Carry the Ocean by Heidi Cullinan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Received: Bought
Publication Date: April 7th 2015
Publisher: Samhain Publishing, Ltd
Point of View: 1st Person, Masculine & Alternative
Recommended Age: 14+
Genres & Themes: Adult, Contemporary, Psychological, Mystery
BLURB:
Normal is just a setting on the dryer.
High school graduate Jeremey Samson is looking forward to burying his head under the covers and sleeping until it’s time to leave for college. Then a tornado named Emmet Washington enters his life. The double major in math and computer science is handsome, forward, wicked smart, interested in dating Jeremey—and he’s autistic.
But Jeremey doesn’t judge him for that. He’s too busy judging himself, as are his parents, who don’t believe in things like clinical depression. When his untreated illness reaches a critical breaking point, Emmet is the white knight who rescues him and brings him along as a roommate to The Roosevelt, a quirky new assisted living facility nearby.
As Jeremey finds his feet at The Roosevelt, Emmet slowly begins to believe he can be loved for the man he is behind the autism. But before he can trust enough to fall head over heels, he must trust his own conviction that friendship is a healing force, and love can overcome any obstacle.
Warning: Contains characters obsessed with trains and counting, positive representations of autism and mental illness, a very dark moment, and Elwood Blues.
REVIEW:
Beautiful. Alternatively written from the point of view of an autistic boy and one suffering from depression, CARRY THE OCEAN, was both a gut-wrenchingly sad story and a heart-warming one. A very informative novel, too, shall I add! Now I know what it means for someone to have depression as mental illness, how an autistic boy around my age copes with the expectations of our dear society, and all of that thanks to a wonderful narration and immersion in the characters’ minds.
The introduction of a brand new character along the way took me by surprise. I wasn’t expecting him. Definitely not. But do not worry; if you may at first balk at welcoming him into the story, I am adamant that your opinion will change after learning and seeing more of him. A fantastic asset to a fantastic story!
Well done, Heidi Cullinan!
Sounds like a good balance of hard and positive emotions
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I’m glad you liked this one, I think I may check it out, I’m always looking for a deeper contemporary novel, and I like that this tackles tough issues well.
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That cover is really something. This sounds like an interesting look at how mental illness effects young people. I’m adding it to my list!
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There’s something so so intriguing about that cover. And you LOVED it so it really is worth checking out 🙂 Great review, Lola!! x
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It’s something quite interesting there, I haven’t reada book featuring something like that. It’s great that it was good once again. I should try.
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I am soooo adding this one to my TBR immediately…actually I might just go and buy the ebook right now too. It sounds great, thank you for sharing!
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