Suicide Notes by Michael Thomas Ford

When fifteen-year-old Jeff wakes up on New Year's Day to find himself in a hospital psychiatric ward, bandages on his wrists, he's certain it's all a huge mistake. Jeff knows he's not like the other kids in there. They've got problems. But a funny thing happens as his forty-five-day sentence drags on - the crazies start to seem less crazy. Suicide Notes examines that fuzzy line between "normal" and the rest of us.

(Summary from back of book)

Hmm. I think this book is really hard to sum up. Yes, as some of you may have noticed, it took me around a week and a half to get through it which is why my blog has been completely dead for a while. But even though it was a drag, I can't stop myself from thinking about it. The book itself is far from perfect when you look at the writing, the plot, and the character development, but when you take in all the emotional parts of the book, you can't help but stop to take a second look. Michael Thomas Ford knows how to write to touch our feelings and that's the main purpose of the story; to get you to feel as Jeff feels and see the world through his eyes. And in that aspect, the book succeeds. I really felt as if I was looking at my normal life in a new way; through the eyes of a troubled and suicidal teen. That is not a view point I'd normally get, but the author was able to get me to step out of my shoes while reading the book. I was laughing out loud, gagging disgustedly, and crying along with Jeff. Maybe the plot got a little slow in parts...which is why it took me so long to finish, but the point is that the story was drawing enough to me that I had to come back and finish it. It's not anything spectacular, but I'd recommend it because it really made me think in a different way. It's worth the read, I'd say.

Suicide Notes will be released on October 14, 2008.