The Other Side by Kim Holden is one of the books I read on my holidays and I am only getting around to adding my review today. Below you will find the cover and description followed by my review. I will say straight off, that this is an excellent read and it deals with the topic of mental health and suicide.
The Other Side by Kim Holden
There are two sides to every story.
The surface reality that’s presented to the world…
And then there’s the other side.
The real one.
The one that matters.
Seventeen-year-old, self-proclaimed asshole, Toby Page, is alone.
No friends.
No family.
He trades maintenance work in exchange for room and board.
Every day he fights demons no one else can see.
Every day he wants to give up.
But he can’t.
Not yet.
When Alice Eliot moves in downstairs, she offers Toby some light in his dark world.
At a crossroads and barely hanging on, it’s hard to have perspective.
It’s difficult to see your own worth when you’re the villain in your story.
Luckily for Toby, Alice brings things out in him that no one else ever has.
As the two sides of Toby’s story are revealed, and the full reality comes into view, truth is gained, unlikely heroes emerge, and improbable alliances prove that kindness is fundamentally human.
The question is, Will it all be enough to save him?
The Other Side by Kim Holden – My Review
I knew when I bought this book it was going to be an emotional read and I wasn’t wrong. If you’ve read any of this author’s other books then you already know you are going to get an exceptional story. The Other Side focuses on mental health and is quite a difficult read at times but so worth taking the time to read. The storytelling is brilliant and the book is separated into three parts. Part 2 was exceptional and I loved reading all the stories from the people Toby helped and finally getting to hear about what he really did on those Friday nights.
This is a book you’ll want to take your time with and saviour. Toby is a damaged soul and he plans to die. In fact, he has a countdown calendar and as the story unfolds we get to see why he feels his life is worthless. There are so many excellent characters in this book and the author has written a heartwrenching story that will really make you sit back and think.
I really don’t want to give anything away because I think this is a book everyone should read. You should actually read every one of this author’s books because she writes beautifully and pulls you into the story and the lives of the characters that spill out onto the pages.
A definite five star read.
Available now in ebook and paperback and free to read with KindleUnlimited.
Until next time,
Keep reading and writing,
Amanda
Amanda J Evans is an award-winning Irish author and writing coach. Amanda writes adult romance that often crosses into paranormal and fantasy. Growing up with heroes like Luke Skywalker and Indiana Jones, her stories centre on good versus evil with a splice of love and magic thrown in too. Her books have all won awards and her novella, Hear Me Cry, won the Book of the Year Award at the Dublin Writers Conference 2018. Amanda is also the author of Surviving Suicide: A Memoir from Those Death Left Behind, published in 2012.
