A Divided Mind by M. Billiter

☆☆☆☆☆
ebook, 322 pages
Expected publication: July 27th 2019 by Tangled Tree Publishing
About the Book:
Sometimes that little voice in your head isn’t always yours.
What if the only friend you have isn’t real? When the voices in his head begin to make sense, high school senior Branson Kovac turns to the one friend he’s still got… only to discover he’s not really there.

You can’t fix everyone. You can only help mend. Or help improve upon the situation.

Only a few pages into A Divided Mind, my heart was already in my throat. I could tell this was going to be one powerful read. This story is told via dual points of view, by Branson and his mother, in alternating chapters. M. Billiter writes with such incredible care and sensitivity, I felt connected to each of these characters on a deeply personal level, whether I'd faced their struggles or not.

This is a confronting book in many ways. It addresses immensely challenging issues and contains a side that is absolutely horrifying. I'm not sure I can think of many other fiction writers who've shown the level of compassion that the author does here. She drew me into her characters' lives. I watched their situations unfold as if they were happening to dear friends. I felt for them even when they made choices I would never make myself.

Novels that do this are so important! This is the kind of story that helps us understand one another. It will resonate with anyone who has considered the issues that arise with mental illness, especially schizophrenia, and the complicated relationships among family. A Divided Mind will move you and give you a multitude of things to think about long after you finish reading.

Thank you NetGalley, M. Billiter and Tangled Tree Publishing for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an impartial review; all opinions are my own.

#AdividedMind #NetGalley