A Semi-Definitive List of Worst Nightmares Hardcover – 2017

I really enjoyed this tale of fear and uncertainty masked as magic and superstition. Original, warm and poignant. The characters were endearing in all their strange and frustrating beauty. Really makes you think about mental health.

Probably one of the best books I've ever read!Heartfelt, honest, topical, emotional, sad, happy and really quite beautiful xxx

Definitely different to her first book. Smacks a lot of Jandy Nelson. Usual sad fun and a great read. Buy it.

I didn't know what to expect when starting this book - the blurb suggested it was about mental illness and facing your fears, whilst an online synopsis mentioned Death placing a curse on the featured family, which seemed like a completely different book. It's actually a combination of both. For me, the Death storyline didn't work as well as the other thread, and actually lessened the emotional impact of the mental illness aspect of the story. What I absolutely adored about this book was its portrayal of a range of mental illnesses, from social anxiety to depression, agoraphobia to addiction.  This is a book that doesn't shy away from mental illness or attempt to diminish its effects. As someone who suffers from depression, and has had suicidal thoughts in the recent past, I was able to identify with Eugene especially. Krystal's description of the irrationality of depression and the darkness inside us rang particularly true. It was as though she had articulated my thoughts and helped explain them to the world.With its exploration of such dark issues, it might seem that this book is rather depressing but that's definitely not the case. It's quirky, humorous, and endearing. The characters of Esther, Eugene, Hephzibah, and Jonah are appealing and lovable, and I was quickly invested in them. Jonah especially was the character I was rooting for as he was just so adorable. He had a light that the darkness couldn't extinguish, and it was his hope that kept the other characters going. As for the humour, the goose fight in chapter twenty-one had me actually snorting out loud with laughter. I definitely want to start using resting goose face in conversation. The book alternated between these laugh-out-loud moments and quieter, more poignant moments that packed an emotional punch.This is one of those books that I'm so glad I decided to read. The unapologetic portrayal of mental illness was so recognisable and the fears these characters faced definitely resonated with me. I've never read a book that described depression and suicidal ideation so well, and I'll be recommending this book for that alone. If we can keep talking about mental illness, we can lessen the stigma surrounding it. At the end of the book, Krystal recommends reading Adam Silvera's Tumblr post Happiness Isn't Just An Outside Thing, explaining his depression and suicidal thoughts. I read it as soon as I finished this book and I identified with his ongoing struggle so much - I would also urge you to read it. 

*I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review*I read Krystal Sutherland’s debut novel earlier this year for my #beatthebacklist challenge and whilst it wasn’t great I decided to give this writer another chance. I usually give authors a second chance, I like to see how they develop and whether it’s just the story or characters that rubbed me up the wrong way.I was pleasantly surprised with this book, I definitely think it is an improvement from her debut novel and will read further books of her’s if the blurb intrigues me.This story follows Esther Solar, she is not your typical 17-year-old, she doesn’t conform to fashion trends and has her very own unique style of dressing up in costumes every day, one day she might be Audrey Hepburn, she might be a cow girl the next. She is not a popular girl and her family would maybe deemed eccentric or different from the norm.Esther’s grandfather proclaimed that he met death (several times) since this revelation his family has had a bout of bad luck. Esther has a twin who is petrified of the dark and has all the lights and candles going continuously, her father is agoraphobic and hasn’t left the cellar for 6 years and her mother has a fear of bad luck. Esther deems herself as the normal one of the family, however that’s only because she has avoided anything she thinks might induce fear and so she creates a list, these are: Lobsters, small spaces and anything else she thinks of, this is her list of semi-definitive list of worst nightmares.Esther comes in to contact with Jonah Smallwood, a boy who used to be in her class but then moved away to another school. Jonah seems to take a liking to Esther and keeps turning up at her door or the same part. They develop this friendship,when Jonah discovers Esther’s list he takes it upon himself to help conquer these so-called fears and live life fear free.There were several things that I enjoyed about the book, one was I thought the characters were good and fleshed out, we got a back story to how they came to their current situation. I liked that there was a magical realism/supernatural element to the book. This book had its quirks and then also some serious topics such a phobia’s,anxiety,depression, gambling,child abuse, dementia, selective mutism and suicide. Whilst you might be thinking that is some heavy stuff, it doesn’t always feel like that through the book. Sutherland has managed to handle these heavy topics with a lot of care.Sutherland’s writing style is easy to read but the pacing was a bit up and down and sometimes it just didn’t hold my attention. I would definitely recommend reading this book, however there are trigger warnings.