Review
I received a review copy of this book for my stop on the blog tour at Donnie Darko Girl.
Imagine if dreams were tangible, allowing you to walk through them at will. Reading Paper Soulswas like that for me - I felt like I was walking in someone else's dreams, namely those of Emily Colt, the protagonist. Without using quotation marks, the dialogue seemed muted, further lending to the novel's dreamlike quality, and I liked the way it read.
Emily is a character I'll still be thinking about long after the end of this book. She's certainly flawed, but we all are and this made her even more likable to me. It's annoying to read about a protagonist who's made out to be basically perfect. Emily has been in some extremely dangerous situations where, really, she's lucky to still be alive. Anything could have happened to her those times.
I have my B.A. in Psychology, though I'm currently not doing anything with my degree, and I was always fascinated by schizophrenia in my classes. Schizophrenia is easily misunderstood, and the media doesn't help with the general public's confusion surrounding it. This illness is complex and multi-layered, just like Emily. Allie Burke handles this topic with the utmost sensitivity while simultaneously laying bare the illness and what it can do to one's quality of life.
If you've been curious about schizophrenia and want to find out more about it without having to read a textbook, I highly recommend Paper Souls. The way this book is written is exquisite, and I could never hope to come close to adequately describing how beautiful and utterly heartbreaking this story is. You'll have to read it and find out for yourself.
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