About the Book
Title: A Danger to Herself and Others
Author: Alyssa Sheinmel
Series: none
Genre: YA Contemporary
Edition Read: Paperback
Pages: 336
Dates Read: December 4 – 6, 2023
Blurb: Only when she’s locked away does the truth begin to escape…
Four walls. One window. No way to escape. Hannah knows there’s been a mistake. She didn’t need to be institutionalized. What happened to her roommate at her summer program was an accident. As soon as the doctors and judge figure out that she isn’t a danger to herself or others, she can go home to start her senior year. In the meantime, she is going to use her persuasive skills to get the staff on her side.
Then Lucy arrives. Lucy has her own baggage. And she may be the only person who can get Hannah to confront the dangerous games and secrets that landed her in confinement in the first place.
Review
Before the review, a funny story. I received this book as a gift for the TBTB Secret Santa a few years ago. When you sign up for it, they ask for you to link a wishlist or GoodReads list so that people can gift you books that you are looking for. That year I got this book and another book . . . neither of which I had ever heard of before. I hadn’t even heard of the author. It was a bit strange, but you know me – I love reading just about anything. It sat on my shelf for a while before I finally gave it a go and I am so glad that I did!
Hannah is a very interesting narrator to read. She’s not necessarily likeable. She’s arrogant, manipulative and thinks she’s the smartest person in the room at all times. She’s also, as we find out more and more as the story goes on, an extremely unreliable narrator, as we never get a full account of what led her to be institutionalize until later on in the book. All we know is that something happened and, according to her, it was all a misunderstanding. She’s not supposed to be there. The doctors are wrong. The security is wrong. Her school and her parents are wrong. It was all a big mistake.
Or was it. As the story goes on, we start to see a load of inconsistencies in Hannah’s story. It’s not that she’s lying – she firmly believes her story – but there are a lot of things that don’t quite add up. And then there is Lucy. Lucy is also not exactly who she appears to be and learning the truth about her is one of the biggest plot twists of the whole book (so naturally I won’t spoil it here). All I can say is that it was one hell of a rollercoaster ride from start to finish. I am so glad that I read it.
GoodReads rating: 5 stars
Categories: Books I've Read
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