The Opposite of Falling Apart by Micah Good - AVERAGE

The Opposite of Falling Apart by Micah Good, 352 pages. Wattpad Books, 2020. $18.

Language: PG13 (25 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: PG; Violence: PG13

BUYING ADVISORY: HS - ADVISABLE

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

As 18yo the summer before starting college, Jonas and Brennan should be excitedly anticipating the transition to freedom away from home. Instead, both of these teens are struggling -- one with adjusting to life as an amputee and one with anxiety. After meeting due to yet more unfortunate and embarrassing situations in their lives, an unlikely friendship starts to form, giving both Jonas and Brennan hope to hold onto -- if they let themselves.

Being able to read from alternating points of view throughout this story brilliantly illustrated what I found to be the message from Good: everyone has insecurities. I loved being able to read the overwhelming and debilitating thoughts from both Jonas’s and Brennan’s points of view because I felt understood as I did. While I may not have the same issues as these characters, I have other issues that I feel vulnerable about sharing and that I try to hide. And I am not alone. I’m not the only one who overthinks and has hard days and doesn’t know how to handle a situation. It is okay that I don’t only have good days. Being able to relate to Jonas and Brennan and then read their happy ending gives hope to readers that our struggles can also be overcome to find our own happy endings.

Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen