THINGS I KNOW

This is a hard-hitting YA novel exploring suicide, mental illness and recovery, from author of The Gone Book (2020).

The novel centres on Saoirse (18) who can't wait to leave school - but just before the final exams her ex-boyfriend dies by suicide. Everyone blames Saoirse - even Saoirse herself, who cheated on him with his best friend. She is shunned by her schoolmates and suffers unbearable levels of anxiety. Everything becomes too much, and on the night of the school dance, Saoirse throws herself into the river - and wakes up in a psychiatric hospital. Slowly, painfully, with the support of a friendly hospital cleaner, her old best friend, her kind and hilarious grandmother, and even her irritating sister, Saoirse regains her sense of herself. Eventually she is ready for a new life, at university.

This novel will appeal Appeal to fans of Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher, The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness, The Fault in Our Stars by John Green