Mindy Raf

I'm a firm believer that all people have a tiny bit of insanity in them - some just more than others. It's the people who appear totally sane that you really have to watch out for (I remember my friend's dad talking about how Tiger Woods was the only genuinely nice and well-rounded celebrity right before... exactly my point). So when I saw this novel, featuring a main character who not only knows she's insane, but tries to diagnose it? Yes please.

Izzy is a lot of things. She is sarcastic and witty. She is creative. But she is also introverted and closed off, side effects of being a hypochondriac. She is always calculating not only what could go wrong, but what is wrong, and it focuses her energy internally, not allowing her to move on or break from her shell. Her instinct isn't to fix or cure, but to diagnose and obsess. When life starts going topsy turvy, she must confront all those fears she hides behind labels and walk unprotected into the real world.

There was really only one main issue I took with this novel. A lot of the plot and dialogue revolved around Izzy being made fun of having big boobs (or breasts if we're being technical). I usually stay away from such things here on this blog, but if you've seen me in person, I can definitely relate. But no one , especially boys, are mean because of that. Sure I've gotten jokes, but good natured. Izzy would not have been terrorized for such a feature. I just could not wrap my head around that, and it took me a while to let go of what I thought should happen and just go with the reality the novel was presenting. Then again, if you're not graced/cursed on your top half, this probably won't bother you at all.

Ignoring that, I really enjoyed the story. Izzy was a fun character to get to know, and the author is great with funny one-liners. One of my favorite aspects is that the plot was not what I was expecting it to be. Like the synopsis says above, "the worst-case scenario actually hits, it’s a different story altogether—and there’s no tidy list of symptoms to help her through the insanity." There are so many different facets to this story, and I felt like I was really getting a feel for the whole of Izzy's character. With so many stories you get to see how one thing affects a characters, or a group of characters, but when a character like Izzy is battling so many things at once, you get to see how she deals - you get to see who she is.

So yes, I have my criticisms, but I would never take back reading this one. I really enjoyed it.… (más)

I found myself describing this book to friends while I was reading it. Conversations went like this:

Me: I'm reading this super fun book!
Friend: Oooooh!
Me: It's this book about this girl who is an artist and there's a boy she likes and he seems too good to be true and then there's the fact that she has pretty intense hypochondria and her mom has this really weird cancer and --
Friend: I thought you said it was fun?
Me: Oh, yeah, I know all this serious stuff is, like, tragic, but, I swear, it's HILARIOUS.

So that's the lowdown. THE SYMPTOMS OF MY INSANITY by Mindy Raf is sneaky. With all the awful stuff going on in the protagonist, Izzy's, life, she has this fantastic, snarky attitude that manages to find these sweet silver linings. I loved hearing about her art portfolio. I loved watching her confront the issues in her relationship with her sister. I loved her reactions to her overbearing BFF who signed her up to be an assistant director of the musical, even though she's on superdeadline with her art AND taking care of her sick mom. And I loved how much Izzy knows she's got a problem with this hypochondria thing and manages to make fun of herself even though she's seriously concerned she's probably dying of who knows what.

There's also some serious high school issues going on that are SUPER relevant to these oh-so-digital times we're living in, but I can hardly reveal those without spoiling. So, you know, read the book and find out! You'll be glad you did.

I highly recommend THE SYMPTOMS OF MY INSANITY to fans of John Green, David Levithan's humorous work (like his collaborations with Rachel Cohn), and Lauren Myracle. It's a fantastic debut, and I'm looking forward to seeing more of her work.… (más)

This book made me angry--Izzy made me angry; the boys made me angry; Jenna, too. I just want to shake them and say wth is wrong with you?? (for a number of different reasons) So that kind of overshadowed other virtues of the book. It was funny, and all of Raf's depictions of the awkwardness and uncomfortableness of adolescence were great, but then...!!! and then it's all solved by some female "I Am Spartacus" moment. However nice that cliche may have managed to be, it wasn't enough to make up for everything else.… (más)

Izzy is an average girl with an average life and above-average curves. She’s also a bit of a hypochondriac. When she’s not dodging the boys ogling her ample bosom, or working on her art portfolio, she scours the internet for possible explanations for a number of ailments she fears may be affecting her. A lot of this stems from the fact that her beautiful, perfect mother is suffering from stomach cancer. If it could happen to her, it could happen to anyone.

The only things that keep Izzy kind of sane are her sense of humor, her best friend and hot guy Blake who has recently shown an interest in her and her art. But when things with the bestie and Blake fall apart and her mother’s health takes a turn for the worst, it’s all Izzy can do to keep herself from unraveling.

As far as the characters in the book go, I thought they were all fairly well drawn and interesting. I really liked Izzy. She’s self-conscious, a little self-deprecating and she wants to please everyone. I saw a lot of myself in her. I know what it’s like to want to help others, and I often put my personal needs aside to make sure everyone else’s are taken care of. I really liked her voice and I rooted for her, despite her being pretty naive and a little manic.

The rest of the characters all serve a purpose to the overall story, though, at times, I felt some of them could have been done away with. I just felt there was A LOT going on and the plot kind of got heavy with all of these tragedies. Had some of the storylines been reduced, I think some of these characters could have been cut without affecting the point of the story.

Ms. Raf has a great sense of humor and she perfectly captures Izzy’s voice. I knew her, I could relate to her and I felt for her. As I said before, I think the plot could have used some tightening. I got that the author was trying to show how Izzy put everyone’s needs before her own, but after a while it got a little too overwhelming. I think the most important part of the story was for Izzy to see that she was important, and that she was fine just the way she was and that sometimes we have to take care of ourselves. I loved the relationship she had with her mother and her sister. It was far from perfect, but her mother’s health problems added another dimension to it. I would have been perfectly okay if this had been the focus of the story and the issues with her BFF and Blake had been tossed out. They didn’t really add anything to the overall story.

Despite the weighed down plot, I did enjoy this book and a lot of it had to do with Izzy. She is an admirable and unforgettable character and for that alone, I would recommend this.… (más)