Published: 2023
Series: N/A
Author: Amber McBride
Illustrator: N/A
Genres: Poetry, Fantasy, Young Adult, Mental Health, Magical Realism, Fiction, Contemporary, Novel In Verse, Mental Illness
Audience (Grade Levels): Grades 9-10
Number of Stars: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Goodreads Link: We Are All So Good At Smiling
Triggers / Content Warnings: Clinical depression, severe mental illness, trauma, clinical hospitalization, and emotional processing of grief.
Review By: Patricia Gabello
Publisher’s Summary:
They Both Die at the End meets The Bell Jar in this haunting, beautiful young adult novel-in-verse about clinical depression and healing from trauma, from National Book Award Finalist Amber McBride. Whimsy is back in the hospital for treatment of clinical depression. When she meets a boy named Faerry, she recognizes they both have magic in the marrow of their bones. And when Faerry and his family move to the same street, the two start to realize that their lifelines may have twined and untwined many times before.
They are both terrified of the forest at the end of Marsh Creek Lane. The Forest whispers to Whimsy. The Forest might hold the answers to the part of Faerry he feels is missing. They discover the Forest holds monsters, fairy tales, and pain that they have both been running from for 11 years.
Review:
Amber McBride tells the story of a teenager who faces her fears, her trauma, her guilt and self-doubt in the form of corporeal mythical beings. As Kurt Vonnegut does in Slaughterhouse Five, McBride requires the support of fantasy creatures to tell her story. Writing and telling stories in this way allows the truth to be told from a safe distance. Vonnegut was abducted by aliens in order to escape the trauma of the horrific Dresden firebombing. McBride wrote this story to deal with a childhood trauma. Whimsy, our protagonist, is spirited into the Forest with Anansi, Baba Yaga, Snow White and others at her side. But Sorrow is also a character. Sorrow, as it is represented in this story, is a formidable foe that many readers will recognize. Readers will cheer for Whimsy and Faerry as they face their demons, and perhaps even see some of their own struggles as they are pulled into the lyrical verses. The book ends with resources for those who suffer from clinical depression, whose battles still rage within even though they are so good at smiling.
Classroom & Curricular Connections:
- ELA (English Language Arts): A phenomenal mentor text for studying contemporary novels-in-verse, examining extended allegories, analyzing how authors use folklore to process grief, and comparing speculative narrative techniques to historical fiction like Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five.
- Social Studies & World Mythology: Integrates beautifully into world literature modules, providing an excellent cross-cultural case study on the historical origins of West African Anansi folklore paired alongside classic European fairy tales.
- SEL (Social-Emotional Learning): Offers a crucial curricular pathway for opening safe, structured classroom dialogues regarding clinical depression, trauma healing, managing deep emotional guilt, and dismantling the stigma surrounding adolescent hospitalization.
- Extension Activity / Library Application: Perfect for use as an interactive high school media center application or classroom extension activity. Teachers can pair this book with compelling read-alikes such as Me (Moth) by Amber McBride, Chlorine Sky by Nikki Grimes, The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo, or Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds. Librarians can host a “Folklore & Healing Verse Workshop” where students analyze a physical manifestation of an emotion (like McBride’s characterization of Sorrow) and compose a short free-verse poem using an ancient mythological figure to safely narrate a personal obstacle.
- Diversity & Representation: The novel models elite standards of diversity, equity, and inclusion by amplifying Black voices and highlighting marginalized perspectives within the mental health landscape. By centering a young Black protagonist navigating clinical depression and weaving authentic West African diasporic folklore into the healing process, McBride provides a vital literary mirror that expands equity, validates diverse psychological experiences, and honors the complex intersectionality of identity and mental wellness.
Readalikes:
- Almond by Sohn Won-pyung
- The Golden Day by Ursula Duosarky
- Out of the Woods by Lynn Darling
