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The Voice in My Head by Dana L. Davis is published by Inkyard and will be available for purchase on May 28th. Davis is the author of Tiffany Sly Lives Here Now. The Voice in My Head is a young adult, contemporary novel about family and illness. Trigger warnings for depression/anxiety, suicide, terminal illness, dysfunctional families.Oh my goodness. I cried so many times while reading this book.
Indigo Phillips attempts suicide the night before her terminally ill twin sister, Violet, is supposed to die via doctor assisted death. When the voice, claiming to be God, speaks to her, Indigo decides not to kill herself and instead has to convince her sister and their entire family to go to the Wave which is a rock formation in the painted desert in order for her sister to live. What follows is a dysfunctional family's struggle to understand each other, to accept what is inevitably going to happen to Violet, and to learn about themselves in this car trip in search of a miracle.
Lets start with getting some problems out of the way. First off, there are some medical choices that occur that are infuriating and will cause a lot of people to get angry. Indigo attempts suicide yet her family wants her discharged from the hospital against medical advice because it's Violet's day to die. There's also some moments when Michelle, Indigo's older sister and Violet's nurse, wants to get Violet to a hospital for treatment but everyone ignores her advice because Indigo claims the Voice told her things would be okay, even when the Voice agrees with Michelle.
There's also the issue of "the Voice". Some people will not like this book because it has some religious overtones. However, the Voice does claim to be God yet doesn't behave in the way many Christians would consider appropriate for any depictions of God. There's also the family's church that seems to pull from every kind of religion and spirituality which might be a turn off to some people. I'll admit I was on the fence about all this at first but in the end, I like this choice. How else would God communicate with a teenage girl who isn't sure who she is, what she wants, or what she believes? Nothing in this gets any more religious than a few references to Moses, and the Voice calling itself God (using both male and female pronouns).
I liked this story. As terrible as the characters are to each other at times, there's also moments when everyone gets along or suddenly understands each other. They talk out their problems and admit their failings. This is so important. No one is good or bad or perfect, everyone has a problem and is trying to deal with it as best they can. It's also clear that Indigo's depression is also affecting how she sees her family. The Voice even points this out on a few occasions so we know there's more than what we're being told by Indigo.
This is a tough read. I've personally seen what a terminal illness can do to a family and how the other kids suffer because of it. This book is surprisingly personal. It's not perfect, characters make stupid decisions, Indigo spends a lot of time lying to her family, and there are a few scenes that felt like they wanted to comment on another part in society but it hadn't really been built up properly or didn't have enough time to address all of it. But I also think this is an important read. It's about sisters, life and death, faith, family, and the problems that arise regardless of who is 'good' or 'bad.' I recommend a box of tissues with this book. 4 stars just because of some of the bad medical choices made.
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