Suicide Notes

by Michael Thomas Ford

[Angie]

Suicide Notes is a super quick read, chronically fifteen year old Jeff's stay in a mental institution. On New Year's Eve, Jeff attempted to kill himself, but was found by his parents. Now, he has 45 days to work through the whys of what he did. For being a book about teenage suicide, Jeff's story is kind of funny. Not that what he did was funny, but the way he tells his story with sarcasm and humor made it feel lighter than the situation calls for. He gives his psychiatrist and the nurses nicknames and goes off on random tangents. His voice just felt honest, even when he was avoid the root of the problem.

In the beginning of Suicide Notes, Jeff denies that anything is wrong and that he just did something stupid but wasn't trying to die. I think it's pretty obvious what caused him to do this, although not the specifics, especially knowing that this is GLBT fiction. I really liked how Jeff's sexuality wasn't the problem. He's a bit confused, but doesn't see anything wrong with being gay. I thought that was really great, since gay teens do have other issues to work through. This could have happened to anyone, but Jeff's sexuality just made it a bit more complicated.

I can't really say much about Suicide Notes, since it was super short and I don't want to give anything away. I loved the format of having Jeff take us through each day he was hospitalized. Sometimes it's just a dream he had that night, or hanging out with other patients, or his therapy sessions. Each day was something different so it never got repetitive or boring. It also ends on a hopeful note, so it's not an overly dark and heavy read. It's just real.

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