My Rating ~ Four stars

RELEASE DATE: 01 October 2019

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Format: Paperback

Pages: 343

RRP: AU$15.99

Blurb

Moya. The M Word. Whisper it. Conceal it. But please, never mention it…

Maggie Yates talks to her best friend Moya every day.

She tells her about Maggie’s mum losing her job. She tells her that Mum’s taken to not opening the curtains and crying in secret. And she tells her about how she plans to cheer Mum up – find her a fella with a bit of cash to splash.

Moya is with her every step of the way. You’re surfing a rainbow if you think someone like that exists round here, she smiles. But I’ll help.

But at the back of her mind Maggie knows that Mum’s crying is more than sadness. That there are no easy fixes. And that Moya’s not really there. Because though she talks to her every day, Moya died months ago …

Review

Thank you so much to Bloomsbury Australia for providing me with a copy of The M Word, in exchange for an honest review.

Maggie is trying to cope after losing her best friend Moya. Her Mum is going through a rough time too and their financial situation is looking worse by the day. Maggie doesn’t want to share too much with her therapist, she just wants to talk to Moya, so she does.

With subjects such as grief, depression, self harm, anxiety and suicide woven deep into the story, The M Word was at times a difficult read. The street style slang used throughout the book took me a minute to get my head around (me, an Aussie, getting me head around slang? I know.) but once I did, I loved what it added to the story. It somehow made it more real, the characters a little more relatable.

Watching Maggie battle through her grief, while trying to prop up her Mum, who was drowning in her own mental heath issues, was harrowing. The style of writing really made me feel as though I was inside Maggie’s head, it was almost like reading someone’s diary.

This book was a really interesting one I’m glad I read. If you’re looking for a YA read that’s raw and heart wrenching, give this one a try. I probably wouldn’t be comfortable recommending this one to younger YA readers though and I would suggest going in with caution if you have a history of self harming.