Wayward Son by Rainbow Rowell
Genre: Contemporary YA fantasy with a M/M romance
Short Summary: Simon, Penny, and Baz decide to go on a road trip to see if it will cheer Simon up, but then they find out that Agatha is in danger and she has to be rescued.
TRIGGER WARNINGS: Death of animals (sometimes somewhat graphic), trauma, depression, alcohol use, violence (not graphic), kidnapping
My rating: 2.5 stars


Characters:

Simon Snow: I didn't like him in Carry On, and I still don't like him now. He doesn't have much personality, he's pretty stupid and annoying, in my opinion, and he didn't really have as much character development as I was hoping for. He's not the worst character I've ever read, though.

Tyrannus Basilton Grimm-Pitch (Baz): He was much better in this one than in the first book. I still don't really like him, but I don't dislike him anymore either. He's just okay.

Penelope Bunce (Penny): She's more annoying in Wayward Son than in the first book. She takes over the plot a few times, and

Spoiler

it was really annoying when she kept saying that they should leave Shepherd behind when they obviously needed his help.

Plot:

At least it had a plot at all, unlike the first book, but it's not a particularly good plot. I actually enjoyed it for the first 30% or so, but then it went downhill fast. The plot is really disjointed and all over the place, and the characters' goals were never made clear enough. The ending was very, very rushed, and for the whole last 25%, I didn't care at all and just wanted the book to be over.

Writing:

The writing was fine, better than the first book's, nothing particularly good but not particularly bad either.

Setting:

I actually kind of like the worldbuilding and magic system a bit. The idea that Normals have to use words/phrases enough for them to be used as spells was unique, and the dead zone laws bit was pretty interesting.

Other:

1. Surprisingly enough, the romance was actually okay. I hated Snowbaz in the first book, but in Wayward Son I actually ship them somewhat. I don't know what's wrong with me.

2. The violence to animals was a bit much. I hate reading about animal abuse/death in any way, and although I do understand that Baz has to kill animals to survive, I felt that the animals' deaths were described way too much.

Do I recommend it? Eh, no. I mean, it's better than Carry On, but still not very good.

Ahhh, I think this is my favorite Heartstopper book yet. Although it is a bit sappy in places, it's overall so amazing that I hardly minded. I felt that it dealt more with serious subjects than the first and second volumes did, while still maintaining its cute, sweet tone.

TRIGGER WARNINGS: Eating disorders, mention of past bullying, mention of past self-harm, brief mention of homophobia.

(Don't) Call Me Crazy: 33 Voices to Start the Conversation about Mental Health, edited by Kelly Jensen
Genre: Essays
My rating: 4 stars
My thoughts:

Wow, that was intense. Somewhat hard to read, and some of it hit too close to home (I don't want to disclose my mental health situation in detail, but I am mentally ill), but I'm glad this book exists and it's a very important read. A few of the essays are really disturbing, such as "Bless This Mess", "Meeting Disorder", and "Fighting the War on the Home Front" are very disturbing.

Due to the nature of this anthology, there is a lot of triggering material, including but not limited to: Suicidal ideation, attempted suicide, eating disorders, PTSD, OCD, bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety, panic attacks, substance abuse, child abuse, and self harm. There may be more I can't remember.

Do I recommend it? Yes, it's a very important book, as long as one keeps the potentially triggering material in mind.