My name is Andrea Ho, and I go to Kang Chiao International School. I have a passion for all things sports, art, and of course, reading! I started volunteering at my school library a few years ago, and my job is to categorize all the books, so I get to see many books that I wouldn't think of reading! This experience has truly opened up an opportunity for me to read genres and books that are unfamiliar to me. My goal this year is to read 100 books :)

To anyone but herself, Samantha McAllister appears to be one of the popular girls with straight teeth and perfect hair, but underneath the facade of her flawless life, she has a secret that she has struggled to keep for her entire life. Her mind is constantly consumed by Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), allowing unwanted worries and thoughts to control her consciousness. Her toxic coterie does not provide a loving environment for her illness, as she agonizes over every word, every action, every breath. Sam longs to stay in her beloved clique, so she keeps her new friend, Caroline, a secret. Caroline introduces Sam to the Poet’s Corner, a concealed room, home to the misfits of the school. She becomes enthralled with the corner, escaping her friends to go down to the magical room, where she can finally be herself. With time, she begins to find love with AJ and discover herself, without the cover of her masquerade. However, just when she thinks she is starting to get the hang of life, Caroline disappears. She discovers that Caroline never existed at all! Rather, she was only a figment of her imagination, fabricated to become what she was missing.

“OCD” is a word frequently thrown around to describe a perfectionist, but often the true meaning isn’t understood. In this book, Stone depicts one of the many types of the disorder, purely obsessional OCD, one that induces questioning of reality and self perception. When Sam refocuses her anxiety on her relationship and poetry, she begins to relax and her intrusive thoughts tend to consume her brain less and less. OCD crushes Sam over and over again, but she keeps fighting to become the person she longs to be, allowing those in her life to guide her along the way. Her relationships with her mother and psychiatrist bring out a realistic side of mental illnesses that are often romanticized and glossed over, elucidating her vulnerability. The subtle romance between her beautiful, broken character, and AJ’s kind, thoughtful character, creates a deep relationship through experiences and words. She builds up tension with every touch, every look, every moment, stripping our emotions apart and melding them back together. The two lovers brought out sides of each other that they didn’t know existed, and I became attached to these fictional characters, never wanting the story to end.

In “Every Last Word,” Tamara Ireland Stone portrays OCD with her intrinsic talent for words. She bridges the gap between the story and the readers, illustrating the emotions of a person with the disorder and the effects it can have on them and the people in their life. Stone captures the raw emotions and actions of the characters, inflicting them upon the audience, and opening up our hearts. There is something so real, so genuine about the novel - it’s a rendering of friendship, courage, and accepting yourself. The story is breathtaking, flowing seamlessly and effortlessly. It truly opened my eyes to the world of mental illnesses, illuminating that everyone is hiding something, and you don’t know what everyone is going through. I will cherish this story forever. Every Last Word.