Counting Wolves by Michael F. Stewart

Goodreads Summary

*NO SPOILERS*

I asked for this book for christmas because I remember reading the synopsis and being interested. That was a long time ago so when I actually started reading it I was a little confused. At the beginning there is a feel of magic and fantasy but I kept reading and found out that it is actually a mental health book. I usually go into books blind and knowing as little about them as possible, which is probably why I was confused. So if you are interested in learning about mental health and kind of how they can interrupt someone’s life, then this is a good place to start. I am a firm believer that everyone should be aware of mental illnesses and be somewhat educated about mental illnesses. I hate to say it but mental illness is ever growing in our society and more people should be aware so they can better understand someone’s situation should they run into someone with a mental illness. Anyway, back to the book, I don’t necessarily like the cover so no extra brownie points there, but the story was solid. I like how the author portrayed the characters and their problems that they deal with. I haven’t really read any mental health books quite like this, like I said there is a bit of a magical feeling to it because that is how the main character views the world. The originality was there but I feel like the writing wasn’t as smooth as it could have been. There were a few places in the story I felt like there was a gap of something missing, or maybe a phrase or paragraph didn’t sound right. I felt like this book was predictable and I never really had to guess about what would happen but I still enjoyed reading it somehow. There was just something about this book that made me like it, maybe it was the fact that I was getting insight to the thoughts and actions of people that deal with mental illnesses on a daily basis. I am very grateful to say that I am privileged to live life without a mental illness and I can’t even imagine what it would be like. Getting to read about the other side of the spectrum really opens my eyes to things I would have never thought to be hard to do in everyday life. People with mental illnesses should really be given a medal at the end of each day because the stuff they deal with is tough! (based on what I have read from books and heard from testimonials). But because of the fact I don’t know what it is like, it was hard to fully connect with the characters. I could empathize with them but that is about it.  On another note the only emotion I felt while reading was sadness, my heart hurt for those kids because of the things they were going through. All in all, it could have been better, but it was still a pretty good book. I encourage you to try it out if you think you might like it or have any sliver of interest in it.