Week 38

We’ve entered that strange time of year where nobody quite seems to know what to wear, and I feel as though the pandemic has not made that system any easier. When you don’t go out all that often, how DOES one dress??

The good news is that reading doesn’t involve going out, generally speaking. Yay!

#59) YOU WILL GET THROUGH THIS NIGHT by Daniel Howell

Watching the evolution of Dan Howell has been a wild, delightful ride.

I’ve been watching his videos on and off since I was a teen, seeing him grow as a creator as I grew as a human person. This book feels very much like a natural evolution of that, where I’m reading it and evaluating it as a mental health professional.

Worth noting, though, that I think this book stands up perfectly well even if you’ve never watched his stuff. It is, primarily, a mental health book (written with a consulting psychologist, I believe), and there are only small mentions here and there to aspects of Dan’s YouTube career.

And, as a mental health book, I think it’s a pretty good primer to various strategies for coping with anxiety and depression. The theory behind it all is sound, and the activities suggested are similar to ones I use in my own practice. I also really like the idea of splitting the information into immediate, short-term, and long-term interventions.

As a therapist, this didn’t necessarily give me any new information, but I think it would be a really helpful book for a layperson wanting to improve their mental health. It’s all delivered in a very accessible, good-humoured way, and I would very much recommend it to anyone looking for tools for managing stress/anxiety/depression.

#60) PRINCESS OF LIGHT by Marie Bilodeau

Disclaimer: I was given an ARC of this book in exchange for a fair review.

Cassara is the princess of a small, insignificant kingdom, doing what is expected of her. When her land is attacked by dark creatures, however, she has to harness previously-unknown magical powers, and uncover a secret conspiracy surrounding her family and her mother’s death.

On the surface, in some regards, this book has many of the hallmarks of “standard” high fantasy novels. If those are tropes you enjoy, and particularly if you’re sick of seeing them only starring male protagonists, I’m sure you’ll enjoy this book.

What sets PRINCESS OF LIGHT apart from some of the other genre fare I’ve enjoyed, however, is the consideration given to the characters, and the interactions between them. This is like a feast of interesting female characters, of all kinds, and I enjoyed every helping. Women who do everything, from politicking to magic to sword fighting. I liked the development of their relationships and the treatment of the often glossed-over horrors of war and battle.

Also, full warning, the book ends on such a vicious cliffhanger that I absolutely cannot wait to get my hands on the sequel.