I was rolling my eyes up on the first few chapters of Alyssa Sheinmel's R.I.P. Eliza Hart. My initial thoughts were that this was going to be a poorly written, Wattpad-novel-style with an overused plot twist on who the murderer was at the end of the mystery. Sheinmel sets the reader up to have suspects of their own, to believe the book is a murder mystery, when in actuality she crafted a novel about the complexities of friendship, the stigmatization of mental illness,  and the power of connection. I was in too deep by the time I realized how emotionally charged this book about two seemingly disparate girls would be, and subsequently found myself genuinely impressed by Sheinmel's ability to capture the psychological intricacies of her characters. At it's core, R.I.P. Eliza Hart was a poignantly impactful novel that uncovered dark truths while still being inspiring and empathetic.

My only complaint would be - and this might be my own fault, as I skimmed the synopsis and delved right in - that there were some awfully sensitive topics covered that could potentially be triggering. But I will say that for a novel I thought would be bleh, my socks were knocked off...my heart pummelled as though it were the one to fall - or be pushed - off a cliff...