Every Last Word Review
I have said this probably before in my All The Feels review and other reviews too and one day I will probably have to make a most relatable character post listing the characters I really connect to, but honestly the main character of Samantha and the book Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone, connected with me so much that I had to put the book down at points. I didn't put it down due to bad writing or annoyance with the characters, but the book was so real to me It was bringing back feelings and emotions that I not only knew were realistic and good representation because of what others have said, but because I had felt them myself in the past and even today.
I am not very open with talking about my anxiety. It is pretty personal for me and I am not big on talking about it very openly. The subject for me is just a very private and personal matter that I don't really like talking about. However, for the sake of this review I do have to explain a bit of my own personal history with it to help support the positive representation I believe this book has. I do not have OCD, so I do not feel as I can give a 100% accurate response to if the OCD representation in this book is accurate and good rep. For that I would advise checking other reviews that are own voice (though I am pretty sure I have seen a few own voice reviews myself that have stated this book is good representation), however for the rep related to Samantha's anxiety I feel I can give more of an insight to this. I have lived with anxiety issues for years now, I know what it feels like to have an attack or feel like things are too much in that moment or have attacks for no reason or be overwhelmed by large crowds in a room or feel that other people are secretly hating or judging you or the inability to no over analyze something for the rest of the night you just did 10 minutes ago. I know all of these feelings. This is what anxiety is or at least how it is to me. I have felt all of these things and more and in the book, there were so many things that Samantha felt that made me just want to cry because I knew. I understand what it felt like to have intrusive thoughts, I understand the feeling of having to leave a situation because you are feeling anxious, I understand the random attacks brought on by nothing or everything. Those are all things that Samantha feels, some even in the first few pages. The first part of the story with Samantha feeling anxious and having to leave the room her friends were in was just so real to me. I honestly had to put the book down. So much of the things Samantha feels were relatable and thought I do not have OCD, I was extremely happy with Samantha explaining that everyone with OCD being extremely neat was a misconception.
The poetry corner was an awesome part. When you have such a large cast of major and minor characters it can be hard to keep up, but the author did a great job of helping to have different characters show their stories and emotions through the poetry even if we did not get to spend as much time with those characters as others. I really loved the character of Caroline and was shocked when the twist came. That was one of the other times I had to place the book down and process what I had just read. I do not want to give the twist away, but I will tell you it is a big one and one I did not see coming.
I really loved the fact that Samantha had a positive relationship with her therapist in the book. Sometimes in media therapy can be seen as a negative thing or used to make jokes. This portrayal however is one that is supportive, caring, and really shows to help Samantha. I really enjoyed the character of the therapist too as she was nice and really showed she was doing all she could to help Samantha.
The romance in the book was not one that I felt was all that great. It is not that I thought it was bad, it just was not as interesting or intriguing as I wanted it to be. Samantha and A.J. were cute at times, but they were not really a couple that I really shipped or were extremely interesting. This is nothing against them and if you like the romance in this book then good for you, just for me personally I did not think it was amazing. It was not a bad relationship, it just was not really the big chemistry filled type of romance I was hoping for. It is harmless, but honestly nothing to write home about. To be honest though, that is probably the only negative I have for this book and that being that the romance was just ok.
This book gets a 4 out of 5 stars from me. The characters and character development is great. The anxiety rep is spot on (again I would check own voice reviews for OCD rep). The twist I did not see coming. And without giving too much away I really loved the ending. I read a book similar to this one called Before I Fall and I really hated the way they played the popular girl sees a different outlook by end trope. This was almost the anti Before I Fall.
I am very grateful and happy to have read this book and I would recommend it to anyone whom is looking for awesome characters, a good story, positive relationships, interesting twist, and a great ending.
**** out of *****
