The Way I Bleed by Mirabela Căpîlna

This poetry collection tackles some great subjects in depth, particularly loneliness or feeling alone or not enough, especially the Dedication, opening the collection summed up the book is inclusive for anyone if any age, gender or situation and at author after note, in particular telling her story, utterly heartbreaking but inspirational to get through to be in her position now writing after everything, fantastic! Alone on purpose about being solo doing what you want trying to be strong, you just want peace and being alone provides that, so relatable! Almost Pretty was a fantastic poem about how as teenager you can learn to wear makeup as war paint to face those people who want to belittle you for your flaws especially if you've experienced bullying. If You See Me, was easily the most relatable, in a busy world one person seeing you, stopping to speak beyond pleasentries can change your life I know it's how I met one of my closest friends that way. The Hour That Knows You, about being unable to rest as the dark night looms and thoughts consume your mind, again simple concept and utterly relatable. Battlefield Lullaby, to me is talking about depression, I relate to it about feeling you're drowning in life, especially when you're a teenager. For me the book completely captures life's trials thrown at you to deal with, open, honest and relatable.

The Day I Was Erased by Lisa Thompson

Maxwell adores his dog Monster and annoys his sister Bex and elderly next door neighbor. While his parents always argue and label their food to show how they are separate from each other one thing they can agree on is when Maxwell has been bad.

Reg is an elderly neighbour who Maxwell gets on well with and often goes to his to hideaway and relax while Reg unfortunately suffers with dementia never knowing who Maxwell is but the pair admire Reg's collection of treasures which is where things go awry...

After a bad day at school and realising no one likes him or wants to be round him Maxwell wishes himself not to exist and just like that he ends up in the same world only a version where he hadn't even been born and no one there knows him.

I really loved the concept of the book and how Maxwell realises that he's not been the nicest kid around. There was a good twist with Reg towards the end that made the book have a good ending and it was sadly relatable as I'm sure at some point as a kid we all want to disappear for whatever reason.

The Racehorse Who Wouldn't Gallop Book 1 by Clare Balding

In this book we meet aspiring horse rider Charlie who lives on a farm with her family who are struggling for money to keep it up for much longer as things need replacing or fixing especially.

Her best friend Polly loves to ride and opposite to Charlie's family they have the money too, so when Charlie accidentally causes her family to buy a horse and pony at auction they must try their best to make their investment worthwhile else they can say goodbye to their lives as they know it.

Charlie gets bullied about her thunder thighs and state of her clothes a lot by her brother's but Clare makes this a positive showing how it benefits riders to be more well built and how it aids riding and controlling a horse. It was a thrilling read and Charlie was a fabulous character full of courage when others doubted her.

Rebel With A Cupcake by Anna Mainwaring

When Jess gets called fat by the school mean girl, Zara on Own Clothes Day after a freak clothing ripping accident, she starts to doubt herself and her attitude towards her life choices such as her cupcake making and eating habit for one.

Hannah and Izzie her beat friends assure her it's not all bad as she's gained the attention of her secret crush, Matt and been asked by him to his party! But is he the boy of her dreams after all?

Her older sister Cat has suffered with an eating disorder it's hinted at, her mum encourages her to lose weight and so Jess begins questioning what she eats, when and why as well as taking up some exercise and eating less in general. But, she meets her blogger idol and gets asks to write a piece for her site after a chance meeting at her dads gig and so she swaps numbers with her idol and new friend quite possibly, Imogen and go shopping together.

The book deals with the issues of bullying and name calling in school, it can really effect peoples psyche and so is a key factor especially around the subject of weight as it could have sent Jess spiralling completely but eventually she owned her weight and who it makes her, A Rebel With A Cupcake as she calls herself online and good for her too!

A great book about not letting the bullies get you down, or at least not for long!

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

Fat Angie by E.E. Charlton-Trujillo

Angie or as she's known at school, fat Angie, put on weight after her sister at eighteen suddenly joined the army and now is missing presumed dead meanwhile her family fell apart as her dad moved out leaving her with her mum and brother Wang who has turned into a criminal and been in major trouble.
Also, Wang's therapist is dating their mum.

At school, Angie isn't popular and so when new girl KC starts to hang around with her she can't believe it as well as one of the most popular jocks in school Jake standing up for her against a violent bully. Stacey Ann is the worst bully but everyone seems to throw degrading weight comments her way.

KC reveals she knew Angie before moving and knows about her sister, the pair also find themselves having mutual feelings about each other despite Angie being warned by Jake that something's not right about the situation that Angie later ends up in while trying to live up to her sister's sporty history and lose weight too.

This book was amazing, it brought up a lot of mental health issues from PTSD, self harm, borderline personality disorder and behavior disorders too as well as bullying and how it progresses and shows everyone's transparency.

Because Of You by Eve Ainsworth

In this book, Poppy is Struggling with her mum moving in her boyfriend after throwing her dad out months ago.

Poppy lives her dad but hardly sees him now he's got a job but he also likes to drink and forgets about everything when he does...

In school however Poppy starts to have a tough time as she stands up for a girl who's getting picked on by a bully. However the tables turn as the bully who's her ex friend then turns her attention to Poppy and picking on her and when a video she takes of Poppy goes online things get out of hand...

I enjoyed this book but I did think there would be more incidents of bullying in the book, even though obviously any is bad enough! It raised so many issues from new families and missing parents, being bullied, fake friends and more it was a great little story though and another great book from a fellow Eve.

• 
  

Birthday by Meredith Russo

Eric and Morgan have known each other since they were born and always spend their brithday toegther.

However when Morgan loses her mum, she shuts off from the word after trying and failing to come out to her friend about really being a girl, trapped in seemingly a boy's body and tha she's actually transgender.

As they grown up, we see how they both question their sexuality over thoughts they have for the other, how they feel attracted to each other and especially how they deal with girls who they encounter.

There's a heavy aspect of homophobia bought up too as in their small town, many of the football players speak horrifically about gay people and especially Eric's dad is a very cruel man pushing his family away and seemingly only caring about how rich he can be, a fickle bitter man indeed.

Morgan was a brave and strong character throughout even if I was screaming when little young Morgan wasn't heard coming out about her true self when she was with Eric for their first birthday mentioned in the book!

I really enjoyed this book, not only for the transgender topic being handled and executed so well but the eighteen year development of a loving relationship, the pair truly were made for each other and this book's ending is movie style for sure this should be adapted and be a Netflix craze for all to see!

Splash! by Charli Howard

In this book, Molly is an aspiring swimmer growing up with her grandparents who champion her natural talent in water.

However as the pressure of facing secondary school loom, her best friend Chloe starts acting out being mean towards everyone. As she starts making jibes at Molly about her weight alike some horrid boys Molly encounters at the swimming pool.

When her absent mother finally turns up, she doesn't get the dream reunion she wants and as she fails to impress Chloe, she feels pressure to please and ends up losing her best guy friend after hurting his feelings when she lashes out.

All about the pressures of school, bullying, weight and appearance this is an essential, necessary read for teens and preteens growing up into an image based world.

Jemima Small Vs The Universe by Tamsin Winter

Jemima Small hates how she looks bigger than the other girls and her surname, small for being her opposite.

She's proudly smart and is excited when an opportunity to take part in Braniacs her favourite TV show arises she's happy but at the same time, everything said to her by the kids, bullies, strangers all builds up.

Jemima has a great best friend in Miki who never fails to stick up for her while her old best friend Alina ditched her to hang out with Lottie who bullies Jemima.

As she faces joining far club forced to after being humiliated in school, she makes friends with others who feel like she does and makes a friend in Gina who runs the course.

Throughout the novel Jemima is courageous and learns that being herself is a great thing despite her issues around her weight, mum and bullies. She is a brave character and a typical teen when she wants to dye her hair rainbow which some of us can relate to! I loved her brainiac personality and zany family Tamsin has created a book that'll be forever important for girls now and in the future, her writing is some of the most relatable and hard hitting making the YA fiction we need.

Life Uploaded by Sierra Furtado and Zara Lisbon

Harper is a fourteen year old when we meet her, in love with her then best friend's boyfriend, Jack. However, soon her bff moves away as she can't cope with Harper and other girls getting Jack's attention and liking him back.

Then, in the future thanks to her new best friends, the Jessica's, she finds YouTube, a major clothing and make-up makeover and begins her own YouTube and blogging career.

At sixteen, with new YouTube Mia she meets an actor idol and major crush, Dalton James. She also started hanging round with Ellie after the Jessica's started treating her differently after she became internet famous however, Ashley Adler the school bully and jealous of Harper's success likes to treat Harper meanly by for a start, sticking gum in her hair so she freaks and acts like a drama queen as she loves her long hair so much.

After a whirlwind trip with Dalton and falling hard, pictures and tweets from a Harper troll account cause parts of Harper's life to fall apart much to her dismay and regret, until a breakthrough in the troll's identity clicks in Harper's mind leading her to a doorstep she never expected to visit again.

Meanwhile, will she figure out her love life at last too after a couple of years of mixed love options?

I don't watch Sierra on YouTube personally, with no offence to her or her content at all I'm just not a typical girly girl, I'm very sporty and thrown together in life! But, I do enjoy trying youtubers books alike my past reviews a while ago. This one has been the best fiction so far but some areas of the writing style lagged detail and development other parts had.

Jelly by Jo Cotterill

Jelly is the school class clown as we discover her insecurity at being the bigger girl at school. She suffers from some bullying comments made towards her many times about her weight building her insecurity as she lets out her anger against people by writing some rather emotional short poetry as a hobby.

She also has to battle with her mothers bad taste in boyfriends as they use her and treat her badly until by chance her mum finally meets a decent guy whom might just also make Jelly happy too.

As Jelly deals with puberty and entering the school talents show with her rather brilliant impersonation act, we see a brave girl emerge as she turns the cruel words said to her into a work of art and owns the stage for her performance.

The book cleverly shows how bullying can effect someone but also how it can in turn inspire them as well. It also shows how a plus size teen is a great choice of main character as Jelly is a normal teenager dealing with an array of issues like any teen of any size a first for teen fiction and I commend Jo for this!

Butter by Erin Lange

Nicknamed by school bullies after there was an incident involving butter, our protagonists nickname became Butter.

He plans to eat himself to death and posts online on a website he creates advertising his upcoming last meal. It's through this that the popular group at school start to befriend him and take him under their wing.

Butter also likes Anna, a girl whom can't see him for who he is as they talk online anonymously all the time making Butter fall for her more but in real life she has no idea it's him she's really talking to online...

As he battles with his feelings over friends, weight, food and family we see how it all results in his 'last meal' as he feels lost in life...

A touching book showing how deep out feelings can effect the world around us and the way we see things too. It was especially touching in how he feels alone and only included when expected to kill himself and shows how dangerous the wrong attention and influences can be.

Ella On The Outside by Cath Howe

In this book we meet Ella whom always feels on the edge of friendship group's at her new school. She falls into a friendship with Queen of attention Lydia whom seems to use Ella to find out more about their classmate, mysterious Molly whom doesn't mix with anyone and sits alone.

Pressured by pushy Lydia into investigating into Molly's life and what she herself hides from inside her house. As Ella uses her photography skills to document what she finds, she learns true friendship and helps a woman in need...

As Ella also has to protect a secret about her family, she discovers a lesson about trust and true friendship despite first appearances.

It was a great book as we are not only drawn into the mystery of what is hidden in Molly's house but also over the fact of the fake friend and true possible friend angle in the story too. It was a read that teaches kids not to judge each other just on outwards appearance but on what we as people are truly about as we each have different interests and secrets.

My Secret YouTube Life by Charlotte Seager

Lily is a Youtube vlogger who goes by the name LilyLoves
However her life isnt perfect as she deals with her drunk boyfriend who's a wannabe rock star who treats her badly.

Then there's Issa, a follower of Lily whom wants her so called perfect life for herself, only to be forcing it to happen and it doesn't in the way she dreams as she uses others photo's on her blog to enhance her life to the online world to have startling friendship consequences for her.

When Lily and Issa see each other, a shocking actions sets the two spiralling and we witness their lives break and then to realise what truly matters in life and how they can grow and evolve from their shared experience.

It was a typical Youtube experience, believable and crazy from both girls perspectives. It deals with cyber bullying and online hate as well as tabloid news and how the media can spread lies and truths but blow them out of proportion. For a debut it shone through all the other YouTube fiction books I have read sounding more grown up in  tone of language and relationship issues raised.

928 Miles From Home by Kim Slater

Cal lives with his dad whom works away constantly on jobs he's evasive about. One day walking late by the river he meets Amelia whom lives on a barge with her mum and brother. This later teaches him about friendship and family formations as his family begins to drastically change...

When Sergei slips into their school year, Lindon Cal's friend starts to pick on him racially saying things and generally being nasty to him for being in the UK making assumptions about being a benefit scrounger even though he isn't and he's legally allowed to be here.

When Cal finds out his dad is dating and moving in Sergei and his mum, his friends start to cause trouble for him as he's forced into the situation and when the community centre offers an escape into film writing despite getting broken into repeatedly, Cal takes a chance until a twist on events makes him realise Sergei might not be so bad...

All about tolerance and acceptance of others around us from anywhere in the world at all. It was dramatic and eventful and I liked the family dynamic shifting and introducing a usually solitary character to fit into a family and how he can adjust so drastically and judge his past actions and friend associations.

A Seven Letter Word by Kim Slater

Finlay is a young teen with a stammer and a talent for playing scrabble. It was him and his mum's thing to do but as his mum disappeared two years ago from him and his dad's lives and hasn't made contact since.

So when online playing scrabble, Alex, a stranger, starts talking to Finlay and coincidentally mentions they have had a new stepmum for the past two years and she walked out on her family, Finlay wants to investigate believing she could be his mum.

Meanwhile, he has to contend with the school bully Oliver whom is a part of the school scrabble team Finlay ends up joining where he befriends Maryam, a refugee girl whom has to put up with bullying from Oliver also.

Then Finlays house gets broken in to, clues on his mum's things become apparent and suddenly, Finlay finds out his mum wasn't as perfect as he first believed...

The book deals with a lot of serious topics from racial bullying to the pressure of making friends and of course the book's main topic, of stammering. It's ironic Finlay is so good with written words as he can't articulate himself clearly verbally. It was great combining a mystery with a medical/life problem and stammers are rarely written about in children's fiction too which makes it even better and hopefully if anyone reads it whom had a stammer will feel at ease with a relatable character written about.

The Art Of Being Normal by Lisa Williamson

David secretly dresses up as a girl, he knows he's not actually a he inside. He is a girl born that way in the wrong body. He endures torment from Harry the bully at school who calls her a freak show. Still, Essie and Felix her friends and a couple themselves are always there for her, whatever the issue.

Then David meets Leo, born a girl and now a boy he himself knows the challenges all round the issue of being transgender. The pair face off Harry bullying but Leo has his own issues of navigating the love life unbeknown to him before. Alicia his friend wants more than friendship and wants to go to the Christmas ball together.

But as the pair have found each other at crucial times of their lives who knows what may happen between them as they head off on a specific journey to find someone, together...

A beautiful read about both sides of transgender transitions which is a great twist and highlights this book to be a good influence on the teens hopefully picking it up and becoming more open and accepting towards the issues around the subject.
A book full of inspiring characters for sure.

Being Miss Nobody by Tamsin Winter

Rosalind has selective mutism and can't talk in front of people or struggles so much she can perhaps only get a single word or two out instead. She is fine around her mum and dad but in school it has always marked her out as the weird one and gotten her bullied. However, she is a very bright girl who loves to read and play with her brother whom unfortunately has leukaemia.

After starting her new high school, she soon gets bullied by Connor, Maisy and others whom do and say despicable things to her as thwy know she won't fight back or speak up for herself.

This angers Rosalind and despite finding solace in hanging out in the library and helping with upcoming book events, she can also write in her notebook blog posts for her new blog she starts with Seb's help. Her blog is titled Miss Nobody as she is made to feel that way by the bullies. On there, she names and shames and gets students to stand up for the ones being picked on which eventually sees the bullies turn on each other too.

Throughout the last half of the novel, Aisla is a new student who gets paired with Rosalind and thankfully she helps stick up for Rosalind and she's kind and patient with her.

Seb worsens throughout the novel and we can guess what we expect to come for him in the story heartbreakingly as he had so much spirit and a warm character.

Being Miss Nobody was a great book and I really enjoyed it for the uniqueness of Rosalinds life situation and how she manages to cope with her SM and everything her family is going through, which is tough enough on anyone let alone Rosalind despite the bullies trying to cut her down some too from being ignorant to her struggle.

Tamsin is a great new author to watch for sure!

Sweetfreak by Sophie McKenzie

When Carey's best friend Amelia starts getting bullied online my someone under the online pseudonym, Sweetfreak, Carey is accused after the messages are traced to her IP address by the police. Facing serious charges she freaks out and despite pleading her innocence isn't believed by anyone, even as she tries to prove it.

Rose, a popular girl at school and her clones soon offer each girl separate shoulders to cry on but can they trust them?

Taylor, Amelia's ex also starts to turn his wavering girl based attention on Carey and she gets swayed into a brief kiss with him but it turns out he's hiding secrets that she needs to figure out right now!

Nattersnap is how messages got sent starting the bullying, its also since added fuel to the fire of all these friendships and relationships.

Amelia then goes missing and while Carey knows she and her friend upset her sister recently maybe the answer has been staring her in the face all along as to whom Sweetfreak is...

After Carey starts her mission to prove her innocence, she gets caught up in becoming a runaway, befriending homeless strangers and a police wanted girl. She deals with tough situations which in real life can have catastrophic outcomes on anyone. We see both sides of the story from victim and bully, allowing us to get a full view of how both feels and how they are effected by their actions. Not only a great book on the issue of bullying and ever growing social media issues but its a great mystery by a well established queen of that category. I've loved Sophie McKenzie's writing since I was twelve and now ten years on, am still never disappointed by her books.

Vlad The World's Worst Vampire by Anna Wilson

Growing up as the only young vampire in his a house, Vlad is a lonely nine year old who dreams of human life as in his favourite book series he reads secretly so his parents won't find out as they being vampire's dislike humans. Vlad also struggles to learn to fly as a bat which is an important lesson his family wants him to achieve.

After Vlad dares go out in sunlight, he ventures to a school like in his favorite books and meets Mixzie a girl who accepts him as her new best friend. He finds he fits in well at the school with everyone except bully Boz who doesn't believe anything about Vlad and growing up on Transylvania.

Yet when Lizzie ends up at his house he better hope no one see's her as she's a dreaded human his parents won't want to meet!

This is a really fun and imaginative book for kids. I GRE up watching Young Dracula and to me this would be super alike that series being humorous to read. Anna is a beloved author and her other animal works are also the same style of writing so if you check any of her books out you for sure won't be disappointed!

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