Whisper to Me by Nick Lake [ARC]

Cassie hears voices. Actually, it’s just one voice. And because of this voice, she ended up breaking a boy’s heart. As Cassie reconciles the events of one fateful summer, she will come to a better understanding of who she is. Even if he doesn’t forgive her, at least she’ll know that she tried.

I had absolutely no idea what to expect from this book when I started it but I ended up really liking it. It almost reads like an A.S. King novel, but without the magical realism. Our narrator, Cassie, is very frank and informal with the reader. The whole book is actually an email that she’s writing to this unnamed boy explaining why she did the things that she did. Because of that there’s a lot of, “But you already know this, I just wanted to give you my perspective.” There’s a lot of her talking to “you” which I didn’t find that I minded much, but I could see it being annoying for some people.

I don’t know much about mental illnesses in general, but especially those where the individual hears voices. I thought that the book did a really good job of being educational in that way, though I have no idea how accurate it is. The characters are interesting and flawed and I liked that they all felt like whole people–not just cardboard cut-outs.

The plot itself meanders a bit, but it’s not supposed to be the focus of the story so it was okay. I thought the romance proceeded at a natural pace and never felt like it was being rushed. Cassie’s other relationships throughout the book were equally as natural and genuine.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book but I would save it for more mature teens as it really deals with some heavy (and at times dark) stuff.

Overall Rating: 4
Language: Moderate. The narrator usually uses asterisks instead of swear words, but occasionally a swear word would crop up though I’m not sure if that was just because I was reading an ARC instead of a finished copy or if it was intentional.
Violence: Mild
Smoking/Drinking: Moderate
Sexual Content: Moderate

Note: I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.