We Are All So Good At Smiling

We Are All So Good At Smiling

By Amber McBride 

Audiobook read by the author

Published January 10, 2023 

My review 4.5 stars out of 5

They Both Die at the End meets The Bell Jar in this haunting, beautiful young adult novel-in-verse about clinical depression and healing from trauma, from National Book Award Finalist Amber McBride.

Whimsy is back in the hospital for treatment of clinical depression. When she meets a boy named Faerry, she recognizes they both have magic in the marrow of their bones. And when Faerry and his family move to the same street, the two start to realize that their lifelines may have twined and untwined many times before.

They are both terrified of the forest at the end of Marsh Creek Lane.

The Forest whispers to Whimsy. The Forest might hold the answers to the part of Faerry he feels is missing. They discover the Forest holds monsters, fairy tales, and pain that they have both been running from for 11 years.

This entire book is a metaphor for the fight that one has with their mental health. It is a beautiful story and one I can see sharing with my daughters. We are all fighting some kind of battle, even if it isn't against an actual mental health diagnosis.

There were two quotes that jumped out at me from this story. They might not be transcribed perfectly as I was listening while working. The first one is from around 14% in the book:

A rough day, a bad year -- does not equal a bad life.

It is a good reminder to stick on your mirror or in your phone to see every day.

 
The second one was around 53% of the way through:

Faerry points at my neck, "Sorrow left its fingerprints on you, it always does, doesn't it?"

Another one that makes you think of your own life, of the things that leave fingerprints on you.

I listened to this audiobook read by the author. It has a great note after by her as well as some resources. I would love to take a quick look at a hard copy just to see it. It is a beautiful cover.