The Mycenaean

Another book review because all I ever do is read…and write. 

Definitions of Indefinable Things is a scarce book; there is only one at Leesville Community Library as well and it takes at least a week to arrive after ordering it on Amazon. Additionally, it only has 3 out of 5 stars on GoodReads, which I know sounds bad but this book is better than what the reviews rate it. Definitions of Indefinable Things is Whitney Taylor’s only book, and it was published in 2017. 

For me, this book is a guilty pleasure. I read it once a year every year since I first read it around sixth grade. It’s one of the first books I felt a complete emotional connection to, but I feel as if it has fallen through the cracks of literature. I hope that someone else can find it and relate to its messages like I have.

I first found this book at the library and soon I checked it out regularly and often re-read it. It was only until this year I bought the book and started to make annotations so that I could look back every year and see a different perspective of me looking back. 

Overview: It’s about this girl named Reggie who is struggling to find her place in life and is dealing with depression like many other teenagers these days. Reggie meets Snake(yes that’s his name) and she feels as if she has found someone who can relate to her and who isn’t always trying to fix who she is, unlike her mom. It’s a story about how mental health can impact a life, how parents are trying their best, and the sacrifice they give behind the scenes. 

Then we meet Carla and a love triangle emerges but not in the way you would think. It’s about perceptions and how one looks on the outside may not be how they feel on the inside. I believe the depression depicted in this book is why I clung to it longer than anyone should to a book. The emotions are raw and real, they feel tangible. 

Every time I sit down to read this book I come away with something I hadn’t felt before, and I relate more strongly to a different character. I guess that’s why humans love art, reading, and poetry because it makes us feel. These are the parts that make up a rating of a book, how well it is written, and if it makes us feel something coherently. 

Rating: I believe this book deserves four out of five stars. The writing and emotional storytelling are wonderful. I’m unsure if it’s because I have a strong emotional attachment to this book and what it has seen me through, but I want others to find it too. I want to know if this is just me. 

The reviews it has received on Amazon and GoodReads are mixed. Reviews are positive praising the book while others say that it was terrible and predictable (for some reason… I mean it is a romance book) 

But the best review was from a user named Jenny on Amazon who wrote a review writing that the book was best for, “If you love someone with depression.” I thought this couldn’t be more true as I have family members myself who struggle with severe depression. I have seen how it has affected them and I have comforted them at their lowest and feared that today was their last. I believe those similar to me should read this book as it has given me comfort when I needed it and validated my fears