Scan barcode
A review by anovelbeauty
The Antidote for Everything by Kimmery Martin
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Book TW: ❗️suicide attempt; homophobia; transphobia; sexual assault (on page)❗️misgendering (intentional); drug addiction; infidelity
I initially found out about this book from @bowtiesandbooks (IG) who absolutely /raved/ about it. I was drawn in because medical books dealing with prevalent social issues is right up my alley. Oh boy did this book live up to the hype! Not is the author an actual doctor, so she knows what she’s talking about (and you can /definitely/ tell), but this is absolutely the first time I’ve seen a doctor in a story be totally lost or scared of something they come across /waaaaay/ out of their speciality because they haven’t dealt with that ish since med school. It was such a little touch but so realistic that it heightened my appreciation for the story quite a bit!
This book took me on quite the emotional roller coaster. I cried on page 12 (literally). I laughed out loud a surprising amount and even woke my dog up from a nap. I cried/teared up again many other times over the course of the book, sometimes in sadness, other times in plain frustration for the injustice that the characters are going through.
I haven’t seen a written friendship like Georgia and Jonah’s in a /long/ time. It was the crux and the soul of the book. If you’re looking for a book with platonic soulmates, you’ve got it. Mark is also a great character. The three mains are all genuinely good and kind people, still flawed of course, but good.
I connect with Georgia on a deep level and her nerdiness and gregariousness is so relatable, but also her passion for sticking up for what is right. Because she’s our main character, we get to see her flaws more clearly than anyone else’s, but they’re built well and make sense and she does try her best to grow. Another thing I appreciated was that she is definitely a woman of faith, but the book doesn’t preach it at you, rather it is subtle and constant throughout and is contrasted with the other /very/ vocal but not Christ-like religious people in the story.
So heart of the plot, surrounding transgender patients being denied healthcare and workplace discrimination against Jonah because he is gay is absolutely hard to read at times, but it is portrayed thoughtfully and without pulling any punches as to the horror of it all and the toll it can take on one’s mental health to be constantly battling for basic human rights.
There are moments of the book that seem truly bleak, but there is hope woven throughout the novel too.
Lastly, I’ll mention a few writing things. As most people who’ve been here a hot second know, I /really/ dislike random POVs. This book had one right near the end that I only begrudgingly hated slightly less because the character literally wouldn’t tell anyone the topics, ever. So if the author wanted to get some information across, that was the only way to do it fully. Though I still would have perhaps preferred to know slightly less context in favour of not having that POV, I understand why Martin did it. I also debate about the need for Mark’s POV when it was so outweighed by the amount of time spent with Georgia’s? But since I like his character a lot, that doesn’t really bother me as much. The pacing of the book was very well done and although I figured out some aspects before they were revealed, others were decently unexpected.
Overall, this was a beautiful and amazing book and I’m /very/ glad I read it!! I consumed it in just 2 days and it was absolutely worth the read. If you are mindful of the trigger warnings, I would definitely suggest reading this lovely, funny, heartwrenching book.
I initially found out about this book from @bowtiesandbooks (IG) who absolutely /raved/ about it. I was drawn in because medical books dealing with prevalent social issues is right up my alley. Oh boy did this book live up to the hype! Not is the author an actual doctor, so she knows what she’s talking about (and you can /definitely/ tell), but this is absolutely the first time I’ve seen a doctor in a story be totally lost or scared of something they come across /waaaaay/ out of their speciality because they haven’t dealt with that ish since med school. It was such a little touch but so realistic that it heightened my appreciation for the story quite a bit!
This book took me on quite the emotional roller coaster. I cried on page 12 (literally). I laughed out loud a surprising amount and even woke my dog up from a nap. I cried/teared up again many other times over the course of the book, sometimes in sadness, other times in plain frustration for the injustice that the characters are going through.
I haven’t seen a written friendship like Georgia and Jonah’s in a /long/ time. It was the crux and the soul of the book. If you’re looking for a book with platonic soulmates, you’ve got it. Mark is also a great character. The three mains are all genuinely good and kind people, still flawed of course, but good.
I connect with Georgia on a deep level and her nerdiness and gregariousness is so relatable, but also her passion for sticking up for what is right. Because she’s our main character, we get to see her flaws more clearly than anyone else’s, but they’re built well and make sense and she does try her best to grow. Another thing I appreciated was that she is definitely a woman of faith, but the book doesn’t preach it at you, rather it is subtle and constant throughout and is contrasted with the other /very/ vocal but not Christ-like religious people in the story.
So heart of the plot, surrounding transgender patients being denied healthcare and workplace discrimination against Jonah because he is gay is absolutely hard to read at times, but it is portrayed thoughtfully and without pulling any punches as to the horror of it all and the toll it can take on one’s mental health to be constantly battling for basic human rights.
There are moments of the book that seem truly bleak, but there is hope woven throughout the novel too.
Lastly, I’ll mention a few writing things. As most people who’ve been here a hot second know, I /really/ dislike random POVs. This book had one right near the end that I only begrudgingly hated slightly less because the character literally wouldn’t tell anyone the topics, ever. So if the author wanted to get some information across, that was the only way to do it fully. Though I still would have perhaps preferred to know slightly less context in favour of not having that POV, I understand why Martin did it. I also debate about the need for Mark’s POV when it was so outweighed by the amount of time spent with Georgia’s? But since I like his character a lot, that doesn’t really bother me as much. The pacing of the book was very well done and although I figured out some aspects before they were revealed, others were decently unexpected.
Overall, this was a beautiful and amazing book and I’m /very/ glad I read it!! I consumed it in just 2 days and it was absolutely worth the read. If you are mindful of the trigger warnings, I would definitely suggest reading this lovely, funny, heartwrenching book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Transphobia, Suicide attempt, Medical content, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Medical trauma and Hate crime
Minor: Sexual content, Drug use, and Infidelity