Review : My Heart and Other Black Holes by Jasmine Warga
My Heart and Other Black Holes by Jasmine Warga
Pages : 302
Genre : YA, Contemporary
Stand alone
My Rating : 3.5/5
About the Book :
There’s only one problem: she’s not sure she has the courage to do it alone. But once she discovers a website with a section called Suicide Partners, Aysel’s convinced she’s found her solution: a teen boy with the username FrozenRobot (aka Roman) who’s haunted by a family tragedy is looking for a partner.
Even though Aysel and Roman have nothing in common, they slowly start to fill in each other’s broken lives. But as their suicide pact becomes more concrete, Aysel begins to question whether she really wants to go through with it. Ultimately, she must choose between wanting to die or trying to convince Roman to live so they can discover the potential of their energy together. Except that Roman may not be so easy to convince.
My Thoughts :
Depression, suicide; My Heart and Other Black Holes sure deals with some heavy topics. There seems to be a lot of these books recently, and personally, I’m all for it; we need to have more open and honest discussions about mental illnesses and their ramifications, and I feel like YA fiction is an especially important space for these conversations.
I was glad to see that Jamine Warga’s novel treated the topic of depression with all the care it deserved. It’s not a mere plot point, nor is it treated lightly. While I’ll admit the book didn’t pull my heartstrings as much as I expected it to, it was still profoundly serious and devastating. Through her days I could feel Aysel’s despair, and her narration described very well the state of her depression. It’s not romanticized or idealized, fortunately, but hard and scary. She went through a lot because of her father, something not a lot of people could understand, and I felt deeply sorry for her.
There were a few aspects I appreciated a little less in the story, but mostly, my problem was with Roman. I liked the guy, and he was a nice enough character. He had a sad story of his own, heartbreaking really, and a mother who brought a touch of love the story really needed. This is all good. My problem was more with the fact that Roman is the catalyst for Aysel’s decision to live (if not the main motivation). It was a bit of the same thing in Finding Audrey, as Kathy mentioned in a comment; but here it was even more noticeable. I know love is a powerful force, so I get it; but I’d really love to read more YA novels where romance doesn’t save the day. Why not a friend? A family member? Therapy? Maybe it doesn’t sound as exciting, but in the real world, romance doesn’t always happen when you need it most. It can also be a little unhealthy to obsess with, I feel.
But on the flip side, the author also explored how the relationship affected Roman, and I think there were some good and different thoughts there. So, not all bad; just not as strong as I would have wished it. Despite my mini-rant about the romance, it’s also important to note that Aysel isn’t suddenly completely “cured” when the book ends; she has a lot of work ahead of herself to feel better, but we leave her trusting she now has a better support system in place. And that, I felt, was the most important.
All in all, I really appreciated my time reading My Heart and Other Black Holes. It was heartfelt and realistic, serious but not too pessimistic. It’s a good book on a difficult topic, one that I feel will make it easier for people having not dealt with depression to understand it a little more. I’m also hoping to read more from Jasmine Warga in a near future.
I agree! I want to read about young women finding strength inside themselves instead with some guy. We all know no one else can really and truly makes us happy – we have to do that for ourselves.
Exactly! I always feel a bit worried about characters who placed too much importance on someone else for their happiness. What if something horrible happens? If they leave you, get in an accident, or if it just simply doesn’t work out? It’s a lot of pressure to place on someone, too.
You make some great points here! I found this book very moving but you are giving me more things to think about. We read this one for book club and I don’t think talked about Roman as the catalyst for Aysel choosing to live. Definitely food for thought!
Agreed that it would be great to show something other than romance as the healing force. I don’t often see therapy and medication shown in a positive light in YA, and I think that’s unfortunate.