Review by ecor -- Unhinged by Steve Galley

[ecor]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Unhinged" by Steve Galley.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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What if as a high school student you can only choose one: good looks, a great circle of friends, girls, or athleticism? But what if you have all those? What more can you ask for? Eddie is considered perfect by everyone he knows. No one will think that he needs anything more. But he is hiding something. He’s been fighting with the Hunter for so many years, he can’t even remember when. Eddie named his depression as the Hunter. You can smile on the outside, you can pretend all you want, you can hide, but the Hunter will follow you anywhere you go. Eddie also has problems at home. And then we have Jess. Jess is Eddie’s good friend. She falls into the throes of addiction and drags Eddie into her mess. Can Eddie fix his friend’s mess? Will he be able to win the war against the Hunter? What is the only thing that Eddie wants to have? Find out more when you grab a copy of Unhinged by Steve Galley. Steve Galley experienced something like Eddie. He realized it would be helpful to create a book about mental health and mental illness. It will help other people understand more about this issue.

As a person dealing with the same affliction as our major character, I found that the author did a good job of relating the experience. I saw my struggles being represented on the pages. Eddie well portrayed the illness. Let’s look at this passage, “Why did I carry this empty, sad feeling in my gut? Why did it stay with me wherever I went, whoever I was with, and no matter what was going on in my life, good or bad?” We can see that Eddie was having a hard time acknowledging that something was wrong with him. He was confused because he feels that he is the only one experiencing this. Eddie seems to have everything any high school student can imagine. This makes us wonder why this disease can affect a person like him. The truth is--depression can affect anyone, no matter your status, age, or gender. Depression does not choose its victim. Mental health is more recognized now than before but the stigma surrounding it remains the same. Eddie has to hide in the dark because he does not know what he’s going through. He’s afraid to be judged, and he also does not know if somebody can understand him. I appreciate Eddie’s character in this story. He portrayed depression and anxiety well. I can relate to him. I feel like his words were what went through my mind when I went through the same. He’s a good guy although he resorts to violence just to feel something. This is a story of struggling with your inner demons and finding hope in the end. I also appreciate his friends: Rob and Clark. They are genuine friends and are very supportive.

I had a problem with the flow of the story. Several chapters went by and nothing happened. The main character went through the same routine and no conflict arose. I found myself waiting for the climax and I was disappointed many times. I think that the climax came too late and I’m not excited anymore. The resolution was also too short. It felt like it was being rushed to wrap things up. It also became overwhelming emotionally near the end.

I give Unhinged by Steve Galley 3 out of 4 stars. I noticed some errors and I was not satisfied with the flow of the story.

Unhinged is a book that featured mental health, mental issues, addiction, and abuse. It portrayed the issues well. Young adolescents will enjoy this book. People who are going through the same can relate to this. If you want to understand the struggles of your loved ones more, you will find this book valuable. But if you are going through something right now, it may be triggering, so let’s proceed with caution.

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Unhinged
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[shravsi]

This sounds like a serious book that deals with mental health, mental issues, and addiction. Books like these remove the stigma and raise social awareness. Too bad about the flow of the book though.
Thanks for the great review.

[ecor]

This sounds like a serious book that deals with mental health, mental issues, and addiction. Books like these remove the stigma and raise social awareness. Too bad about the flow of the book though.
Thanks for the great review.

Thank you Yes it is a serious book but I still enjoyed reading it. I hope we will have more books like this available in the future, to further raise social awareness.