When I started reading it, I know nothing except that it features a main character with bipolar disorder. I was honestly a bit thrown off at first, but then it started to flow and I enjoyed it a lot. Mel Hannigan suffers from a pretty severe bipolar disorder, causing her to have manic episodes and unpredictable moods. I don't know whether the representation is accurate or not, but it seems so tragic and raw. Even though I don't suffer from the bipolar disorder, some of her struggles are so honest and I can relate to it. The last quarter of the book is heart-breaking, and seeing Mel deal with it is quite difficult to read. In the end, I really like how her trauma is dealt with. She decides to make peace with it instead of just pushing it off her mind, and that is a healthier way to deal with it. I also love how supporting David is. P.s. I still think Annie is a bitch and Zumi is annoying and way too clueless

The main character is a sixteen year old girl named Mel. She struggles with bipolar disorder. Coming from someone who has it as well I thought this book was pretty good. I like how it was demonstrated throughout the story. Only Mel's family knows about her disorder. She doesn't tell her friends because she doesn't want them to think less of her as a person. Also it runs in her family. Her brother died when he was in an episode of mania. Her aunt Joan also has it. I like how both of them have different thinking processes. Everyone who has bipolar disorder is different and Mel's is just one story. I liked her therapist's role because in a lot of YA books they are to be mean. This book had a lot of friendship and family which I liked. Mel did have a love interest but it didn't go the way I thought it would go which was a nice surprise. I really loved the cover of the book. I would give the ending a 5 star rating. The beginning of this book was slow but I still fell in love with it.

creo que es la primera vez que leo una protagonista tiene su periodo durante el libro

An interesting tale of loss, health and happiness, A Tragic Kind of Wonderful was moving. From fluent writing to the stunning portrayal of the characters, the book dealt with sensitive issues of loss and mental health perfectly.

I really loved this. It's very different from the description on the back but in such a good way. I learned so much about bipolar disorder. For the rest this mainly focused on friendships and a bit of family. The romance just wasn't really a thing and that was just refreshingly wonderful. By the way this title is perfect for this book. It's wonderful but a tragic kind.

4.5/5 stars. I've been trying to wrap my head around how I wanted to write this review since I finished the book earlier today, and I don't think it's ever going to happen. So this is an apology in advance about how potentially messy and sloppy this review is going to be. I just have a lot of feelings about this book and I feel the need to get them all out and it's best if I just do that in the realest way possible: raw and uncut and with a lot of grammatical errors, more than likely. So this book touched a deep part of me and I can't remember the last time I identified so well with a piece of fictional literature. This was a personal connection kind of thing for me. Bipolar disorder runs deep, deep, deep within my family roots and... I was diagnosed with it myself about a year and a half ago. My own "battle" is not as real as Mel's is (or Nolan's or HJ's) but I have seen first hand what kinds of things can happen with a dysphoric manic episode. My aunt's a little further along on the spectrum and that was always something that was hard for me to understand- especially when I was younger. Of course, now, I understand that there are mood swings and things you can't help and... a plethora of other things no one can truly understand unless they experience it themselves. I tore through A Tragic Kind of Wonderful in about a day. Really, it was probably less than that because I couldn't consistently read at work and I had to sleep at some point. Anyway. I really liked the style it was written in and it was addicting and gripping and... I sympathized with Mel so much. So many of the feelings and the instances were relatable to me because of what I go through and deal with every single day (even on medication). "Even on normal days I can only socialize for so long without recharging." This particular excerpt is something that I have been struggling to explain to people for a long time- all the way back before I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder or depression. This was such a Eureka! kind of moment for me I almost started crying in the middle of my lunch break at work. Finally, it was like... someone had gotten it. Someone had cracked my head open and put what I wanted to say into words. Naturally, this book is not perfect. I know there are plenty of people who probably aren't in love with it. For me, though, this brought me such relief and such... gratitude? Because, for the first time in a long time, I felt like someone got me. Even though this is a work of fiction someone understood and it was like things clicked into place. I am so in love with this book and I really wish more people would write about mental illness. Be real about it, but tasteful. I really do hope to read more books akin to this one and will not hesitate to pick up more Eric Lindstrom books in the future.

Really really liked this book! The only reason why it’s not 4 stars+ is because I felt like it only started getting really good 70% through the book…the first 70% was kind of just a back story which I didn’t find very engaging. BUT the last 30% (especially the ending) was awesome!! Would definitely recommend if you need a quick read or something to get you out of a reading slump as I’m SO ready to jump into another straight away now!

This was a quick, easy read and one I definitely enjoyed. However, I also have a lot of mixed feelings, especially regarding the bipolar, bisexual and lesbian representation, of which I have yet to find any #ownvoices reviews regarding how these character aspects were represented. In regards to the mental health aspect of this book in general, it definitely had both good and bad points. Although it’s painful to read about a character with so much shame surrounding their mental illness, it also felt authentic in terms of the way Mel seesawed between both shame and acceptance. I enjoyed the characters and variety of relationships and although it got uncomfortably close to it towards the end, I definitely appreciated that it didn’t fall into the ‘love fixes mental illness’ hole. I’m still unsure of how I felt about this overall. Every time I think of a positive element, I remember a negative one and visa-versa. Generally, it was an average read for me but one that had both highs and lows.