Thoughts of suicide?  Better skip this book and to be safe, any other writings from this author.
928097
I was interested in true stories of battle and sacrifice. This book of short stories is fictional, morbid, depressing, and hopeless. I read four of them and to avoid depression had to stop. I can only hope that some the images in my head fade with time.
3605977
Possible spoiler!  I love this author and have read several of her books, but this one left me unfulfilled and depressed. The writing is excellent, the characters well developed, the story interesting, but be warned...nothing good happens until the very end, and by that time I was so anxious and sad that I did not care at that point. So many years wasted, and the tortuous repeated bad timing scenarios were a little far fetched. I wish I had skipped this one.
1991637
If, like me, you heard/saw Harrison on the Writer's Almanac, be warned--those are about the only good poems in the book. A few of the poems in the first half of the book are entertaining, but not profound. The second half is just depressing and full of self-pity. So his brother committed suicide. It's easy to see why he would need to write a lot about that, but his need to write and our need to read are two different things. He's allowed to publish a poem or two about that suicide, if it actually says something original (which these don't). Anything more is just exploitation--of his brother's memory, and of the reader's sympathies. But he goes on and on about that unfortunate event, ad nauseum. "My brother's dead. I'm sad"--that's pretty much all he has to say. Okay, we get it. No need to expect anybody to read dozens of poems on that. The book is a good example of why poetry is not more popular--too much drivel like this gets mistaken for good poetry. Two stars is probably generous.
2960164
Odd little short story or maybe a novelette.  Author belabors mentally screwed up thought processes of characters.  Starts on a teaser tangent about gaming, then drops it, as though s/he just couldn't muster the rest of the story.  Another tangent about the mysterious stranger gets started then dropped.  All the characters have some serious mental health issues (secretive, abusive and abused, lying, etc.) and otherwise one dimensional.

I kept hoping the writing would resolve into a whole but the author got bored midway thru the book and brought the close abruptly.
3677465
I am a Geriactric Nurse Practitioner, Teach graduate courses, read extensively and hated this book.  If the author could refrain from "Then I set up the worlds first..." and if the information could  be separated from the self-promoting biographical stories, it might be  useful.  However you are so tired of listening to him blathering that you  fall asleep; Perhaps the intention of the book!!  Buy a briefer more useful  book instead.
124239
This was a terrible book.  Reading it made me feel...suffocated.  I strongly suspect that the writer is delusional, or suffers from mental illness.  Credibility is zero.  It was a waste of both my money, and my time.
598376
It's never a good idea to romanticize mental illness. It's particularly bad when doing so includes accepting abusive and sexually assaultive behavior. The foolish notion that love and passionate sex can "conquer all" is absurd. What is especially disturbing is that this book seems to be a genre I'd label Young Adult Erotica, and as such may have some influence on young people. Mental illness requires intervention from a licensed mental health professional. An intimate relationship that has physical, sexual abuse, or portends to, is a tragedy waiting to happen. There is nothing in this book that rates it even a 1, but since zero isn't a choice that's the best I can do. My advice is don't read it, and if you are a parent and see that your teenager is reading it, I'd urge you to discuss why it's dangerously misleading, and then replace the book with a copy of Gavin DeBecker's non-fiction book titled, The Gift of Fear. I cannot recommend it highly enough.
4278141
There is nothing redeeming or helpful about this book.  It leaves many unanswered questions and leaves survivors in deeper pain.  Books like - Top Ten Things Dead People Want You To Know are much more helpful.  There is a chapter in that book dedicated to what happens after suicide.
547425
Initially, I enjoyed the author's narrative style.  To my dismay,the book quickly became a one-sided rah-rah session for big pharma.  The author often states the necessity of educating oneself about their bipolar disorder and the need to comprehend the scientific side of mental illness.  Unfortunately for the author there is no scientific evidence of a genetic factor for bipolar illness.  The perpetuation of this illness in families could just as easily be attributed to environmental and behavioral factors.  In fact, in pharmaceutical ads circa 2006 the best drug companies can do to cite this evidence (since it does not exist yet) is to say that theoretically, there is an imbalance of neurotransmitters in the brain.  Although there have been studies that document lower levels of certain neurotransmitters in the brains of ground-up mice, there has never been a scientific study that proves the role of neurotransmitters in CAUSING mental illness.

  The author also makes distracting mistakes such as misnaming a drug used for bipolar disorder (she calls Neurontin 'Noroton') and making fun of people who are more impaired than she is.

  In the main portion of this book, the author sets out to meet young people who have successfully managed their illness, but in doing so only ascribes to a very narrow definition of success.  She tends to envision herself as a groundbreaker and freethinker, but strictly follows current biomedical definitions of mental illness and thus limits her scope and writing.  I think she does have another book in her.  Hopefully in 10 years, she will be able to offer a more compassionate, encompassing view of the mentally ill.

  This book does little to shake the branches of the current biomedical model of the American mental health system tree. I found very disturbing her total lack of coverage of the subject of some of the debilitating,and often permanent, side effects of neuroleptic medication she espouses.  Her attitude is somewhat cavalier and dangerous considering the gravity of these potential side effects.  For all of her talk about educating oneself and knowing the scientific information, the author did not seem to follow her own advice in researching this book.
36648
I've read others by this author that I liked.  If this had been the first one I'd read, I would not have read another.  In fact, this is the last.  Do you ever read a book where the writer is working endlessly to trick you, and not in a good way?  I just feel used and angry.  And the tedious use of stuttering starts in the dialog (Er...erm...it...it's so h...hard to read re...really h...horrible dialog over and over and over!)  Goodbye Ms. McKenna.  I'm done with ya.
4363275
This pharmacist-author goes on and on about the dangers of toxicity and then advises to eat beef, chicken and pork for breakfast.  She considers this a part of a liver detox protocol.  She worries that if you eat in a restaurant you might be subject to gluten cross contamination so she advises that you order bacon, chicken, eggs and cheese. I wish I was kidding but I'm not. In addition to the advice being scientifically unsound, the writing is very redundant restating the same sentiment over and over again.
1732931
Someone recommended this to me, saying it was great and terrifying and that Anthony is a great author. This is the only book of his I have read, and my conclusion is, "wtf."

Firstly, the writing is not enjoyable. The prose is terrible and none of the characters fall anywhere into the realm of normal. And I don't mean the characters were damaged, they were, but they weren't realistic at all. They were strange and then annoying.

I started to wonder wtf was wrong with the author that he perceived people so strangely, then the book kept getting stranger...but no more interesting. The book is not even slightly scarey. I didn't realize it was supposed to be horror. I thought it was some f'd up erotica novel.

The sexual relationships between the adults weren't at all normal, and I found myself wondering if the author was a Virgin or something. Then bam, pedophilia. Then it all made sense, the author seems to have a great sympathy for pedophiles.

There's an explicit scene where a young child describes seducing a grown man, and it's made out like it was a perfectly fine thing, the adult merely did as the kid commanded, blah blah.

The book is garbage. It's not even well written or entertaining. I'm definitely not reading anymore Anthony books.
817703
I love Susan Elizabeth Phillips... Usually.  This one, her first novel, demonstrates how much even talented authors can grow over time.  My recommendation, skip this book.

This book has one engaging character: the abandoned tomboy turned bewildered-by-the-fuss supermodel... Ok, two, the equally abandoned closeted gay brother. The rest marinate in their flaws, dragging us into a mire of unpleasantness.

This book is NOT for people who have been raped, or abused.  This book MAY BE for people who enjoy wallowing in human misery and cruelty, for page after page; possibly for someone poor and bitter about the lives of the rich and famous, longing for schadenfreude?

By chapter 7, we've gotten to live through a lying gold-digger who monstrously neglects her child in revenge for an action done by an adult; an aging Lothario who can't stop bareback statutory rape; a ruthless tycoon who rapes and emotionally abuses his fiancee/wife; a tragically neglected closeted gay young man.

Betrayal and ickiness and selfishness and barbaric cruelty, against the backdrop of sophistication in 1950s-80s Hollywood, Paris, and New York. Supposedly this is a book about redemption and strength, but really, it's just too painful.
2709032
Avoid avoid avoid. So so bad.

Author feels like they are an expert when it comes to managing technical talent, but it comes woefully short.

Book is filled with tired cliches, forced writing. Absolutely soulless.

Do not waste your time. I cannot recommend this to anyone.
2249441
I get what the author was trying to do here.  Teen bullying and suicide are serious issues, and he wanted people to realize that their actions have consequences for other people.

This book, unfortunately, glorifies suicide by presenting it as a revenge game designed to vindicate the suicidal person by making everyone who hurt her feel forever guilty. And it worked; everyone on the tapes feels super guilty and walks around feeling sad for weeks, giving the impression that suicide is a great way to make people feel bad for hurting you.
I could easily see a teenager reading this, and coming away with the idea that "I will kill myself, that'll show them."  Because that's basically what this story amounted to.  The author didn't consult with a psychiatric professional and it shows, because it sends a message that is frankly irresponsible.

Troubling message aside, the book was extraordinarily melodramatic.  The "13 reasons" are largely petty and minor incidents of teenage drama.  Both individually and collectively, they don't rise to the level of credibly seeming like a reason for suicide.  Yes, teens are melodramatic but this really was a stretch.

The main character seems to want people to read her mind and then gets upset when they don't connect seemingly innocuous actions like getting a haircut with some trivial incident from months or years before that still bothers her.  Again, irresponsible- hopefully nobody gets the message that people not identifying your haircut as a cry for help isn't a reason to commit suicide.

The writing itself was bad.  It rapidly switched back and forth between the suicide tapes and a first-person commentary on them, making it hard to follow.  Characters were more like charicatures, flat and one-dimensional.

There are other books out there that deal with the issue of suicide in a much more skillful manner.  This book was badly written, tasteless, immature, and irresponsible.
4752343
Another pseudo intellectual or would be `therapist'?  Who does she think she is?? High handed is the phrase that comes to mind.  The authors fear of her own death and of living a full life is readily apparent, cloaked in `California speak' ramblings. She needn't foist this on the public.

Better off continuing her own long journey at a competent therapist's office.

Save your money.  EVERYONE seems to pretend to be an `author' these days.

My suggestion? Beg for your tech job back, Amy, M.A.
4809733
The author here  comes off as the worst sort of
armchair psychologist, giving all sorts of "facts"
about why Hank did things, much as Goldman did
in his books about Elvis and John Lennon.
I find this sort of writing repulsive and unacceptable.
It's like reading an episode of "Behind The Music" which
was written by a guy in polyester pants and a nylon
shirt with plastic pearl buttons who's just scored
himself an "A" in Psychology101.
Woo hoo buddy.  High fives.