The Warning by Kristy Acevedo

 

Kristy Acevedo's The Warning caught my eye with this cover. When I read the premise, I was immediately hooked. I love a good end of the world book... and actually, this was and wasn't that. At all. Yes, it's definitely a work of science fiction. But if you're looking for a lot of weird stuff happening after those doorways open, you might be disappointed. What Acevedo really accomplishes is a hard look at what anxiety feels like. If you don't have anxiety and wonder what it actually feels like, this is an accurate depiction of what an anxiety attack feels like. 

Again, I want to reiterate that this isn't an exciting science fiction novel. It delves deeply into Alex's anxiety and how difficult it is to function, especially when you have family and friends telling you to just stop worrying. If only it were that easy. As someone who deals with anxiety and often feels frustrated that I can't even swallow a vitamin without gagging because that's how my anxiety manifests. My esophagus spasms and it feels like I'm trying to gulp down a giant marble. And that's most of the time. The truly bad moments are when I suddenly feel like I've been hit in the throat while taking a drink of water or eating something. All that to say, Alex is relatable and I found myself admiring her for her attempts to learn to cope with anxiety. Along with Alex's mental health struggles, she also has a father that suffers from PTSD and her brother is hiding a secret because he's afraid it will anger their father.

If you're looking for a story with a little sci-fi flavoring that mostly focuses on how someone deals with and feels during anxiety, you'll really enjoy this book. While I wouldn't purchase it for my middle school library, it's great for high school libraries--closed door romance and some mild swearing. Overall, I really enjoyed it.