Insta Review: Cavlin, by Martine Leavitt

Insta Review gives you a new book recommendation in under a minute. Go ahead, time it!

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I never get tired of reading novels told from the viewpoint of an exceptional mind. Calvin has schizophrenia, and his visual and auditory hallucinations have become too much for him to handle on his own. After a breakdown at school, he finds himself in a mental hospital, with a new understanding in his life – he is Calvin. Like, THE Calvin, from Calvin and Hobbes. I mean, it all fits! So when his hallucinations take the form of a tiger named Hobbes and his estranged friend Susie visits him in the hospital, Cavin decides that the stars have aligned and the only way he will ever be cured is to get one last comic from the retired Bill Waterman that shows Calvin, grown up and sane. Calvin is willing to do anything to get that comic, including a wild, ill-planned romantic gesture that ends up putting him, and a person that he truly cares about, in serious danger. Calvin is quirky, heartfelt, and so readable. Normalizing health issues is as easy as providing readers with realistic, relatable stories to teach build empathy. Readers will see the peaks and valleys of schizophrenia in a whole new light after being stranded with Calvin and Susie for a day or two. The best stories are honest about hardship, but balance the tough truths with humor, heart, and hope – and Calvin has them all in spades. (Also, that #bookcover ! YA perfection.) #bookreview #youngadult #ireadya #weneeddiversebooks #schizophrenia #mentalhealthawareness #mentalhealth #calvinandhobbes

A post shared by Ms. Fitz (she/her) (@fitzbetweentheshelves) on Feb 19, 2018 at 2:31pm PST