Review: The Science of Breakable Things

The Science of Breakable Things by Tae Keller
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

OK, I admit, I didn't really read this book carefully. I read the first third of the book and then skimmed the rest, so you are welcome to completely discount this review. The book deals with the MC's mother's descent into depression. It is good that it indicates that depression is a long, on-going struggle, but it annoys me greatly that they didn't explain all this to the MC, Natalie, until close to the end of the book. The father should really have known much better. He should have known that kids will often blame themselves for issues that their parents have and he should have been MUCH more pro-active about explaining all of this to Natalie. If she had been 5 years old, I could see explaining it to her in simple terms, but the main character is in around 7th grade, so she would be 12 or 13 - plenty old enough to explain it in much clearer language. The "give her time" bit just doesn't suffice. I am glad for a book that deals with a parent's depression. I wish it had been handled more openly.

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