Proud by Various and Juno Dawson

One of the most hyped up teen books is finally here and I'm so excited and not just because it's put together alongside Juno Dawson!

Written by various authors the stories gathered in the book focus of different aspects of LGBTQ+ issues that they may face.

Simon James Green focuses on a gay penguin couple and two guys realising their feelings at prom.

Kay Staples features a Travelodge near Leicester, my hometown of all places! Where two guys find themselves hiding out at to discover their romance after a big lottery win as one of them tries to figure out if they're really a girl or just a boy who's into dresses and make up etc

David Levithan focuses on a choir singing Katy Perry as two boys feelings are growing for each other and look for acceptance from their families.

While Tanya Byrne focuses on Orla a teen coming to understand her sexual preference and how she falls for a girl, Reeba and also touches on death and grief.

Michael Lee Richardson focuses on a football team and their inclusivity of LGBTQ community members. As the main character is transgender and gay too. With a crush on a fellow team mate. The issue of using a binder is also talked about briefly which is refreshing to read as it's hardly ever mentioned.

Karen Lawlor focuses on a group of frenemies after Darcy is overheard being mean about our main character, Lizzie's best friend. However the two girls face conflict and discovery about their true feelings towards each other...

Jess Vallance focuses on the life of seventeen year old learner driver Lucy as she comes to realise her true feelings towards her friend, Fizzy.

The anthology does include also poems and fantasy themes based stories too of which just weren't my natural preference from this collective book.

Over all this is a powerful collaboration and celebration for the talented LGBTQ+ community involved in or set to read this beauty of a book purely based on the inclusivity and understanding of issues faced by the members of their community. It was heart warming, emotion tugging, fun, realistic and eye opening and everyone can take something away from this book of not just to be proud of ourselves.

Many thanks to the publishers for allowing me to review this book for them!

Lies My Girlfriend Told Me by Julie Ann Peters

When Swanee passes away suddenly of a heart attack, Alix her girlfriend finds it a huge thing to deal with. Reliving memories, like how they met on a school ski trip, Swanees's sister, Jewell sticks around Alix to share memories with her and support her.

When she finds messages left on her girlfriend's phone from an LT, she doesn't know what to do. Half written in English and Spanish, she perseveres and finds herself uncovering a whole other relationship Swanee was having with Liana, a girl whom even believed herself to be in an engagement with her!

From a bad situation however, the two girls bond and enjoy a relationship together combined grief and love from the betrayal they've both suffered.

Both Alix and Swanee's parents are supportive of their relationship and that's such a good thing to include in a YA. The plot was very simple but effective as we see cause and after effects of one person's actions on lives of others. I found Joss to be a bit too dramatic a character in this book as a grieving sister I felt she would mellow a little whilst still harbouring some anger but that didn't happen.

How To Make A Wish by Ashley Herring Blake

Grace has come back from a holiday to find that her mum has uprooted their home and moved in with her latest guy.
But the craziest thing is that her ex boyfriend is now her kind of step brother for however long the relationship plays out for.
Plus his dad is totally over the top in physical affection of her mother, including in front of the teens.

Grace's friend Luca, lives with his mum and they both run and work in their diner. Through Luca, Grace is told of a girl called Eva, her mum has passed away and is coming to stay for a bit with him and his mum.

When Grace later finds herself on a secluded beach, she meets a girl sobbing, sat on the sand eating peanut butter alone. The girl is Eva. Thus ensues a fast turn of events consisting of Eva sneaking into Grace's room at night and hanging out together at the top of the lighthouse.

Throughout the book, we learnt of Grace's mum and the actions she takes being extremely wrong and dangerous to others around her. She seems very switched off in parts yet Grace and Eva are there to help her as they have to be. The two girls have their passions and hopes to achieve their goals of Grace being a Pianist professionally and Eva a ballet dancer professionally just like her mother was.

The book also had strong relationship lines around friendship, lesbian/bisexual characters and teenage behaviour in general.

In this book, I really didn't like the main character's mum, she came across as being trying and needy over attention and her male relations. Some of the things she came out with were a little on the edge of what you should discuss with your daughter in real life anyway. However, we do discover the issues surrounding her character like consuming too much alcohol and excessive intake of it and raising a young baby on your own after her husband died in war and she does face up to it.

Overall it was a great book about finding the true you in career hopes and in love. Thanks to the publishers for allowing me to review this book for them!

If I Was Your Girl by Meredith Russo

Andrew has tried to commit suicide previously and we soon learn why, better known as Amanda now and returning to live with her father and leave her supportive mother behind where they had set up a new life, Amanda wants her dad to be a part of her life now she can live as her true self.

We soon learn of the torment Amanda was put through before and early on during her transition at her school and now she feels at a new school she will be accepted, even if she came out as transgender.

At the new college, she makes friends with a group of girls, including a bisexual girl, attracts the attention of Grant whom becomes her boyfriend much to the annoyance of Parker who also seemingly likes her.

After confiding in Bea her secret of her past, she betrays her in the biggest way outing not only her secret but others too, publicly she is then left in a dangerous situation with Parker and return's home to her mum feeling unsafe. Though she later proves her strength in herself as she faces up to events.

This book is raw and open about the struggles many transgender people widely across the world unfortunately still have to face. Amanda shows the hope I wish all transgender people to have as people grow more accepting.

Our Own Private Universe by Robin Talley

Set within a Christian camp get together, Lori and Aki set each other the task of having a summer fling.

However, love is never easy and Christian Aki has a big secret to hide about her sexuality, she's bisexual and out to no one. Yet when she meets Christa, her world changes into secret get together and sneaking around, even though a photo circulates briefly of her and Christa and the pressures of keeping their connection secret threatens to be exposed.

Aki and Lori also have a difference of views and do fall out once but make it up after Lori admits what she did was wrong about her and a camp councillor, who's married too and shows the friendship bond in all it's strength and glory.

We learn how much issues matter to Christian groups as well as we see a very serious debate take place about relevant topics to today's society and how they try to do their bit to help make a change in the world to be more accepting and tolerable.

One of the best things about this book is the way it portrays coming out for the first time and having gay sex, an issue not talked about in any teen book I've read before and it's eye opening to see the way it's talked about openly which is a much positive thing to accepting others and involving everyone in being educated to create more understanding. I loved this book and believe the frankness and openness of the language is key and engaging, an essential read of the LGBTQIA fiction for teens out there!