REVIEW - SURVIVE AND KEEP SURVIVING BY MEL MALLORY

Title: Survive and Keep Surviving
Author: Mel Mallory
Publisher: West 44 Books
Genre: Hi-Lo, Poetry, Teens & YA
Release Date: 1st April 2022

BLURB from Goodreads
After being sexually assaulted at a party, Mara started experiencing paranoia and delusional thoughts which resulted in a public psychotic episode freshman year. Now a senior in high school, Mara feels like an outcast who would rather keep to herself than risk being judged. However, the only way she'll graduate is if she can pass her least favorite class: public speaking. Mara is ready to publicly reclaim her own story--but will she find acceptance this time around?

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PURCHASE LINKS
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REVIEW
It was the colours on the book cover that first attracted my eye, then the title, it made me curious as to what this character had to survive and keep on surviving. It’s almost as if the cover is a sheet of paper Mara has been asked to write those words on to enforce that she is going to survive and keep on surviving and she has circled and circled the words in her determination to make sure she does survive. The colours of red and purple, anger and bruises, maybe its just me reading things into the cover but these were certainly the things that attracted me to the book to begin with.

Everyone is probably sick of hearing me banging on about Hi-Lo books, but I thoroughly enjoy reading them, and I feel anything to encourage a more reluctant reader is great. I’ll be totally honest there was a time I would have just glossed over reading anything that was labelled poetry, but these books published by West 44 Books have really opened my eyes and changed my mind about poetry and books told in verse.

It's difficult to say overly much about the book without giving the whole story so forgive me if I seem a bit vague. Mara went to a party and was sexually assaulted, since then she has naturally been trying to come to terms with what happened to her as well as attempting to battle her way through the feelings and issues the rape has caused. To make matters even worse for herself she had public. Mara feels like an outsider, always on the side lines, and she ends up preferring this that having to deal with being judged by others all the time.

I think the book deals with many, some still somewhat taboo subjects in this one short book. It does it all so well and I think this book could easily be used as a conversation starter for subjects such as rape, mental health, and peer pressure within the right supportive environment.

My immediate thought upon finishing the book, that I read in just one reading sitting/session were that this was yet another great, enjoyable read published by West 44 Books.

Summing up I would say this book deals with many heavy issues such as rape, mental health along with peer pressure and the demands and strains of coming of age.