Are We All Lemmings and Snowflakes?

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The depictions of the various mental illnesses was well done, I was able to identify Olive's illness almost immediately without being explicitly told what it was. I think it's good for people who don't have these issues to be exposed to them, as it helps fight mental health stigma which is still a huge problem in society. Because even though I won't let them tell me the official label for it, I know this is the truth. I know it is not *normal* to swing from euphoria to suicidal in one earthly rotation. The enormity of that presses down on my skull, travels down my spine, sends tingles of dread firing out through my frail, human body. I shake my head violently, trying to dislodge it. Because I am here to fix this. I am here to balance myself out. Here to heal. Here to get rid of this. It's ruined me three times, but not any more. Not again. I will get rid of this poison inside me.' (p111)* The concept intrigued me immediately. As a mental health warrior myself and having attended group treatment programmes in my youth, I had an understanding and personal attachment to the subject matter. However, I think that may have hindered my enjoyment of it somewhat, as any inaccuracies or problematic things, jumped out at me quite a bit. I do appreciate the concept really but I don't know, it's just hardly believable. Just because a group of teens decided to spread thousands of motivational messages from a rooftop onto the carnival doesn't mean it will compel people to be instantly kind and start hugging each other and that actually happened at the end of the story. Gah!

Book Genre: Contemporary, Fiction, Mental Health, Mental Illness, Romance, Young Adult, Young Adult Contemporary Spread the kindness virus with your own Prime Numbers group inspired by Holly Bourne’s latest release, Are We All Lemmings & Snowflakes? The novel is about a teenager called Olive who joins a summer camp, called Camp Reset, after finding herself in a dark place. But as she settles in she starts to wonder whether it’s the world that needs fixing, not her or her camp friends, so comes up with a plan to put things right. Holden, Lucy (19 June 2018). " 'Life isn't how it looks online.' Holly Bourne, the woman on a mission to end social-media envy". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460 . Retrieved 30 July 2018. I’m not going to go through every character but two who stood out, and I think were meant to stand out, are Jamie and Lewis. Jamie is the typical guy you’re supposed to like, all charming and boyish, whereas Lewis is the typical awkward, never-been-kissed type of guy and I have to admit, I didn’t like him to begin with. He did eventually grow on me, and Olive’s and his friendship was sweet, but personally I will always prefer Jamie.

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She appeared at the Edinburgh International Book Festival in 2018, alongside author Cat Clarke, discussing her book Are We All Lemmings and Snowflakes?, mental health, and resolve. [12] The event was chaired by author Alex Nye. [13] At Camp Reset, she meets a diverse bunch of teens displaying varying degrees of fragility. Cannabis psychosis, sexual abuse, self-harm, the heaviest of burdens. The febrile environment produces fiery disputes, sexual risk-taking, and at times blank despair, as these young people edge closer towards a tentative friendship. Their questions would test the wisdom of Solomon. Is mental illness preventable? What if the problem is not them but the world itself? Maybe the world needs to be fixed, and Olive is a girl with a plan.

We love the messages the book promotes; the need for kindness and empathy, space to be able to f*** up and not be eternally judged, patience and understanding whilst also trying to maintain self-awareness and take responsibility for our actions even those we feel we can’t control,” said producer Jessica Holyland. “Learning from all our experiences and not holding out for an all-encompassing ‘solution’ for our problems. Just trying to do the best we can and accepting who we are. Surely that’s all we can expect of each other.” Olive was kinda an unreliable main character because of her illness she has pretty erratic behavior through out the story. But i managed to related to her struggle so many times; her self hate and bad thoughts.... Olive goes with the hope of getting fixed, but what she gets is much more than she bargained for. It’s not just the noise, the other kids, the secret side projects, the American counsellors and the strange amount of alpacas that she has to deal with, it’s everything she thinks she is, colliding with the possibility that she doesn’t have to be this way. But collisions can have colossal consequences, and Olive may not be ready for what’s coming. In 2017 Bourne was a judge of the BBC Young Writers’ Award, along with Nikesh Shukla, editor of The Good Immigrant. [9] Fair warning: this book is not an easy read, especially if you’re dealing with mental heath issues on your own. Beware of the trigger warnings (listed below) and take care of yourself!Floored, novel by Eleanor Wood, Holly Bourne, Lisa Williamson, Melinda Salisbury, Non Pratt, Sara Barnard, and Tanya Byrne (2018) Are We All Lemmings and Snowflakes? by Holly Bourne is a gripping contemporary YA novel dealing with the issue of mental health. It revolves around Olive and more people of her age who suffers from mental illness and their shot at ‘normality’ at Camp Reset. Review: Cat Clarke and Holly Bourne - Finding Resolve, EIBF 2018 | The Fountain". The Fountain. 22 August 2018 . Retrieved 3 September 2018. A very good and nice message was definitely the one sent out in the end: you must be kind to yourself first. I strongly believe it is true, sometimes you really have to be a bit selfish and think about yourself if you want to be better and then be able to help others.

Bourne is represented by The Madeleine Milburn Literary, TV & Film Agency. [3] Her debut novel Soulmates was published in September 2013 by Usborne. [4]I think real kindness, real compassion, is having the strength to stop and try and see where another person is coming from. To try and work out why they’re being the way they’re being. It takes time and patience. It’s not as easy, but that’s real kindness.”

Young Adult fiction takes over the Edinburgh International Book Festival 2018". Edinburgh Festival. 12 July 2018 . Retrieved 3 September 2018. a b Sheffield, University of (21 August 2014). "Holly Bourne: journalist, novelist, Sheffield graduate - Latest news - Journalism Studies - The University of Sheffield". www.sheffield.ac.uk . Retrieved 15 May 2018.Small note: I’m on a blog hiatus from today-tomorrow to July, 7th and will only answer to comments and see your wonderful blogs again then. See you soon xx Author Anna Kemp introduces The Hollow Hills, the sequel to her dark magical tale, Into Goblyn Wood. While struggling with the world and herself, Olive still had such a sassy personality it made me laugh and say oh yeah i can relate to this and that. Something I truly appreciated was the fact that the author decided to include a story about traumatic labour. Olive’s mother wasn’t well after the birth of her baby girl. I think this is a very important issue that sometimes women are scared or uncomfortable to talk about. Labour can be a traumatic experience. Sometimes what should have been a beautiful moment unfortunately isn’t and it’s totally fine to suffer and to seek help and guidance to go through this dark time. I think this book is such a powerful and a must read because it portrays such a powerful and heartfelt message that could really change the world some day.