In the 10 harrowing dialogues that make up Teenage Mechanisms, Kamryn Woloschuk amplifies the voices of the students (age 12–19) she mentored through the Thunder Bay Regional Multicultural Youth Council as they bravely share their journeys with mental health. In magnifying these experiences, Woloschuk legitimizes the adversities faced by the young people, who have been dismissed mostly as attention seeking. She also extends a hand to the reader, caringly inviting them to see themselves and their own hardships represented in those of the diverse storytellers. The written content is unapologetically raw, only allowing the reader a moment of respite when it breaks to showcase Woloschuk’s beautifully photographed still life compositions of her subjects’ coping mechanisms. At the end of the book, the reader comes face to face with the people behind the text in a gallery of stoic portraits, reiterating the humanity of each individual. Teenage Mechanisms mercilessly grips its audience with its powerful testimonies, not letting go until the final word.
-Abigail Heron
5/5
