Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone Narrator: Amy Rubinate
Published by Disney Electronic Content on June 16th 2015
Length: 8 hrs and 15 mins
Genres: Emotions & Feelings, Friendship, Mental Illness, Social Themes, Young Adult
Pages: 368
Format: Audiobook
Source: Free audiobook download from Sync summer audio pairings
Goodreads
If you could read my mind, you wouldn't be smiling.
Samantha McAllister looks just like the rest of the popular girls in her junior class. But hidden beneath the straightened hair and expertly applied makeup is a secret that her friends would never understand: Sam has Purely-Obsessional OCD and is consumed by a stream of dark thoughts and worries that she can't turn off. Second-guessing every move, thought, and word makes daily life a struggle, and it doesn't help that her lifelong friends will turn toxic at the first sign of a wrong outfit, wrong lunch, or wrong crush. Yet Sam knows she'd be truly crazy to leave the protection of the most popular girls in school. So when Sam meets Caroline, she has to keep her new friend with a refreshing sense of humor and no style a secret, right up there with Sam's weekly visits to her psychiatrist. Caroline introduces Sam to the Poet's Corner, a hidden room and a tight-knit group of misfits who have been ignored by the school at large. Sam is drawn to them immediately, especially a guitar-playing guy with a talent for verse, and starts to discover a whole new side of herself. Slowly, she begins to feel more "normal" than she ever has as part of the popular crowd . . . until she finds a new reason to question her sanity and all she holds dear.
Julie’s Review:
What I loved most about Every Last Word is it took me completely by surprise. Even knowing that our main character has OCD and is highly obsessive, I didn’t predict the extent or really see how the plot was going to play out. I could compare a lot of this book to a very famous movie, but then that would cause too many spoilers, so I won’t.
I loved Sam’s double personality – Summer Sam and Samantha of the popular girl crowd. I loved how she wanted to be one of those girls, her clique of best friends (who are really more mean girls than true best friends) but deep down knew she wanted better. I loved how she became stronger with her experiences and became empowered to make the changes she needed.
I really liked AJ, I mean, he plays the guitar. Nuff said. But he’s not perfect either, and his tendency to strum with an invisible guitar pick really helped him get Sam. He’s definitely keeper material, someone who won’t run off when things get weird.
I loved the secret poetry club, from the quirky members and their fun, deep, silly, moving, poems, to the founder herself and the role she played in the way the plot unfolded.
I listened to the author afterword on the audio book and really appreciated how much research and effort went into making this story real and believable.
This was my first book by this author, but I’ve seen her before at Teen BookCon and she has been on my to-read list for a while. I’ll be reading more by her for sure. The audio was also nicely done. A great read thanks to SYNC.
[…] Every Last Word Review […]
I loved this book! The only issue I had was a twist at the end that didn’t really fit with her OCD diagnosis. Other than that one technicality, I thought it was a great portrayal of someone with OCD. Great review.
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Well, I suppose it goes with her obsessive thoughts in a way, but I agree it felt like a different disorder. Still a great read 🙂 Glad you loved it too!