Too Late by Colleen Hoover

Sloan and Asa are a couple where it seems, he always needs sex. Sloan is trapped and has to rely on him and his money to help her but he sells drugs and has too many parties for her liking but he pays for her brother's special care.

In university Spanish class Carter and Sloan meet and go on a date but Asa has a tracker on Sloane unknown to her whilst sleeps with any girl uses them and calls them a whore in his mind after his father issues we learn about.

Asa is overprotective of Sloan being his property and is particular about the company he keeps. So much so he doesn't see Carter and Sloan becoming close as she grows more scared of Asa and his behaviour.

Then there's a huge twist ahead with Luke and Ryan who are undercover cops, Asa is onto them and plays on schizophrenia like his parents doing many pills and loving his coconut cake.

There is a shooting, very tense all through the last few chapters and two epilogues to finish an amazing book!

November 9 by Colleen Hoover

Two lives collide after a twist in their stories brain them to meet by chance one November 9th at a restaurant where eighteen year old Fallon is meeting her father and Ben sticks up for her despite being a stranger he fakes being her boyfriend on the night she's leaving to go live in New York.

They leave with a promise to her future self and future Ben that they meet up every November 9 until they are twenty three. Ben will write a book of their story while Fallon will grow her confidence in herself and date despite feeling less than perfect and not attractive because of her fire scars and pursue her acting on Broadway.

As their lives evolve many twists lie ahead for the two, from deaths, births, other Colleen Hoover book characters making appearances and their relationship reaching it's decision point.

The last few chapters though! This climax suddenly brings us full circle in another twist in the plot revealing many secrets which Fallon will be the decider over what happens next for the two.

The Comeback Season by Jennifer E. Smith

Ryan meets Nick at a baseball game on the fifth anniversary of her father's death. On the same day her mum and Kevin her step dad announced they are pregnant much to the joy of her little sister. Meanwhile, Nick and Ryan work together on a maths project whilst they hang out so much they don't go to the school dance together but Ryan does get a shock when Nick reveals he has and has had osteosarcoma tumors which is why he keeps having his arm break.

After getting over the shock, a silly mind bet and blaming herself for unforeseeable issues that rock the couple, Ryan and Nick sure have an eventful life together.

A really baseball heavy book but with a good The Fault In Our Stars only not as sad or dramatic edge that made me find the characters stories working really well.

This Is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith

Communicating by email after pure chance of a wrong email addressed typed, Ellie meet Graham that she lives in Maine and he California with a pet pig, Wilbur.

So when Ellie and Quinn work in a local ice cream shop whilst a film is being made locally with heartthrob actor Graham Larkin coming. He is trying to find Ellie only accidentally dates Quinn by accident after she spilled ice cream on her shirt at work and borrowed Ellie's. After a lot of doubt from Ellie about dating him things cool off until she hatches a plan to find her could be president father to see if he will welcome her and help her future at Harvard. Graham, wanting to help borrow a boat to find her dad.

The relationship between the two is tricky as it would be when one of you is so popular but they both worked really well before when they were emailing so after the shock don't adapt as naturally people would struggle with yet their happiness that comes when they are together proves they have something between them!

You Are Here by Jennifer E. Smith

Emma comes from a family of high achievers but has always felt lost.

Peter has his alcoholic police sheriff whilst being a high achiever.

Emma concocts a plan to travel to North Carolina arriving just about on her seventeenth birthday as she wants to find out about a brother she never knew, Thomas her twin.

After a break down and a pick up, Emma and Peter become travel buddies along with their companion of a stray three legged dog. As the two travel to Gettysburg, have a run in with the police, make it to the cemetery where she feels closer than ever to her whole self and find her family waiting for her after realizing what she uncovered and maybe things can finally get better between the family at last.

I read this book in an hour and a half before bed and it was obviously that good! I really enjoyed the journey though the family size did make me mix up a few characteristics of characters with similar names but that was just me otherwise the story was fun despite the edge of sadness.

The Geography Of You And Me by Jennifer E. Smith

Lucy lives in a block in Manhattan with a crush on the new boy, Owen who moved in with his father.

When she gets stuck in the lift with him in their building, it sparks a new friendship which progresses despite both of them facing moving apart, Lucy to Edinburgh and Owen to Lake Tahoe. They keep in touch at first by postcard but eventually the contact between the two fades and weakens as Lucy grows close to Liam, a boy she meets on her first day at school in Edinburgh she questions her feelings on the situation with Owen and Liam and what about Liam meeting a new girl too as Paisley enters his life when he moves...

Can love stands geographical challenges?

This was a great story which I loved for the fact that they didn't just rely on email but postcard sending too which is a lost art to me as no one really does send them anymore. The way they are forced together and then apart made it seem brutal but their hearts kept growing fonder for sure making it a cute read.

The Statistical Probability Of Love At First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith

When Hadley misses her flight to London by four minutes, she is stuck having to wait to fly out to London for her father's wedding till the day it's happening on! Hadley isn't looking forward to the wedding after her dad abandoned her and her mum in America for new step mum to be, Charlotte in Oxford, England.

What she doesn't expect is to get to know a boy, Oliver she meets in the airport and find he's going to be sitting on her row on the same flight and is also heading to England for an event too.

Over their shared flight they talk and get to know each other better but soon after landing go their parted ways only to feel the pull between them and end up meeting the other again at each of their separate functions.

As Hadley experiences her first love it seems she may come around to the idea of her dad moving on and she may be okay with the idea at last.

I loved the concept of falling in love with someone in twenty four hours however far fetched it seems it was a cute story that kept me interested in what would happen to the youngsters!

Rape by Joyce Carol Oates

One night walking through the park at midnight after a fourth of July party, an horrific attack took place on a thirty five year old mum, Teena. She may have acted like a certain teen in her matter and dress, but she didn't expect to be brutally taped by a gang when her daughter was present no less.

This book is brutal and honest, her twelve year old daughter grows up telling the tale to us through recovery, trial and the after effects on her still now. The trauma is raw and inescapable in this sad, horrifying book which is amazing but not for sensitive people or young people.

Girl Parts by John M. Cusick

When David is presented with robot girl Rose by his parents request to treat his dissociative disorder due to him spending all his time interacting and not bonding with people, he doesn't expect her to literally shock him thus making her separated from him after harming him when they're supposed to become friends or more not just have sex like David wants while Rose's programme disallows that to happen before a certain amount of time.

Rose is also a trial robot girl, so when David's parents don't like the changes or lack of in their son, Rose finds herself running into the arms of Charlie, a boy she met after running him off the road when David was driving them home one night after a party.

Rose continues to hide away at Charlie's until a nightmare makes her believe her design company Sakura are after her which leads her to finding Lily, another version of her only a Barbie type version unlike her.

It was a great concept for a book! I love the idea of how robot partners can be developed but how creepy it can be too at the same time knowing you could pick aspects of their personality or design even. I like the aspect of typical sexual norms with girls being Barbie's and males all sex driven as it is quite often true but could've been challenged in the book more as times are ever changing surrounding sexuality.

I Hate MySelfie by Shane Dawson

Shane is someone whom you either love or hate it seems.
I personally find his humour mostly funny and would never hate on him even if at times something is so close to the knuckle I hold my breath that he said or wrote it!

Anyway, the first of his two books so far has been a great read which made me glad to finally read it! Talking of life in high school and being the awkward kid he was because of his appearance and the way he could come out with witty remarks and empathise with others he knew like him shows Shane wouldn't back down and take it.

His tales of the future talk of karma kicking back at one of his main bullies, a cheerleader and see how he rose up from her level of low treatment of others to times of discovering who you are and your sexuality.

He talks touchingly of his Grandma and how her passing effected him, his mom and his brothers, I am sure Shane has a lot of her in him with their shared humour being as it was.

He opens the discussion about his eating habits and how later on in life it still caused him issues too which was great to read, not many people would be confident enough to enlighten others to how situations like that can go but Shane nailed it.

A raw look into the deepest stories of Shane's life which prove life can give you lemons you can turn to sweet lemonade, just persevere kids, it gets better after all!

Hello Life! by Marcus Butler

Marcus is a very popular Youtuber I have followed for years now but have only just picked up his book he wrote a while ago now.

Marcus tells us of his fitness journey, and dating escapades before enlightening us into his past school days when he went through a phase of being a troublemaker before settling into better friendships.

We could see how much he cares about his family and friends as he tells us of his Nan's death and being a shoulder to cry on for his sisters and mum during the time as well as doing all he could to support his friend as she went through her anorexia battle in and out of hospital for treatment.

Overall Marcus shows us all through his life up to now and proves what a great role model he is now to his young fans.

Generation Next by Oli White & Terry Ronald

When Jack moves school after being badly beaten up by bullies, he finds himself making friends with a group with his same shared interest in media as well as catching the eye of Ella, whom he first sits next to in class. The group he meets soon invites him to Austin, the group's leader's house to hang out in their technology den where they come up with their GenNext idea from watching gigs online as well as using social media.

As the website takes off being talked about all over the internet, the group face a huge live meeting abroad about the future of GenNext as Hunter's uncle dodgy company want to buy GenNext and threatens releasing a sex tape between Hunter and Ella if they refuse.

Throughout the book, friendship is tested and bullies play a huge role in the story. There's also the fact that Jack's mum faces cancer and he still goes ahead with the meeting abroad which personally I don't think I could do. It was a good book but I would've liked there to have been more about GenNext and what they were posting etc.

How To Be A Bawse by Lilly Singh

Lilly has written about how to be a bawse by essentially conquering a lot of stairs to get up there to your dreams and making it happen.

She has amusing but relevant life lessons from Nintendo on never giving up, keep chasing and persevere in life to one day make the progress you want.

She includes many stories about meeting celebrity's she's a fan of and filling a day with everything to conk you straight out at night and get restful and fulfilling sleep to allow you to be a bawse tomorrow too.

Filled with lots of facts I didn't know about her like, she has a psychology degree, was an Indian dance company owner she truly can teach us to take control of our lives and conquer our mind and stop negativity and allow ourselves some hope that we can get to where we want to be.

45 Pounds by K.A. Barson

Ann's mum pushes her to lose weight constantly by hinting all the time at what clothes she could fit into or what she should be choosing to eat. As a result, Ann prefers being at her grandma's as her mum has Mike and her twins to look after as well.

As her aunts wedding approaches, Ann wants to lose weight for herself to fit into her clothing and so buys a commercial advertised kit to have set meals and workouts to lose weight. It works and she starts too lose weight and make healthier choices whilst working and meeting a boy, Jon there keeps her spirits up.

Throughout the book as she begins running and fitting smaller clothes, she stops just having the horrible diet foods she hates and notices her mum's dangerous diet language and attitude is causing her little sister Libby to become a four year old anorexic as she starts to avoid eating by insisting she's full all the time.

This book raises the whole issue of diet culture and it's damaging effects brilliantly especially around young children growing up. It also raises the more widely discussed topic of weight in teenage years and the effects on the person and their mentality. In this case it's great to have a protagonist who spots the unhealthy way her mum approaches being healthy and calls her out on it.

Can I Tell You About Loneliness? by Julian Stern

In this book, set up for seven to thirteen year olds, we hear from Jan's perspective of how he feels when he's suffering from loneliness.

Jan is an eleven year old and describes how he feels in varying situations from at home, school, weekend clubs and when he's alone. His emotions when he's lonely vary from, worrying, nervous to feeling sad and cut off from everyone around him until the feeling passes.

It is common and totally okay to feel lonely!

It's natural and we will all feel loneliness one way or another and it will effect us in some way or form from situations we find ourselves in during our lives. It's easy to let fear of judgement win, but we all fit in somewhere and whether your interests are books, drawing, sports, music etc, there's people out there who love your favourite activity as much as you do too!

This book is here to show children that it's normal and to reassure them as they grow up too during these few years a lot of changes will be happening in emotions and hormones so that will probably cause more intensely felt emotions as well.

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

The Recovery Letters edited by James Withey & Olivia Sagan

This is a book that many people out there should have, in fact as well as their medication for depression they should be handed a copy of this book too.

The Recovery Letters is all written by people who have recovered from their depression and didn't give up or let it consume them and drag them down, instead they are now able to address their past self in letter form to the memory of who they were previously when they were sucked into their depression and quite possibly felt that was how they were going to feel forever.

The people writing to their past selves share helpful tips to try and improve your mood naturally such as exercise and joining new clubs to try and find a hobby to suit you.

You're not weak, alone and support is out there. Always remember you are enough even if you feel you aren't.

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

Wake Up! by Chris Barez-Brown

All about embracing living in the now, this book presents fifty four ways to help you achieve just that.

The book talks of doing the normal day to day life stuff without you realizing, stuck doing bthe same everyday without a break or difference you soon become tuned to autopilot mode.

We lose awareness of who we are and the importance of what we love becomes hindered and buried under life admin, we need to learn and asses our growth with creativity and once we find our positive mindset and relax, we can allow change and growth to happen to us.

There's also creative pages to draw and scribble on as well as we are encouraged to take it around with us to reconnect with life at times when we either feel pressured or alone etc.

More points made in the book are about the topics of;
Spontaneity, rest and exercise, draw and plan, make time for family and friends as well as enjoy every moment!

This book is a great little creative book and is reminiscent of a more adult focused Wreck This Journal.

Many thanks to the publishers for allowing me to review it!

Llewellyn's Little Book Of Dreams by Dr Michael Lennox

In this book, Dr Lennox talks of his being inspired and enthralled by dreams and what dreaming entails. After studying Psychology and developing his knowledge on the subject of the brain and our more scientific make up he talk of how our clever brains can allow us to dream what we do.

He talks of the five stages of sleep we go through and the chemical process that goes along with that. As well as touching on the types of sleep we can go through from nightmares to anxiety influenced dreams and how they can impact our memory.

Dr Lennox covers what animals, colours and certain objects in our dreams can mean for us in what we recall when dreaming and he advises us to relax before sleep and leave pen and paper ready for any dreams to written down to allow us to self asses with assistance of his little handy guide here.

A very informative little book I guarantee will get multiple use by me as someone who often manages to guess little future snippets from my dreams a lot of the time!

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

Grace Not Perfection by Emily Ley

Emily is a very busy woman, life with juggling kids, work and of course her husband and friends means time is precious for other activities as the circus of life takes place.

This book is all about enjoying what you do and approaching it your way no matter about achieving perfection but facing it with grace and your style taking matters into your own hands. However, it is also okay when you need to take a break as Emily learned by causing herself a serious health scare, nothing is worth breaking yourself for as without you imagine what the world would be like. Realise your worth and importance and accept that rest can be best and other times sure work is crucial but just make sure you enjoy it and if not manifest it into that.

The main aims of Emily's book is to allow us to realise what we need and don't need, appreciate everything we have whether it's big or small, enjoy life but don't allow it to take over and cause you unnecessary stress and most of all, face everything with Grace, perfection is overrated and you have your own perfection within you, trust yourself!

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

Baby Lost by Hannah Robert

Only two days after Christmas back in 2009, Hannah's life changed drastically after a car crashed into her car while she was eight months pregnant with her little baby 'Halloumi'.

Also in the car was her partner, Roma and their daughters, Jackie and Jazzie who all managed to escape the wreck along with Hannah but unfortunately, baby Zainab had just one tender day with her family due to the horrific accident. No amount of bruises or broken bones were as significant a side effect of the crash as an innocent newborn life being so cruelly taken. I feel anger towards the reckless driver for taking this poor family's precious baby away, reckless drivers need stopping and need punishment.

Hannah's writing during the time of being in hospital talks of her inability to face traveling in a car again so soon as the trauma caught up to her and all she was facing ahead of her felt too much, working with a physiotherapist to walk again properly as well as grief all taking a toll.

I was glad to know that the reckless student driver was caught but saddened to know that Hannah and Rims split. However, their grief was aided by Ali's arrival, a newborn baby boy joined their family and sent a new glimmer of life and hope to them.

I was so glad to read that Hannah's family escaped but the loss of a new baby is always a tender thing. In our family, my aunt suffered a lot to get pregnant and I have a friend trying multiple rounds of IVF to try and have a baby, it's an emotional toll to endure at any stage of pregnancy from conceiving to birth. Hannah's account is detailed and strong, the family is a powerful team and baby Z would be proud to have such a loving family.

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

Bunk 9's Guide To Growing Up by Adah Nuchi

Camp Silver Moon's bunk nine girls are here to teach you all about growing up what's ahead.

The girls discuss and compare experiences throughout the book as no one person's development will be a copy and paste story. Their diary talks us through the stages they went through to grow up in their early teens to now always set around the camp narrative.

Starting back at age twelve, early puberty calls for the essential development growth or lack of we each experience. The girls were sometimes jealous that others had developed faster, which is always okay, stages of change be it growing body hair, using deodorant, spots appearing, breasts appearing as well as your internal changes in hormones causing more emotions and feelings as well as causing your period to begin.

The book has styling tips for your hair type and how to keep it clean and healthy as well as beginning to use and have an interest in make-up and how to handle the varying acne types you may encounter as well as how to choose the perfect first bra for you.

The book talks about gender issues, how you feel vs what body you have been born into and how you should always ask a trusted adult in confidence to advise you if you feel you want to.

The best thing about this book is that every girl could benefit from it, it would also be useful for single parents or embarrassed about having the talk parents as they exist! My parents couldn't deal but I had my school sex education class from age nine to teach me and my parents were happy that way. This would just reassure parents their girls are sure of what's normal and ahead for them in a concise and friendly way!

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

My Rad Life: A Journal by Kate Schatz

This a journal is an empowering book for women and girls filled with influential quotes and illustrations of some of the most famous and idolized women in the world today.

The idea is that we can use this journal to express ourselves in any way we want, with our own doodles or quotes, stories, poems or whatever the heck you want to fill the space with!

It is a great journal to allow us to dream big of our life we want and how to achieve it step by step like the women mentioned have done.

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

Find Your Awesome by Judy Clement Wall

Set over thirty days, to be completed by you a little bit everyday, this journal's focus is to make you fall in love with yourself and promotes self love through persistent activities.

From simply writing kinds things about yourself to encouraging your mind to get creative and draw too at points, colour designs you create, list positives vs negatives in your life and find what you appreciate and want to manifest in your life. The journal also encourages uncluttering your life by donating and binning or reusing for others benefit and your own.

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

A Step Towards Falling by Cammie McGovern

Emily and Lucas both witnessed something, an attack on another student, Belinda in high school, at a football game where Lucas was playing. Neither got help, Emily believed Lucas would/did.

Mary runs a group for disabled students where Emily and Lucas both have to go and help due to their actions and not helping when they knew a rape attempt was happening and thought of the consequences only on them.

Belinda lives with her depressed mum and her nan. She hasn't been able to leave the house much if at all and instead watches Pride and Prejudice the TV series over and over obsessed with Colin Firth's character so much she believes he talks to her.

As Belinda starts to come back to school, Lucas and Emily want to help her and decide to put on a play as Belinda used to be in plays and loved them. They organize a Pride and Prejudice performance which ultimately brings together Lucas and Emily and Anthony and Belinda as two couples as well as friends.

A book that displays cowardice and strength with friendship meshes between disabled and non disabled individuals. The book shows how we can become strong and better from having people in our lives.

We Own The Night by Ashley Poston

LD, Billie, Micah and Ingrid are best friends who know how to party hard when we meet them first.

The stoey focuses on Ingrid as we learn about her, she got into NYU for her future studies but stays at home being her grandma's carer.

Of the group, Billie and Ingrid are close, with him often talking about his dad with her. They also share a maze together as a hideaway as well as a tower pointing North alike Billie's nickname for her.

Yet, Micah and Ingrid kissed before and Ingrid likes him while he had a night with Ingrid's bully, Heather whom she has to endure working with at a sweet shop. He also wants to be in a relationship with Heather, making Ingrid ask her out for him which makes her feel even worse.

Ingrid escapes at night and hosts a midnight radio show under the pseudonym, Nightowl where she has a lot of talks with caller, Dark and Brooding.

Billie pushes her to apply for an internship she gets accepted into it until her grandma's Alzheimer's worsens and she cancels, until LD goes with her and Ingrid realises many things about her life, her future and her relationships.

An emotional rollercoaster for the character of Ingrid that keeps us reading for sure.

Side Effects May Vary by Julie Murphy

Alice's leukemia changed her life, even after splitting up with her boyfriend Luke, seeing her mum cheating on her dad and dealing with how childhood friend Harvey feels for her love wise.

Harvey was always jealous of Luke being her boyfriend until they split up and Alice enlisted him to help her get revenge on him by using photo evidence of a certain shock kiss.

A Year later from her diagnosis, she is still friends or possibly more than with Harvey at times, given their past shared kisses. Alice still has cancer until shockingly against the odds her body enters remission, allowing her hair to grow back and those closest to her trying to get her back on track into ballet and school which Alice doesn't care about. Instead, she begins to pull away from Harvey and grow closer to new guy at school, Eric.

Until Eric is leaving and Harvey found them together at hers. However, he goes on to date his best mate, Dennis's twin sister, Deborah.

But there's still hope for Alice and Harvey yet on holiday...

Throughout the story the bullying between Celeste, Mindi, Luke and Alice over what she caused them at school in terms of public humiliation. The group's revenge against Alice however takes a sick turn which is disgusting and horrifying, unimaginable to me how they could do such a thing to Alice after what she's been through already.

It was a shocking book to read but one I had wanted to get into for a while. The storyline was a serious one all round and certainly brought up issues that a wide range of people can relate to. The characters of Alice and Harvey to me seemed reversed and thus a good thing, showing girls can be tough and boys can be the weaker for lack of better phrasing there that is.
You will really enjoy this book I'm sure.

Believearexic by J.J. Johnson

Jennifer is a straight A student, with as she calls it bulimarexia.

As the sessions get on, she reveals that issues to do with her parents and brother don't help. Her brother sees her as a burden while her dad is overweight and always on a new diet while her mum uses food for emotional reasons thus impacting her mindset around the issue completely. She also realises alcohol is her prop she uses to deal with how she feels too which her family has a history of alcoholism.

Heather her roommate in the EDU gets taken home by her parents with an overbearing father set on wiring her mouth shut with braces and forcing a liquid diet on her and the unit can't help her. Sophia then moves into the room and is older at twenty one, she is suffering with what we now know as orthorexia, exercising the food out as she puts it in.

The unit involves lots of complex cases and incidents take place due to each girls history. I liked how Chuck bonded with Jennifer as that helped her to keep going and not listen to the other nurses which could be quite harsh on her.

The story is based around the authors real experience in a unit and I feel things over time have gotten better overall but still, not a nice experience to have to go through. The book was detailed but not triggering as numbers weren't a focus to trigger anyone but merely hinted at if at all.

Holding Up The Universe by Jennifer Niven

Jack suffers with prosopagnosia and was dating Caroline until he kissed her cousin having thought she was Caroline. His dad had cancer and cheated on his mum with his science teacher which causes him a lot of stress still.

Libby was 600 pounds but is now 300 and can leave her house her mum died and she put on weight. She tried to leave her house before but had panic attacks but is more confident now she's lost some of the weight.

Libby and Jack are involved in a minor incident in the cafeteria of their school which results in them both landing school community service after the end of the school day together.
They both remember her house being half destroyed to get her out to hospital when she had a bad attack, they soon realize they knew each other before now as Jack had always lived opposite Libby, knew her story and didn't judge her then and doesn't now.

Libby also loves to dance and the school team, Camels host team try outs where Jayvee and bailey cheer her on to get through trying.

I really enjoyed the book overall, I liked how Libby was strong willed and didn't take no messing from anyone but stood up to them and faced things herself unlike so many book characters where boys are needed to save them. The sense of girl power friendship between the three girls was also a nice touch that they reconnected and didn't judge Libby.