A Danger to Herself and Others by Alyssa Sheinmel

The Quick Cut: A girl is institutionalized by court mandate after an incident at her summer program. She's convinced it's all a mistake until a roommate appears and chaos breaks out.

A Real Review:

Thank you to Sourcebooks Fire for providing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Mental disorders can be some of the most difficult ailments a person will struggle with. Whenever your sanity and sense of self suddenly is put into question, everything about your past and future come a big blank. Hope becomes lost and worlds you knew well are now undefined again. It is in that internal battle that this story focuses on with Hannah.

With perfect grades, great decisions, and a litany of traveling to make anyone jealous, Hannah has it all from a glance. That is until an incident leaves her summer program roommate irreversibly changed and with her in a court mandated mental institution. It was just an accident, there's no reason for her to be here right? However, as the days drag on and her doctor continues to insist on Hannah focusing on the present work instead of her desire to go back to school - is something else going on?

This story starts out making you feel like everything is fine and Hannah's being wrongly held, but the farther in you get... The more you realize pieces are missing. It is interesting to watch the mental conversation occur within Hannah at first and then to see what happens once that branches out to others. Her breakdown happens about halfway to two-thirds of the way through, which I really appreciated because it gave plenty of time to really watch the aftermath of that.

Hannah is relatable in her struggle to understand what's happening to her. From her perspective, she didn't do anything wrong and this was all an accident. She doesn't see the inconsistencies in her narrative or how traumatic her past is. Truth be told, her parents are neglectful and ignored her from a young age while traipsing around the globe. How does that not change you?

What happens to Hannah isn't her fault, but you get to see the grieving process she goes through happen before your eyes. The topics covered in this book are heavy too including self harm (which made me sick I'll admit), eating disorders, depression, and psychosis (including intensely realistic hallucinations). Not all of these are Hannah, but it can be hard for some to read about so be aware of that going in.

I did have some issues with this book though. As much as I got wrapped up in what happened to Hannah, I couldn't help but feel a bit of skepticism for how the doctor treated her at times. While I understand she was in a sensitive state, a professional would have done differently. Also, it bugs me that they never say what condition Hannah has. I have my theory (I won't spoil it), but they won't put a name to it and this bothers me. The avoidance strikes me as unnecessary.

With a bold story about mental illness, the tale of Hannah is one that will stay with you long after the pages have ended.

My rating: 4 out of 5