Under Rose-Tainted Skies

by Louise Gornall

[Sam@WLABB]

Four years ago, Norah's life came to a standstill. She was once a "normal girl". She went to school, and had friends, but that was then. Now, her life was ruled by her fears and her OCD, and her only friend was her mother. Enter Luke, handsome, kind, and wonderful, Luke. The boy next door, and a person, who has the patience to see the funny and witty young woman, who is more than her illness.

I know what you're thinking! You think this is the boy-cures-her kind of book, but it isn't. UNDER ROSE-TAINTED SKIES is a wonderful examination of what it's like to live with mental illness, and a good reminder that people are more than their diagnoses.

I absolutely loved this book! It was so good, that I simply swallowed it whole. From the very first page, I was #TeamNorah. There was just something so magnetic about her, which took hold of me and didn't let go. First of all, I loved her sense of humor. Her observations and musings often had me laughing, and there were these moments, where the grip of her OCD loosened up, and she was just funny. Since the story was told exclusively from her point of view, I got to bear witness to all of Norah's thoughts, good and bad. Seeing these intimate pieces of her, made me want her to win those battles, big and small. I was rooting for her, and celebrating her successes, no matter what they were.

I also adored her relationship with her mom. It had pretty much been just the two of them against the world, and they had a rather beautiful relationship. You could tell, that Norah's illness was tough on her mom, but the woman loved her unconditionally, and made any and all sacrifices without complaint.

Luke was such a wonderful part of this story, too. I didn't only love him, because I adore a good romance, but I loved the way he saw past the illness. He accepted Norah whole, including all her limitations and boundaries, and he didn't try to change her. He was patient and kind, and just the sweetest unicorn of a boy.

I have read some rumblings about the ending, but I don't quite understand why. There is no "I'm cured!" moment, or anything like that. I had no problem thinking it was plausible given my experience with agoraphobics and those with OCD, and also the fact that this is an OwnVoices novel. I actually thought the exploration of mental illness was really well done.

Regardless, I found this to be quite an lovely and uplifting read. It was about facing those challenges, that life throws at you, digging deep to find the strength that you always possessed, and it left me in a state of utter happiness.

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