Book Review: 'Under Rose-Tainted Skies' by Louise Gornall

Before we start: I know for a fact people are going to look at the premise of this book and think, "Ugh, this sounds just like a thousand other YA novels." And you're going to be a thousand percent right. It does sound like a billion other YA books of its kind; I knew that going in, and even questioned my judgment for wanting to read it (so why did you read it then, Jeffrey? Because I'm trash). So, yes, you're going to look at the premise of Under Rose-Tainted Skies and roll your eyes because this sounds like a stereotypical YA romance novel. But I must say: it does a lot of things right that a lot of books of its kind do wrong.

17-year-old Norah is agoraphobic. Plagued with OCD and anxiety, leaving the house has become an unbearable challenge that she struggles with every day. When Luke moves in next door, she can't help herself but be smitten with him, even though she doesn't understand why and can't believe that he is even paying attention to her. Are you rolling your eyes yet? Because I feel like this is where people would say ugh and then put the book back on the shelf and keep browsing. I am not denying that Under Rose-Tainted Skies is, in many ways, your typical YA book, but most people who read YA can figure that out. The thing is, this book isn't really about a romance, with mental health and illness written as poignant quirks that the characters may have. This book is about mental health and mental illness. It's about Norah, and the struggles she deals with every day. The fact that a cute boy has moved in next door has thrown her for a loop, but not because she is looking for someone to save her from herself (or some shit that you've probably seen in books that have gotten this wrong), because she had pretty much accepted that her life is plagued and therefore ruined by mental illness and she wouldn't have the chance to experience normal people things, such as teenage crushes and attraction. It's about how, even though we're told not to, we often define ourselves by our conditions and let it affect us even though we're told we are not our mental illness. Norah is fictional proof of that, and to be quite honest, she's a great protagonist and narrator. Her testimony gives such an insight into anxiety, compulsions and panic attacks, and it's not trivializing it or making light of it because this is YA and supposedly a romance, says the dust jacket. This is about Norah and mental illness, and the author does a great job at essentially just shining a light on what it's like to live with anxiety, intrusive thoughts and obsessive compulsions. Even though Norah's perspective can get lonely, desperate and even dark at times, she still knows the value of laughing at yourself and the way you are. Lines like "can't I just have a panic attack in peace?!" and "life was never this complicated before life got in the way" offered a nice chuckle interspersed with things that shouldn't be laughed at, but should definitely be talked about.

While there were many things Under Rose-Tainted Skies gets right and were nice to see, I did have a few issues with the narrative. I found it dragged a bit at times and was super repetitive towards the end, but that didn't bother me as much as another thing. Norah has obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). We are told that right from the get-go. However, I feel like so much more effort was needed in the story to establish the fact that she suffers from an often crippling and debilitating disorder. Often times the only symptoms we really see described are things like a book in a pile is out of line with the others, or different colored shoelaces are done up oddly. While I do know that these can in fact be things that can push someone with OCD over the edge, these are the most stereotypical and often incorrect symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder. I feel like OCD is hands down one of the most misunderstood mental illnesses. Everyone has their own idiosyncrasies and most of the time people claim this as "their OCD" when really it's just something that bothers you. That's not necessarily OCD, but people referring to traits and quirks as people being "OCD" has led the illness to fall into disrepute ("Hey man, you're being really OCD right now." How many times have you heard that on TV or in real life?) Anyway, I find that situations like those where OCD is used to describe something that is not actually obsessive-compulsive take away from situations where there are actually obsessive compulsions that need dealing with. I'm not doubting that Norah is obsessive-compulsive; she totally is. But the author used the most stereotypical symptoms of the illness, ones that have been trivialized by the misuse of the term OCD in everyday speech (she has a thing with even numbers, things in the fridge have to be turned a certain way, etc.) Again, I'm not disputing that these are in fact symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder. I'm just saying the author could have used some different symptoms that aren't considered stereotypical and are actually really serious issues. She could have gotten a little more creative with the obsessive-compulsive symptoms instead of using stereotypical ones that most people claim as "their OCD" when it's really just a quirk or character trait. I'm probably reading too much into this particular part of the story and the character, but people treating OCD as a quirk, idiosyncrasy or using it as an adjective in general is a big pet peeve of mine, so I had to point that out.

The thing is, however, I feel like a bunch of readers are going to avoid or skim over Under Rose-Tainted Skies just because it sounds like a bunch of other cliché, YA romances when it actually gets a lot of things right that the books you've probably read got wrong. I've already seen people on Goodreads compare it to Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon just because both books deal with girls who can't leave the house and the new boy next door and I want to yell NOOO! Norah struggles with a mental illness that prevents her from leaving the house; Maddy from Everything, Everything has a medical condition that keeps her confined indoors but she isn't afraid to go outside, she just isn't allowed. This might be a bit of a spoiler, so avert your eyes if you don't wanna know: my favorite thing about Under Rose-Tainted Skies was the fact that Norah's anxiety and OCD symptoms don't diminish after Luke enters her life. So many other YA books dealing with mental health issues have gone down that road (My Heart and Other Black Holes, Finding Audrey and Optimists Die First, to name a few). There is a part where she forgets to close the door and lock it in the way that makes her feel safe, but it's not because she is magically recovering because there's a boy in her life to save her. She's just distracted, and is finally spending some time out of her own head, which I saw as an important detail to include. And not to mention the fact that she hasn't recovered because of a boy by the end of the book, either, which makes it so much more enjoyable and realistic. So please don't avoid Under Rose-Tainted Skies because you think it sounds like other YA books you've already read, specifically Everything, Everything and Finding Audrey (these are the two books I've seen it compared to the most and they are both books that get a lot of things wrong). If this book intrigues you but you're hesitant because it all sounds familiar, don't shy away. It gets a lot of things right. 4/5 stars.