REVIEW: Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone

(Summary from 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 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

I literally LOVED this book. It is so beautifully written and amazing. Sam has OCD and it isn't what you typically think of when you think OCD (obsessively clean and tidy). She keeps her OCD from all her friends except Caroline. 

I love the friendship that she finds with Poet's Corner. They truly understand her even if they don't know everything about her. They want to be there for Sam whereas her real friends aren't there for her. I love that all the people in Poet's Corner are different. They aren't the popular people, but the people who need a place to feel accepted. I really wish everyone had a place like that in school. 

The fact that mental health is brought up in this book is why I love it so much. It isn't the typical story of mental health. This it not the typical YA book… honestly it is different. It is older somehow. There are some books that are for younger YA audiences, and I feel like this one is for everyone (if not the older audience of YA). 

Honestly an amazing book. Definitely one of my favorites of the year (tied with All the Bright Places). 

Beautifully written story with a powerful message. Everyone needs to read it. 

Five out of five stars.