When Tristan meets Zoe, she becomes a splash of colour in a world that’s become very dark. Tristan is suffering from crippling depression following the death of his father but Zoe is determined to make him her friend and help him back onto a path with a hopeful future.

This is a charming book with characters that definitely spill off the page and into your heart. First off I’d like to write about the great representation in this book, not only for mental illness but MI in men as well as women, and how things like depression can surface in other ways such as over drinking. Zoe has two dads as well, and her family unit is a strong, stable and supportive one that’s honestly lovely. There’s also side characters who are queer, and a lot of open, honest conversations about different topics from illness to things like boys wearing make-up that all just felt really refreshing and, dare I say it, ‘woke.’

Zoe is definitely a little bit of a manic pixie dream girl BUT she makes herself one rather than a male character protecting that onto his love interest such as books like Looking for Alaska. There were definitely times in the book when Zoe annoyed me (mostly because I know if I knew someone so damn happy and chirpy like that they’d drive me mad) but at the same time I cared a lot about her because there was something in her I recognised. I’ve definitely created characters in my own writing really similar to Zoe, and there was something about her that really touched me because of this.

I also liked how this story really loved how unknowingly selfish someone suffering from mental illness can sometimes be. People are so stuck in their dark thoughts and world, they often fail to notice the hurt in others or just smaller things - like Tristan always forgetting that Zoe didn’t drink or forgetting her dad Paul’s name. It doesn’t show it in a mean way or in a way that makes Tristan evil but in a very human way and showed how much he was suffering within himself. This story also didn’t do the ‘quick fix’ where two people fall in love and suddenly they’re all better. It really emphasized that it takes more than that such as will power, support, the right medication and the acceptance of taking it.

I honestly flew through this book and couldn’t put it down. I wasn’t shocked at the ending as I did guess something like that was going to happen pretty early on. The round-up at the end felt slightly rushed as well and I would have liked maybe some bits that dragged in the middle to be shaved off and then the end be given more time to. But all in all a great book.

I think people who liked All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven would really like this book!