Name: A Tragic Kind of Wonderful
Rating: 3.818181818181818 (22 reviews)
ISBN: 9780008147471

Eric Lindstrom

The heart-rending and inspiring novel from the critically acclaimed author of NOT IF I SEE YOU FIRST. How can you have a future if you can't accept your past? Mel Hannigan doesn't have it easy. Mourning the death of her firework of a brother, trying to fit back into a school she's been conspicuously absent from and struggling to deal with the loss of three friendships that used to mean everything. Struggling to deal with a condition that not even her closest friends know about. So Mel tries to lock away her heart, to numb the highs and lows, to live quietly without hope - but also without pain. Until someone new shows her that it can be worth taking a risk, that opening up to life is what can make it glorious... And that maybe, Mel can discover a tragic kind of wonderful of her very own.

A Tragic Kind of Wonderful

In the vein of It's Kind of a Funny Story and All the Bright Places, comes a captivating, immersive exploration of life with mental illness.For sixteen-year-old Mel Hannigan, bipolar disorder makes life unpredictable. Her latest struggle is balancing her growing feelings in a new relationship with her instinct to keep everyone at arm's length. And when a former friend confronts Mel with the truth about the way their relationship ended, deeply buried secrets threaten to come out and upend her shaky equilibrium. As the walls of Mel's compartmentalized world crumble, she fears the worst--that her friends will abandon her if they learn the truth about what she's been hiding. Can Mel bring herself to risk everything to find out? In A Tragic Kind of Wonderful, Eric Lindstrom, author of the critically acclaimed Not If I See You First, examines the fear that keeps us from exposing our true selves, and the courage it takes to be loved for who we really are.

Livia

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

Ella Zegarra

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

Jelke Lenaerts

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.

A Tragic Kind of Wonderful

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