Hi friends, happy Monday – I hope you’re all doing well! Today I’m going to be posting my review of Julia Walton’s novel Words on Bathroom Walls.

Words on Bathroom Walls by: Julia Walton: Adam is schizophrenic, he sees and hears things that aren’t real. All he wants is to be normal and live a normal life and with an experimental drug he’s trying, his wishes feel within reach. The drug helps him ignore his visions and make even falling in love seem possible. When he meets Maya, he’s willing to do whatever it takes to be the best for her, even if that means hiding part of his life from her. The reader expected more from this story and thought it would be more of a hard-hitting novel. There was something about it that didn’t really do it for the reader; that’s not to say this wasn’t a good book, it was, but it just felt like it lacked something. The way this was told through letters the main character was writing to his therapist, didn’t feel real. It didn’t feel like true, authentic letters that a teenage boy would write, nor do most people write in prose. The author should have either committed all the way to having the entire novel be written out in letter format, like an actual letter, or write in prose but have letter samples from the main character. The romance plot was alright, the reader didn’t really feel the chemistry between them, but the way they started and learned to communicate to one another was positive to read. The way that schizophrenia was dealt with was handled really well though. It really showed a side that felt probably more true to life than what media usually portrays the mental illness. This was fast-paced with a lot of build-up to a very realistic climax. It didn’t feel over the top or dramatic; it was just enough to grasp what the illness can do at the best and worst of times. The main character’s journey that he had to go on for himself was really empowering to read and the messaging was really important because a mental illness isn’t something you just get over. The main character was very well developed, the reader enjoyed learning new things about him and watching him grow and progress on his road to acceptance and self-love. The secondary characters were just as thought out and rounded the story nicely. It was nice to see the parents involved, even if at times they felt extremely flat; it was still nice to read that the main character had present, caring parents. In the end, this was still an enjoyable and worthy read, just not exactly what this reader had expected.