Make Believe by Cory Wolfe is a dark and intriguing story about recurring student suicides at Lincoln High. After the third student at Lincoln High commits suicide, the school decides to bring in a new mental health counselor named Jennifer Hall. She is given the responsibility of counseling the students and preventing further suicides. Her most difficult case is a complex, gay, and neglected student named Tyler Tuckerman who is still grieving his deceased first love. Wolfe’s narrative progresses quickly, giving readers a look into the lives and minds of both Jennifer Hall and Tyler Tuckerman. As the perspectives change from chapter to chapter, the contrast between Jennifer and Tyler’s characters is striking and makes the book more fascinating. The novel excellently discusses multiple heavy topics including suicide, bullying, mental health disorders, the LGBTQ community, grief, and loss, and will truly play on your heartstrings. Readers will devour this captivating story in one sitting and be blown away by the twist at the end of the book.

A focused, impressively nuanced tale about teenagers, drugs, lies, and the terror of hidden enemies.

A string of tragic student suicides throws a small town into emotional turmoil, and forces a counselor to face her own darkness in Make Believe by Cory Wolfe. Touching on painfully relevant subjects of depression, teen suicide, drug abuse, social alienation and collective grief, this is a blunt story that doesn't shy away from uncomfortable themes. The multiple narrative voices make the story more complete, bridging the perspective gap between adults and children, broadening the narrative arc, as well as the book's potential readership. Regardless of your age or personal experience with trauma, this hard-hitting novel is an unpredictable, heart-wrenching, and timely read.