Like the Red Panda

The deep emotions surrounding suicide make it difficult to write about, but Andrea Seigel painted an eloquent portrait of a suicidal teen in Like the Red Panda.

This lonely story is written in the first person, and is noticeably void of melodramatic histerics that sometimes saturate literature about suicide and depression. Stella, the protagonist, is not only isolated from the people around her, but from her own emotions. Chilly descriptions of the world and matter-of-fact analyses of her feelings leave no doubt about Stella's ennui. Academically successful, attractive, and finding no meaning in the world, Stella goes about committing suicide like most people go about buying a house.

The only issue with Like the Red Panda is the seeming lack of reason for suicide. Stella may explain how everything in life seems arbitrary, but she still has a friend and a lover and some desire to please others. She doesn't hate herself, or have any profound shame or guilt. She seems like someone who should major in philosophy, maybe spend a lot of time studying exhistentialism, not someone who wants to end their life. The instinctive desire to live is not a weak impulse, and there are millions of bored, melancholy individuals (such as myself) who do not seriously consider committing suicide.

It's very possible that the nuances of Stella's mental illness went over my head, and that her suicidal intentions were perfectly logical. I'd recommend this book, if only for it's thought-provoking nature.

The Overacheivers: The Secret Lives of Driven Kids

Do you long for stress in your life? Do you ever have days full of nothing but leisurely fun and meaningful pursuits? You should read The Overachievers; The Secret Lives of Driven Kids, by Alexandra Robbins, and chase away those feelings of calm and contentment.

This book, assigned summer reading for high school students entering their first AP English course, is more anxiety-producing than the most suspenseful thriller. It's more tedious than a documentary on the manufacturing of beige carpet, and about as long as your average Harry Potter book. The characters aren't flat, exactly, but their emotions are relegated to ambition, anxiety, and exhaustion. Anything irrelevant to the college application process is omitted, and every college councelor visit and extra curricular is described in detail.

So if you aren't one of those unfortunate high school students who has this as assigned reading, let this serve as a warning: do not read The Overachievers. You will not be surprised, intrigued, or informed. You'll be bored, nervous and feeling vicariously over-worked.