The Virgin Suicides

Warning: This book can be a huge trigger. Please be careful if you decide to pursue it. You and your life matter.

I see a really big argument about this book and its relevancy in the world we are in. With all of the forms of media portraying suicide, you can say it is glorifying something that really should not be, or you can say that so and so were really ballsy for talking about an issue that the public tends to avoid because of its nature. I personally do not like the route that the show 13 Reasons Why went by using the root of it all being centered around it and that is all you talk about. It reminds me of when teenage pregnancy was the big button issue and Secret Life of the American Teenager came out; my sister was big into it, but it got old for me because every other word was about sex. I liked how Degrassi did their storylines because they did not make it the only thing happening in life; other things happen as well. I digress.

The Virgin Suicides was a personal challenge for me because that is me; I attempted suicide in grade school, then in the last two years I have been struggling on and off. I did counseling for awhile and tested at a moderate level. Reading this book was proof for myself that I cannot/will not be triggered by others.

It was a beautiful read, even if deep down we all know how frickin’ creepy the boys were by low-key stalking the sisters. I want to bring it back around to cultural reflection by saying that even if it is written wonderfully where the point of view comes from boys who loved the victims and did life with them, it is just a coy way of jabbing suicide and its depreciating effect in your face. That is what this book was about: when youth commit suicide, especially when they were the goddess-tier Lisbon sisters, it is the symbol of change in the community and culture.

Again, this was a personal challenge book, which I feel like I responded positively to, but I think this was a one-and-done kind of book for me as well. If you want to try reading The Virgin Suicides, you can get it here.

8/10