Title: Raw Intentions
Author: Sarah Schneider
Publisher: AuthorHouseUK
ISBN: 978-1728390666
Pages: 420
Genre: Coming of Age Fiction
Reviewed by: Anthony Avina

Read Book Review

One of the things that people do this day don’t always realize is how much of a struggle it is not only to deal with the hierarchy, pressure and dangers of high school life, but how terrifying and difficult these challenges and events can be to a person’s mental and physical health. As Elisabeth Kubler-Ross once said, “The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of those depths.” In author Sarah Schneider’s novel Raw Intentions, the reader is shown a difficult journey for a young woman struggling with mental health and finding herself enduring some of the harshest conditions a young girl in high school can endure.

In this novel, the author tells the story of Savannah, a young woman who must overcome great tragedy and struggle in her life. From messy breakups which affect her mental health struggles to dates that quickly turn into nightmares and fellow students who declare themselves rivals to a game she had no intention of playing and becoming a victim of cyberbullying in the process, the protagonist must undergo great hardships that highlight the all too common tragedies young woman face in the transition between high school and adulthood.

This was an incredibly powerful, emotional and heartbreaking read that spoke volumes of the struggles young women and those suffering from mental illness must deal with in a cruel and often ignorant world, especially the world of this transitional time. The reality of these painful experiences and the way trauma can affect a person physically and mentally was infused with a degree of experience and emotion from the author that not only connected the reader to the narrative but touched an emotional chord within the reader as well.

This is a novel for anyone who enjoys coming of age teen dramas, and emotional tales that speak of serious life issues. As someone with a passion for shedding light on mental health and the struggles that come with it, it was both heartbreaking and yet sadly truthful to see Savannah’s tales unfold. As a warning to readers they should know this book deals heavily not only with mental health, but drug and alcohol abuse, sexual abuse and overall trauma. Yet the author presents these situations in a raw yet natural way that while uncomfortable to read and painful to hear, brings a natural light to the situations that are too often ignored.

This is a gripping tale of grief, trauma and the pain of trying to grow up in a changing world filled with cruelty and ignorance. The author’s writing makes the story flow smoothly and quickly engages the reader so they don’t want to put the book down, no matter how painful the narrative becomes. It is an emotional read that fans of coming of age dramas will not want to miss, so be sure to check out author Sarah Schneider’s Raw Intentions today.