Until the Ribbon Breaks

by E.K. Blair

Recommended Age: older YA readers (16+)

Content Warnings: bullying, language, self-harm, substance abuse, suicide, mental illness

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Book Summary

"Being locked up in a juvenile mental health facility was the last place Harlow thought she’d be spending the summer before her senior year of high school. Battling with massive depressive disorder and a past suicide attempt, one wouldn’t think things could get much worse. That is, until Hopewell’s newest patient arrives—Sebastian. He’s popular, arrogant, and the one person Harlow despises the most at school. It couldn’t possibly get any worse, could it?

With nowhere to hide, Harlow is forced to confront her deepest insecurities. These insecurities pave the way for an unforeseen friendship with Sebastian. Together, they learn to lean on each other to find the strength to drop their walls and see each other’s truths.

But when they leave Hopewell and return home, life becomes even more complicated. Stripped of all their safeguards, they must rely on each other as they navigate through their senior year."

My Thoughts

This was a tough book to get through. Because it’s so well written, the more it hurts. I loved the symbolism of the ribbon, which Blair weaves throughout the story so seamlessly yet with obvious intention. The way she handled Harlow's messy family dynamics was also a powerful part of the narrative. As a reader, you could feel the pain, frustration, and confusion from all sides. I realised that we often assume mental illness to spur from one event, but it rarely does. Instead, many tiny, seemingly meaningless events occur, slowly make that ribbon more taut until it finally snaps. Then you realise, "oh, it's a problem."

I almost didn’t want to read this book. I tried to hide from it, but I realised that with books like this, you can either choose to protect your peace or confront the harsh reality many people quietly live with. Blair’s raw, unfiltered writing makes these issues impossible to ignore, especially when you realize the characters are around your age.

One of the reasons this book feels so important is because of where everything stems from: high school. High school can be a brutal place to be if you don’t fit in. The book forces you to reconsider how “harmless” bullying really is. What you might think are a few taunts or cruel words actually add up over time. This book serves as a reminder that the impact of our words can linger far longer than we think.

The scenes at Hopewell are written to make you feel like you’re on the sidelines with them. Blair wrote everything so realistically that I was horrified at some of the precautions the facility had to consider. I’d never realized how much planning went into making a place like that safe. Still, I loved the sense of community they found for themselves at Hopewell. The story doesn’t just focus on Harlow—we also get a glimpse of the struggles of those around her, all going through their own thing but still managing to find silver linings.

Until the Ribbon Breaks does go into graphic detail about the content warnings mentioned above. Please only read the book if you’re sure you can handle it and are in the right place emotionally. I know I finished this book feeling heartbroken and angry, wondering how things like this can happen to people who don’t deserve it. But more than anything, reading this was a good reminder that we don’t always know the weight our words can carry.