On A Scale of 1 to 10

On A Scale of 1 to 10

This is a story I found on a pile of advanced copies at work, and I had little to no idea what it was about. The summary was short, but the query letter implored to read to the very end without stopping because it would be too gripping of a story to put down. Had I known this I would have started reading a little earlier in the night to avoid being up past one a.m. I ate every detail of this book till there was nothing except the end of the book left. For a debut author this book is a brilliant way to start an author’s career.

Mental disorder is a timeless topic that is constantly underwhelmed on social media and in society as a whole. People with mental disorders whether it be on the positive side with autism, asp burger, down syndrome, etc. to the negative side with anorexia, bulimia, bipolar, suicidal, etc. are easily forgotten in this world if they’re not seen on a trending news article or posts on social media. They are people the same as anyone else that need understanding and patience.

I loved everything to do with this book. Each character had a unique personality and disorder that balanced each other out. Tamar wasn’t an angsty teenager like most teen characters in psychiatric wards are written. She followed the rules and genuinely wanted to get better even though she felt like she didn’t deserve the treatment.

The story went back and forth between the present and Tamar’s past which led her to the present. Throughout the book Tamar accuses herself of being a murderer because of her best friend’s suicide which causes her to self-harm. She started with cutting then started coming up with other ways to end her life such as sleeping pills, drowning, and hanging. Some of these scenes are explicit but it’s better that way because watering down the scene only muddles its purpose for sharing details about what goes on during those dark moments.

In a way, this book is a young adult contemporary equivalent to One Who Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Every character has their own disorder, a unique personality, and goal.

This book is not for the faint of heart, but it is for those who want to understand those with mental disorders and love a thrilling read.