Originally reviewed on Hooked on Books 
 While a lot of novels about teen suicide focus on the events proceeding a sucide attempt, Suicide Notes by Michael Thomas Ford offers something different. Instead of focusing on why a teen would want to take their own life, it focuses on what happens next. On what happens when their attempt fails and they are forced to confront their actions. 
 In the case of fifteen year old Jeff, what happens is he's admitted into a treatment facility so he can learn to work through all the problems that made him want to committ suicide. I loved this premise of the book and really appreciated the in depth look we're given to his therapy sessions. I haven't read a lot of YA books where the characters are sent to therapy, let alone have the book give you an inside look into what those sessions are like. Therapy is a very real experience for many teenagers, whether suicidal or not, and I'm glad Micheal Thomas Ford treated this experience with respect and accuracy. 
 The main focus of Suicide Notes is of course, Jeff. And he is a fabulous main character. He's funny and a little bit dark and the more you get to know him the more you like him. But really the whole cast of characters is fantastic. I became attached to the whole cast and almost all of them broke my heart at least once. I liked that this was a group of teens, who weren't perfect and who struggled everyday but they were doing the best they could. And although things don't necessarily work out perfectly for everyone (another accuracy I apprecaited) who had to admire their everyday courage. 
 I thought Suicide Notes, was a well thought out and honest book. It will definitely pull on your heart strings and have you wishing their was more you could do for Jeff. It's revelations and morals are subtle yet striking - giving them an extra sort of power. Mixing humour with tragedy Suicide Notes is a fantastic novel about what comes next. 
 Final recommendation: Though I highly recommend this book for LGBT teens struggling with bullying/depressing, I also think it has universal appeal to anyone facing thes problems. Every high school library should have a copy.