Friends, I picked up A Semi Definitive List of Worst Nightmares exclusively because of the incredibly long title. I buddy read it with my friend Sam (we have different paces but planned a Skype date for when we got half way through), and we both fell in love with it. It’s a beautiful and sad book, but also incredibly positive.
Esther Solar’s family is cursed.
They’re cursed to die by their biggest fear, because her grandfather met the man who would be Death numerous times, and now he’s got it out for them. Esther’s father has agoraphobia so bad that he can’t leave the basement. Her mother is addicted to gambling, so the family’s possessions are in constant flux from being pawned and rebought. Esther’s brother doesn’t fear the dark, but instead the demons that reside there. And Esther has created a list to set out all of her fears, so she can avoid each and every one of them.
The family is odd, to say the least. But as fears and anxieties often do, their lives are completely taken over by the negative.
Esther’s mother has a goblin rooster, several rabbits (why have the luck of just one foot when you can have all four?!), and coins sewn into her hems. Esther’s brother lights hundreds of candles every night, and brings several with him anywhere he goes (along with a road flare and a couple flashlights). Esther herself wears a different costume every day, so people don’t see who she is.
A Semi Definitive List of Worst Nightmares isn’t just about how strange this family is, but instead about how Esther tries to work through her fears with an old friend, Jonah.
It’s a fantastic story of teenagers showing Death who is boss, and doing things to fight their fears. But there is a lot of reality written in there as well. Esther’s brother has severe depression, and that leads to some difficult topics being discussed. I bawled reading this book, because it felt just a little too true.
Sutherland truly knocked this one out of the park. I have never read anxiety or depression so accurately written, and I have never felt quite so seen. This book is beautiful, and if you can handle the triggers, it’s more than worth it.
What have you been reading recently? I’m off my buying ban, so I picked up a book the other day, and I can’t wait to read it (also, I’m proud it was just one)! Keep on reading, friends.
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