A Danger to Herself and Others

I really enjoyed this book, which I listened to on audiobook. The book was about Hannah, a girl who is institutionalized after an “incident” where her school roommate falls out a window. Hannah is being observed for signs of mental illness, too see if she was crazy and to try to see if she was capable of pushing her beloved friend out the window.

Hannah is obviously an unreliable narrator from the start. She tends to ramble and not always make sense but I really enjoyed listening to her. The book was an interesting depiction of mental illness and not really like anything I had read before. The plot line, and style of the book gave me similar vibes to the movie “The Uninvited” which I love, though without all the creepiness or mystery since this book is pretty straightforward: no creepiness, no big twists or surprises.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Hannah Gold starts as a typical unreliable narrator. She is institutionalized for reasons that are revealed in time, but one thing is clear from the beginning – Hannah is considered “a danger to herself and others.” She is kept isolated, not even leaving her room to use the bathroom. And then Hannah is assigned a roommate, Lucy, and she is determined to form a friendship that will prove to the doctors that she isn't mentally ill. Hannah believes that whatever event lead her to the institution was an accident and a misunderstanding, and she should be released.

I wanted to love this book, but it just didn't do it for me. I felt like pieces of Hannah's psychosis were revealed in the writing, but it was done in a way that made me think, “was that intentional or is the writing just repetitive?” I felt that the book didn't reach it's potential as an unreliable narrator story, nor did it take a deep enough look at a patient and her family coming to terms with her diagnosis. That said, this book will certainly have readers that love it, and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to students.