How can you have a future if you can’t accept your past?
Mel Hannigan doesn’t have it easy. Mourning the death of her firework of a brother, trying to fit back into a school she’s been conspicuously absent from and struggling to deal with the loss of three friendships that used to mean everything. Struggling to deal with a condition that not even her closest friends know about.

So Mel tries to lock away her heart, to numb the highs and lows, to live quietly without hope – but also without pain. Until someone new shows her that it can be worth taking a risk, that opening up to life is what can make it glorious…

And that maybe, Mel can discover a tragic kind of wonderful of her very own.

 

Mel is dealing with the loss of her brother, the loss of her 3 bestfriends, and being diagnosed with Bipolar disorder.

A Tragic Kind of Wonderful is exactly what the title states. A story where Mel’s character gripped me from the first chapter, her family sucked me in, the mysterious slow reveals of her old friendship days, her personality and genuine care of other people.

All the characters in this story are so important to Mel’s journey and there are done so well, every character introduced felt real, there are fights, moodiness, days where it’s hard and good days too.

This book made me go through so many feelings and that’s exactly what a contemporary should do in my mind. I laughed at Mel and David’s honest and upfront conversations. I cried for Mel and Zumi’s friendship, I was gripping the book at all the memories of her brother. The flow of the story mixed with character relationship is so well done I was smiling on one page and nearly crying on the next.

The portrayal of bipolar was well done in my opinion, I lived with a family member of my partners for a while that has bipolar (in no way does this make me an expert) and I’m glad Eric showed that there are all different types of Bipolar it’s not a one for all and people are a spectrum. The therapist relationship, talking about medication and how Mel felt all through the book was refreshing to see and I liked that our main character wasn’t ashamed by taking her medication.

4/5 stars

I recommend this to contemporary lovers, people who love a story that makes you feel all the feelings, and most of all someone who loves Character driven plots because this is essential the story of the messy life of a 17 year old who you couldn’t help but love.

 

Thank you to Harper Collins for a free copy in exchange for an honest review