Book Review - Solitaire by Alice Oseman

Solitaire by Alice Oseman

I wanted to start off this review by saying that I loved this book. I think it was a really great story that wrapped itself up very nicely. With that being said though, this book isn't for everyone. There's nothing very graphic since it is a YA book, but there are several content warnings that you should be aware of before reading this book including references to suicide, self-harm, depression, eating disorders, obsessive-compulsive behavior, homophobia, and misogyny. 

Tori Springs is a 16-year-old girl who's bored, frustrated with the world, and doesn't know what to make of everything in her life. One day she's at school when she follows a Post-It note trail and it leads her to Solitaire. Solitaire runs a blog that plans to document pranks done at school. However, these pranks start to disrupt Tori's life. Michael Holden is one of these disruptions. He makes it one of his goals to investigate Solitaire, and he brings Tori along for the ride which she thinks is annoying. 

I'm glad that I haven't read this book until now. I think that if I had read this in high school I would've hated it because I see a lot of self in Tori. This book essentially describes a lost, broken girl trying to figure out where she belongs. You can feel Tori's battle with depression throughout the entire story and you're right there with her when she belongs to spiral. Michael Holden is such an endearing character. The way he calls Tori out and tries to help her just pulls at my heartstrings. I really liked how Oseman portrayed their relationship. Although Michael helps Tori, it's not like her depression is just gone. She still struggles, but he helps her identify the positives in life and in turn, she helps him do the same. 

This was such a heartwarming story, albeit a bit sad, and I'd recommend this to readers as long as they're aware of the content warning.