Worst Perfect Moment

Have you ever gone to take a drink of something, only to realize it's not what you were expecting? Dr. Pepper instead of Coke, iced tea instead of soda, or grain alcohol instead of water? (Was that last one just me in college?)

Even if you genuinely like the thing you wound up with, usually your brain throws up an error. If we attribute it to evolution, your brain likely has some wiring that's always on-guard for suspicious food. It thus sets a baseline, and will alert you via your tastebuds when things don't align. It's almost like you're not tasting the drink at all, you're instead tasting your body's chemical alert system.

I've encountered similar issues when consuming media, especially books. Sometimes it's as simple as I'm not in the right mood to enjoy a serious movie or a silly TV show, even though I normally would be. Other time it's more specific to the media in question, where I go in expecting one thing and get something else completely different. If I was expecting something bad (or not expecting much at all), it's not really an issue. 

If I'm honest, I thought about just omitting this book entirely. I bought it on my own, so I didn't have any obligation to put it up. When I first spied the book, the style in my head was a Ned Vizzini-esque "depressing overall situation from the outside but with light-hearted moments and a unique perspective that, from the inside, isn't so bad."

What I got was more of diary through the depths of grieving your own death (for sake of argument, just trust me that the five stages of grief also apply even when you're grieving yourself). It was a slog (in terms of "spending lots of time exploring," not "boring and drawn-out") through depression, admittedly with some comic relief and tender, lighthearted moments. 

I guess you could technically classify this as a romance, but I don't think doing so benefited the book. It sets a hurdle the book isn't capable of but also is actively uninterested in clearing. It's more than that, richer and admittedly a bit crasser. I moved myself to recommend it after rereading it and realizing the problem wasn't with the book itself so much as my expectations of it. 

Don't bother to explore it if you want for a typical teen romance. Do dive in if you're looking for an emotional read about the breaking and mending (in the same a broken bone heals back stronger) of a family, of a life, of a heart. It's worth braving the depths.