Review Detail

Here I Am, I Am Me is a nonfiction book that takes you on a journey through different parts of the brain and describes the feelings associated with each aspect of your brain. Each chapter opens with a page for the chapter and then provides a question map of things the chapter will dive into. 

What I Liked: The minute I saw this book, I knew I wanted to read it because mental health is a significant topic. This is information that I wish was easily available to me when I was a young adult because it would have made life a lot easier. 

I like the way this book normalizes anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts. I appreciated that the author points out that there is no shame in talking about these topics. I also liked that the author shared personal experiences throughout the book since it makes it so that we now know someone who has dealt with similar problems. 

I love the pieces that share how to calm yourself down and the pieces that share how to get help, where to go, and what that may look like. These are pages that are easy to revisit as you need them. I appreciate the way the author introduces psychiatric hospitals and medication for mental illness to the reader. I love that this book is trying to do away with stigma since I think mental health is something we should openly discuss. 

What left me wanting more: Chapter 2 felt like it was a crash course in biopsychology and, I hardly remember the things discussed throughout that chapter. This chapter was draining as it was information-heavy, and there were several times that I wasn’t sure if I should continue reading. I am glad that I did though as the rest of the chapter wasn’t as heavy in the information and when items shared in chapter 2 were revisited you got a summary to remind you what they were. 

Final Verdict: Here I Am, I am Me is a great graphic novel for teenagers to learn about mental health whether or not it is something they are struggling with. This is also a great book for adults unfamiliar with mental health topics as it breaks things down in a fun manner.