msjamgochian'sinfinitebooklist

A gorgeous, heart-wrenching, unforgettable read from award-winning Canadian author Miriam Toews, All My Puny Sorrows tells the story of two sisters, Elf and Frieda, living in the aftermath of their Mennonite upbringing and their father's suicide, and the love between them. Ms. Toews' tale masterfully blends dark and funny: just when the heaviness becomes too much, she adds a bit of lightness to keep you turning the pages. A stunningly spot-on portrayal of depression and the aching aftermath of suicide, not to be missed by fans of sad yet funny modern fiction. Click here for a full review.

If you only read one ya novel this year, All The Bright Places should be it. Theodore, suffering from bipolar disorder, and Violet, griefstruck after her beloved sister's untimely death, meet on top of a tower: he's about to jump off and she's considering it. He pulls her back from the edge, beginning a friendship that turns into a sweet, sad, intense romance as the two of them pair up on a class project that involves tooling around their home state of Indiana. Is there anything better than two broken misfits finding happiness, albeit temporarily, in each other? Ms. Niven masterfully, authentically, and mindfully depicts teen suicide (she is a survivor herself) without over-dramatizing or alienating her readers. The perfect match for fans of Eleanor & Park and The Fault in Our Stars. View all my reviews

PIAIL was probably not a clever reading choice for my recent stint in a hospital waiting room. Grim, grim, and more grim. Didion set a new benchmark for depressing novellas set in the 70s when she penned the story of 31-year-old Maria Wyeth, an out of work actress recovering from the mental breakdown she suffered after purportedly participating in a movie producer friend's suicide. Click here for the 1972 film adaptation's trailer, featuring actress Tuesday Weld.