her friends, she’s dug a hole she can’t seem to climb out of. Eventually, the truth starts unraveling, and with it, her tenuous grasp on reality.

Having a history of mental health issues in my own family, in addition to grappling with them myself (anxiety and depression, I’m lookin’ at you!), I’m always attracted to fiction centered around that topic. As is often the case, it is comforting, and often enlightening, to walk in the shoes of someone who fights similar battles, even if that someone is fictional. And though more and more stories like this one are being written (as mental illness becomes a more “acceptable” and mainstream topic), they are still scarce, and more often than not, mental illness is present in a story as a cause of evil-doing – the psychopathic killer, etc. So, it’s nice to come across something contemporary, focused on the realities of mental illness, and a story that is YA. Because changing perspectives about mental health overall starts with how we approach the topic with younger generations. It is much easier to set the appropriate tone from the beginning than to try and fight misguided stereotypes in older generations. Point being, stories like this are important.

I liked Mel just fine. I understood her and related to her. But, until the end, I had a hard time accepting that she had bipolar disorder. I don’t have bipolar disorder, and I’m not an expert on bipolar disorder, but I understood so much about how she was feeling because of my own depression and anxiety, that I had a hard time accepting she had something so much more serious. Despite my own experiences of having to explain to people who don’t get it, of putting up with doubt, of essentially being accused of “making excuses”, being told that “everyone feels that way sometimes”, despite all of that, I still questioned her diagnosis. I kept having to remind myself that she was medicated, and that she was feeling all this despite the medication, that she was diagnosed by a professional and diagnoses of bipolar disorder aren’t handed out like candy. And that mental illness is a spectrum, even within a specific diagnosis. Then at the end, as she starts losing control, then it becomes obvious how much the medication was helping her. And I felt guilty for questioning, for not understanding. Because of my own situation, because of my family history, I should have understood. And if I couldn’t grasp it from the beginning, how could someone with no experience with mental health issues?

And that is why stories like this are so important. So, so important. And why everyone should take the time to read them. It isn’t the most gripping story, or the most emotional. It isn’t funny or particularly exciting. You won’t be sitting on the edge of your seat or dying for a sequel. But maybe you’ll learn something and gain a little empathy. We’d all benefit from that.

I don't know how to feel about this one. On the one hand, the protagonist is realistic. She's a sympathetic portrayal of living with mental illness. She takes a host of medications willingly, not so she can appear "normal" but to make her condition livable. Its realistic and the rest of the novel is peopled with dynamic, realistic characters. And yet it's so "perfect". Yes she is bipolar, but no one realizes. The cute boy not only falls for her but has no pause when he learns about her diagnosis. Not to mention working the most perfect job, where she gets paid to do whatever she wants. Charming and readable.

This is a contemporary YA novel about a character with severe bipolar disorder still learning how to cope with the ups and downs of her emotional world.

Mel Hannigan is a seventeen year old girl struggling through her days with a newly (one year) diagnosed bipolar disorder. Her elder brother, Nolan, also suffered this disease, as does her Aunt Joan--who they all call HJ or "Hurricane Joan." Nolan, who we only meet in flashback, died four years ago--in an accident that stemmed from his mania. Since his tragic death, her parents have divorced and Mel lives with her mother and HJ. She'd also lived with her grandmother, but she died a year ago after a battle with stomach cancer.

Mel works in the Silver Sands, the same nursing home where her grandmother spent her final days. It's a touchstone place, for her, where she has many friends among the residents, including Dr. Jordan--a retired psychiatrist. He helped "diagnose" Mel before she had her first manic episode--and subsequent crash--just over a year ago, now. At that time, Mel was having a break with her group of friends, losing Annie, Conner and Zumi when she backed away following a fight and power play which coincided with an inpatient stay for treatment of her mental issues. Now she balances a cocktail of prescriptions designed to keep her moods even, and has two close-ish friends Holly and Declan, who brought her school work home over the period of her long absence and recovery--which everyone believes was for mono and bronchitis, not bipolar disorder.

When the book picks up, Annie has inexplicably reached out to leave behind childhood relics with Mel for Conner and Zumi--mementos of their friendship--because Annie's family is moving to Paris and she doesn't want to confront either Conner or Zumi regarding this life change. Turns out Annie isn't a nice person, and Zumi was desperately crushing on her. Mel knows it will break Zumi's heart, and the stress is fracturing her grip on her moods. Right about then, Mel meets David, grandson of one of the elderly residents at Silver Sands, and they strike a cautious friendship--which could lead to more. They both seem to want this, but Mel is reluctant because she doesn't think she--the gal with the broken brain--is really worthy of love. Surely someone "normal" is better suited for everyone. Just look at HJ! She's the life of the party and pretty, but no man will settle down with her.

Okay, so, being in the mind of a person with a mental condition like bipolar disorder is never easy. There are bouts of mania and depression, and episodes of disordered thinking and obsessive-compulsive behavior. That's not all of the book, but those moments exist and they ramp the tension up high as we're not quite sure where Mel will go, or what she will do, when she's manic, or obsessive. She does a LOT of checking in with her body and mind, and talking to responsible adults about her mental well-being, with is fantastic. Her aunt's not a great influence, because she's sure that Mel's missing out on life, doped up and quelled by medication. Joan is currently unmedicated, but her strong personality doesn't sway Mel from her chosen course to medicate--because she knows how things can go tragically wrong for someone like herself--like Nolan--when there's no meds on board. And, unfortunately, in her periods of mania she sometimes misses doses, leading to a downward spiral that results in another bad episode.

I really liked this book because it didn't feel varnished. It was a challenge, however, to keep up with Mel, and I think I'd have liked more information about Nolan up-front. That said, going along the winding path and following Mel into the rabbit hole of her racing mind was eye-opening. Having dealt with emotional wellness issues in myself and close family members for decades now, it was a journey I'm familiar with, and felt resonated off the page. Mental illness is never an easy read, but Mel's upbeat and committed choice for medical care was refreshing. I really appreciated the rich support network that assisted Mel, and how her fears of being abandoned once people learned her real "illness" weren't reinforced.

There's a hint of romance, but it's not the focus. Instead, the real-life dramas of friendships dissolving and new ones forming are the center of the book. These stressors are common for teens, which provides the context for grasping Mel's underlying medical problems, which makes her reaction to those stressors accessible, even in their extremes.

I received a review copy via NetGalley.