THIS BOOK IS JUST BEAUTIFUL.

I LOVED the plot, the characters and basically everything! I have no regrets reading this book. I never expected that a book with a theme of suicide and depression could be this good and could be this full of hope. But My Heart and Other Black Holes completely denied my expectations. Aysel and Roman were really dedicated to help each other die, but truly one spark can change everything. 

Aysel's voice in this book is vivid yet messy at the same time. It's very easy for a reader to relate to her and situations in her life. Same goes with Roman, Aysel's suicide partner.

Among all of the things that I liked about this book, what really stood out to me was the message that the author wanted us to have. Suicide is not the answer to depression. Sometimes we are put into situations just like Aysel and Roman, and we feel like those could ruin our lives forever. We shouldn't keep on blaming ourselves for the wrong things we may have done. Instead, we should start forgiving ourselves and learn from those. If ever we are put into these situations, or depression triggers us, the best way is to talk to someone, and maybe find inspiration from them. 

I am hands down impressed with Jasmine Warga, and I can't wait to read more of her works in the future!

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Have you read My Heart and Other Black Holes? What do you think? Leave a comment! 

Received an arc in exchange for an honest review

Title: And We Stay

Author: Jenny Hubbard

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Publication date: January 28, 2014

Hardbound: 240 pages

Rating: 4/5 stars

And We Stay is a wonderful masterpiece of prose and poetry. It's a book that mirrors the loss and tragedy of Emily's life through the main narrative and through Emily's own poetry. I've never come across a book that has tackled death and loss the way Hubbard did it in her book. Although I hate chapter in betweeners, in this novel I felt like Emily's poetry was complementary to the story and was essential to drive the plot further. At some point, I even felt like I wanted to read the poetry more than the actual narrative, as Emily became even more real through the poetry.

And We Stay was a quick read, despite the theme to be very tragic. A lot of issues such as abortion, suicide and depression were brought to light in the story, something that is very challenging to do in a decent way. I also found the characters to be very real and relatable - Emily, Paul, her friends, teachers, everyone. All the characters are believable, none of them being overly dramatic or angsty, and their actions properly justified. This is the kind of book that I felt like so many things were happening, but nothing was happening much at all. And We Stay didn't jam pack you with too much events but you could feel things happening for the characters, especially Emily as she comes to terms with her grief. Thus, there was a very calm and poetic atmosphere while reading the book - something that I appreciated immensely. There were no screaming and bawling dramatic intense scenes. It was very simple and silent, which I loved. I also love how they paralleled Emily to Emily Dickinson, I felt like it was very apt and a unique way to go with the story while at the same time having the readers learn more about Dickinson.