REVIEW: The Taming of Lilah May by Vanessa Curtis

I find books like The Taming of Lilah May by Vanessa Curtis to be really interesting.  I've not come across many books to do with anger management issues very often, and especially not girl characters dealing with their anger and rage.  I like that.  I first came across Vanessa Curtis when I read Zelah Green, about a girl dealing with obsessive compulsive disorder.  Again, I love the difference in these topics to other more mainstream YA novels.  I shall certainly be looking out for more stories by Vanessa Curtis!

The Taming of Lilah May really made me think and feel.  This book isn't very long, just under 200 pages, but there is a lot of emotion packed into what there is of it.  I really felt for Lilah May, as she's struggling with the disappearance of her older brother and she's not entirely sure how to express her excess of feelings except through acting out.  Her parents have taken her to counsellors, and she writes an anger diary, but it only helps to an extent. 

Together with her anger diary and her all-important friendship with her best friend, Bindi, Lilah is only just coping with things.  I could fully relate to Lilah's feelings of guilt and that feeling comes out really strongly in this book.  Her older brother has run away several years ago and Lilah can't help but blame herself for that happening.  Now her parents argue and Lilah struggles to connect with other people at school, aside from Bindi.

I think Lilah's story is told in a really heart-felt way.  I really found it heart-breaking to see her relationship with her brother disintegrate through reading Lilah's memories of what happened in the lead-up to his disappearance.  Her classmates don't really get Lilah and her acting out makes it difficult for her to make friends or speak in a normal way to the boy she really fancies.

I also really liked Lilah's relationship with her parents, especially her dad, who seem to be hanging by a thread but are still supportive enough to come up with other ways of Lilah to express her feelings and her anger. I think a lot of readers can relate to feelings of frustration and anger and with expressing strong emotions and will be able to connect with Lilah's story.

There has also been a sequel published, Lilah May's Manic Days, which I will for sure be looking out for!