Review: The Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick

Summary: Meet Pat. Pat has a theory: his life is a movie produced by God. And his God-given mission is to become physically fit and emotionally literate, whereupon God will ensure a happy ending for him -- the return of his estranged wife Nikki. (It might not come as a surprise to learn that Pat has spent time in a mental health facility.) The problem is, Pat's now home, and everything feels off. No one will talk to him about Nikki; his beloved Philadelphia Eagles keep losing; he's being pursued by the deeply odd Tiffany; his new therapist seems to recommend adultery as a form of therapy. Plus, he's being hunted by Kenny G!

In this enchanting novel, Matthew Quick takes us inside Pat's mind, showing us the world from his distorted yet endearing perspective. As the award-winning novelist Justin Cronin put it: "Tender, soulful, hilarious, and true, The Silver Linings Playbook is a wonderful debut."

Kim's Review: This book was brilliant. Having seen the movie first, I was surprised to find that they are equally amazing. I feel like with such a controversial topic as mental illness, it could have been easy to overdo Pat's character or make his personality over-the-top, but instead the author took a more subtle route and made it easy to understand him without clearly stating it.

I also enjoyed seeing Pat's obsession with football and the Eagles. I can't even put my finger on why, but I just loved that the author successfully made such a minor thing a big part of his life and his story.

I saw that somebody called this book an adult "Perks of Being a Wallflower," and that's probably the most accurate way to describe it. There are so many similarities between Charlie and Pat, and that's probably why I felt like I could get into and relate to this novel so quickly. My only complaint is that some of Tiffany's plot and story seemed a bit unrealistic, but hey, anything can happen!

I strongly recommend this to absolutely everyone, especially if you loved "Perks of Being a Wallflower." Sorry for the short review, I'm writing this during school and running out of time!