This book contains so much Joy and grief Failure and success Tenderness and strength Family and isolation As someone who has experienced OCD and anxiety who also speaks Cantonese this book felt like a warm compassionate and empathetic embrace I felt so seen and Ill be recommending this book to as many people as I can Prepare to get your heartstrings played like an electric guitar Li Charmaine Anne author of Crash Landing

Tarantos debut is a refreshingly unromanticized portrayal of a teenagers journey through the mental health system The novel is filled with a cast of characters equally complex as the winning Mira but it is her selfexpression through writing that is the surefire engine of the book A Drop in the Ocean is funny heartrending and sassy all at once Quill amp Quire

The books accessible writing poignant passages and heartbreaking rendering of loss and selfhatred make it an important book for young people who are struggling The Ubyssey

A Drop in the Ocean is both heartbreaking in its raw honest depictions of the protagonist Miras struggles with her compulsions and inspiring in how the imperfect but beautiful relationships Mira forms along with her own creativity help her to grow through these struggles Taranto doesnt shy away from the hard ugly side of mental illness but she holds her characters with tenderness and respect too Tanya Boteju author of Kings Queens and InBetweens and Bruised

Lea Taranto writes with great emotion and vulnerability in this semiautobiographical novel on the realities of teens in mental health facilities In a way that is compassionate clear and approachable A Drop in the Ocean conveys a sense of solidarity to the difficult moments in a young persons life The Gateway

A brave beautiful novel that will speak to teens everywhere who struggle with mental health challenges Mira is a compelling character privy to a darkness that adults dont always see but so many teens will immediately recognize Shes also creative romantic funny and kind the literary BFF you never knew you were waiting for This book is a gem Annabel Lyon author of Consent

A Drop in the Ocean is brutally frank but also hopeful Its a sensitive portrait of a girl gradually learning there is much more to her than mental illness and who through immense challenges comes to terms that she does in fact deserve love The British Columbia Review

Lea Taranto is a bright new spark on the YA scene Susin Nielsen author of No Fixed Address

Miras story is a comingofage journey told through a harrowing labyrinth of mental illness institutionalization and plainold hormonal adolescence in a manner that reveals a heroine who is incredibly kind loving fantastically romantic and unavoidably angsty just like the novels author Lea Taranto Able to draw deeply upon her own life experience Taranto is a new voice to watch out for I cant wait to see what she writes next JJ Lee author of The Measure of a Man The Story of a Father a Son and a Suit

At the heart of this book is a vivid and bracing honesty about mental illness our desire to be seen and the constant struggle to navigate our own path Through Mira we experience lifes unexpected beauty and difficult truths we see we hear we feel and we root for her at every page turn A mesmerizing debut Nancy Lee author of Dead Girls and The Age

This novel could be a wonderful companion for anyone who has OCD or wants to learn more about it In fact any teenager who is struggling might feel especially seen by this work as Mira gives voice to the kinds of struggles that are rarely described let alone discussed with such vulnerability and literary flair Young Adulting