Book Review: Every Last Word

One of my recent reads was the young adult novel Every Last Word, written by Tamara Ireland Stone. This book offers a unique perspective into the life of Sam, a teenager living with Obsessive Compulsion Disorder. She deftly navigates both the secretive inner world of her mental illness and the external world of her friends and high school, finding solace in her passion for swimming. Upon meeting Caroline, a new girl at her school, Sam is introduced to a group of teens who are not only supportive but push Sam to reveal more of herself. She gradually begins to grow away from her old friends, but when a reality comes to light Sam begins to question just how deep her OCD has affected her.
There is a lot that this book gets right, the first being that it features a complex and relatable protagonist. Sam is quite fragile in many ways, but her inner strength still manages to radiate from the pages of Every Last Word. Many of the other characters, namely Sue, AJ and Hailey, are also wonderfully developed and play unique rolls in Sam's life. This novel is also well-written, and the author does a great job of incorporating poetry into the fabric of the narrative. A final positive element about Every Last Word is just how well it manages to dive into the essence of someone's mind who is dealing with OCD. This book doesn't make Sam out to be a victim of an illness, but rather makes her seem like a normal and relateable human being just like anybody else.
Where this book falls just a bit short for me personally was creating an emotional attachment to the characters. Although I thought that Sam was very well-developed and complex, I still didn't have much stake in her journey throughout the plot. I didn't feel for her at all, nor did I feel any sort of emotional attachment to any of the other characters. Another element that didn't work was the plot twist towards the end, as I was expecting it from early on in the book. Lastly, I found the character of Caroline to be a bit bizarre. I liked that she represented Sam's strength and positive traits, but how Caroline was developed and introduced to the reader just didn't sit quite right.
Overall, Every Last Word is a well-written young adult novel that certainly delivers on creating a relatable and likeable protagonist, an intriguingly unique storyline, and it gives great insight into the inner world of suffering from OCD. However, it still falls somewhat flat in a few areas and perhaps doesn't quite reach its full potential. Overall, if you are looking for a new book to read that has equal parts real-life issues, romance, tenderness, and humor then this might just be a book that I would recommend you give a try.
Author: Tamara Ireland Stone
Genre: Drama/Mental illness/YA

Pages: 355

Year Published: 2015

My Rating: ★★★☆☆

How Photography Has Changed

Making pictures in both an authentic and creative way is truly an impressive art. As a photographer I often feel that this amazing form of communication and self-expression is slowly being lost to the modern world that is completely saturated with visual content on a 24 hour basis.
There is absolutely no denying the fact that many incredible steps have been taken in the world of photography since its inception. I am extremely grateful that I can pursue my passion for making pictures without the need of a darkroom, bottles of chemicals, and regular purchases of film to fulfill my impulses. I have the ultimate luxury of making essentially as many photos as I want and within a couple minutes viewing them all on a screen in front of me. I can manipulate and edit to my heart's desire, and I know that Ctrl-Z will always be there for me if I screw up, rendering my original image undamaged. I have had only a minimal level of experience working with film, but still experienced enough problems to know that I should be thankful for the photographical modernities that exist in today's world.
But I also sometimes ask my self, what has been lost? Making photography easier and accessible to a wider audience has rendered it less of an art, and the handful of people out there who are truly passionate and gifted simply need to work that much harder to become known in the photographic world. There is also the problem with image overload, as websites and apps like Instagram and Flickr have made photos become things that nearly everyone interacts with on a daily basis. As more people start seeing images constantly, there is less appreciation for just how much time, thought, and passion went into making that photo.
So maybe next time we're all scrolling through our Instagram feeds, we should take a few moments to really look at each photo we're viewing. Why was the image taken in the first place, and what is it trying to communicate? What do you feel when you're looking at it? Photographs are amazing works of art that communicate myriad emotions, beliefs, cultures, and people from all corners of the globe. Just because there are more than ever before doesn't mean they should be any less valued.