The Weight Of A Thousand Feathers by Brian Conaghan

Bobby is a boy with a lot on his mind, getting his mum her pills and aiding her around their home as well as looking after his brother, Danny a few years younger than his seventeen, too.
He has a good friend in Bel whom fancies him but nonetheless stays his best friend and helps watch over his mum while he goes to young carer meetings.

It's at the young carer meetings he has the chance of a break, a short holiday whilst also making friends with other young careers including Lou a boy he has strong feelings towards as he doesn't romantically like Bel but Lou.

At home he watches his mum deteriorate more into her illness day by day and it saddens him, upsets and frustrates his mum that she can't care for her children but that they have to role reverse and care for her. As her MS starts to cause more and more bodily failures, she asks her Bobby to end her life as is worsening quicker and wishes for no more suffering.

Meanwhile his friend Lou becomes a rock for him as well as his poetry to release his emotions and he finds out secrets can make or break a bond as truths get shared.

This is a heartbreakingly beautiful story. I picked this book as I know an MS sufferer and seen her struggles develop year after year since her diagnosis. I personally have the pain condition fibromyalgia and osteoporosis and spend days in a different but not dissimilar completely status of pain. Sharing tales of suffering and hardship on family members like in this book is key to letting others know they can reach out no matter how hard it may seem, someone will get it, guaranteed. The struggles the family face are alike so many real life experiences and the moral right or wrong of what their mum asks for is often talked about and debated.

Overall, this book has many fun moments that are sweet between mum and son but mostly is a heartbreaker.

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

Home Girl by Alex Wheatle

Naomi has grown up in foster care since her mum committed suicide and her dad became an alcoholic leaving Naomi to care for him before the council took her into care.

Since being in care she has tried many placements and tried to find permanent care in a new family but instead has had tons of homes until Tony and Colleen come along with their other two foster children.

She also has to attend a school for expelled kids where her friends from care unit still catch up with her the girls there, her friends, are also a lesbian couple, Kim and Natts.

The book highlights all the issues with mental health and safety and awareness of others wellbeing. She tries to put up a hard facade but can break easily with change as we see when Louise her case worker only wanted the best for her and then decides to leave while she felt she had no one but good food, coke and dance all dependable things that can't change on her. It was a super  moving and realistic read about teenage life in care that shows how it effects people in the care system.

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

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!

Some Girls Bind by Rory James

Jamie is gender queer binding her chest and hiding her secret from her friends Levi, Nora and Eric as well as her family and brother Steve in this novel told in verse.

Over the course of the novel we witness her friends come out to mixed reactions and approval as well as disapproval too.

Jamie is a good, bold and proud character whilst also being anxious over reactions she could face. The book raises issues straight to the point around gender and sexuality and the fluidity people can have freely now. It is a good bold read and will surely open eyes to the subject matters raised.

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

Read Me Like A Book by Liz Kessler

In this book, in her final run up to her last A level exams, Ash finds herself dealing with her parents divorce, falling out with her best friend and discovering her sexuality whilst keeping up here school work.

After having sex with Dylan, a guy she tries dating only it never feels right, she finds herself in a worse state and relies on talking to her English teacher Miss Murray and soon falls deep into an unrequited crush developing into love.

Doubting herself and whom she likes as her parents separate for good filing for divorce and her dad getting a new girlfriend her best friend and her heal their friendship and hit up the gay bar helping Ash decide once and for all her true sexuality and forget the stresses of her A levels coming up.

This is the book everyone doubting their sexuality should read. It was gripping, truthful, shocking and of course relatable as Ash is a normal teen struggling with growing up whilst her parents arguing all the time then divorcing of course affect her. All the issues made the book hook me in especially as she falls for her female teacher which added a while other dynamic to the book. You should totally read this ya book, no matter your age you'll be hooked.

From Twinkle, With Love by Sandhya Menon

Twinkle fancies Neil so when she starts getting emails signed off from N and admirer she lokes to believe they're from him.

However, as she works with Sahil on a film project after he approached her, she finds herself realising Sahil isn't so bad, he's helped her when Hannah the mean girl makes a jibe at her and notices when her friend Maddie isn't sticking up for her.

The pair work on a film together and hope to enter it into a film festival as their chance of making it as director and producer.

The book deals with family issues, friendship woes, LGBTQ issues and relationships as well as the worry about does he/she like me which is a common YA trope. Twinkle's perspective is made up of written letters whilst Sahil features with blog posts and texts to his friends which show his feelings in their full glory. The final quarter of the book was thrilling to see what happened to all of the relationships in Twinkle's life and I particularly enjoyed a Romeo and Juliet style scene!

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

I'll Be Home For Christmas by Various For Shelter

This is an anthology of short stories based around various people and their versions of home. The stories range and all feature many things from broken families, new step siblings and parents, being gay and coming out, love and crushes, friendship and work.

From the anthology my favourite was Juno Dawson's Homo For Christmas, a story about coming out to your parents as in his case he has a boyfriend and is very happy with him but is anxious anticipating his mum's reaction.

All for a great cause, homelessness these stories are gripping and hard hitting as well as being fantastic quick reads.

The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli

Whilst her twin, Cassie gets a girlfriend, Molly is left sidelined only to be told by her sister she will find her a boyfriend so she isn't left out.

Molly ends up epically annoyed with her twin and her easy life right now as she herself battles with her feelings towards Reid, whom she works with and Will, a friend.

Add in how our seventeen year old Molly feels being a bigger girl in today's society. Reid is also talking to newly single Olivia, making Molly jealous and also opening her eyes at how she is really deep down feeling.

This book was really good and an honest look at dealing with a crush and emotional feelings. The book also focuses on modern day app Pinterest as reference to a lot of Molly's crafting.

Bad Girls With Perfect Faces by Lynn Weingarten

Xavier and Sasha are best friends, Sasha fancies him though while he's recovering from a breakup with his wild ex Ivy.

Ivy is a crazy whirlwind of a character as she uses drugs, drinks, parties hard and disappears sometimes for days on end.

So when she tries it on again with Xavier, Sasha is jealous.

Sashas jealousy leads her to create an online pseudonym of Jake, in order to hopefully catch Ivy out and prove she doesn't want to be in a relationship ever again with Xavier as Sasha knows it's just a matter of time until she will break his heart again.

However, as Sasha leads Ivy astray, they eventually arrange to meet but once face to face with the true 'Jake' Ivy doesn't lose face, but she does later lose her life...

Confused, Sasha recalls her actions and steps as she makes the brutal discovery, but she doesn't expect a surprise discovery that will shock her even more, just how well does she know the person she's close to most?

Xavier, Sasha and Ivys best friend Gwen s lives all change forever with Ivy scarred on their brains forever...

Running away, dead body hiding and being hunted down by someone, this thriller mystery book doesn't let up on twists and turns at any point. I was shocked at the relationships in the end and would've liked to have seen a more sinister ending but the dangers of online chatting and unknown real identities provided a final twist I enjoyed surrounding the anonymity that can provide us with the most danger of all. The split perspective from Xavier and Sashas points of view was good and the perspective where we could guess whom it is and it's not stayed first, but Xavier did feel a bit of a blank character as apart from his being a jock and depressed we didn't get more about whom he is apart from Sasha day repeatedly he's calm and kind.

Prepare to lose your trust in those your reading about!

The Summer Of Us by Cecilia Vinesse

Eighteen year old's, Aubrey and Rae are best friends but both dealing with a lot. Leaving to travel on trains from London to Paris, Berlin, Prague, Amsterdam, Florence, Rome and Barcelona along with their friends, Gabe, Jonah and Clara.

However the travelling makes things hard on them all after
Jonah catches Aubrey and Gabe kissing and it's not the first time they've kissed either...

Meanwhile Rae fancies Clara but believes she is straight so when she shocks her with what she tells her a spark of hope just might get struck alight within her heart...

As all the friends wind up in two's after Aubrey and Gabe's kiss,
there's parties, arguments, new couple's forming and whilst Rae doesn't want to move to Australia and fears letting to of everything and everyone, she realises they're all going to feel the same no mate how much they don't want to separate, it's just how life goes.

The book was told from a split perspective between Aubrey and Rae as it also features the girls romantic relationships predominantly as Aubrey has a heterosexual relationship whilst Rae has a lesbian relationship.

The descriptive writing of the girls describing things was really great and some nice metaphors were used throughout, the places they travel to felt real and the characters falling for each other was totally believable.

Over all it was a great travel book and is perfect for anyone heading off to university themselves and it could be reassuring for them in how they feel about moving being totally valid.

Get ready for adventure and self discovery!

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

Kiss by Jacqueline Wilson

Carl and Sylvie have been friends since they were babies, growing up as close as can be to the point that Sylvie is sure they'll get married one day. They even write or started to write a fantasy novel between them both. While Carl is passionate about glass collect I and has a huge varying range of items in it.

Sylvie gets asked by school popular girl Miranda to a party at hers so Miranda can meet Carl as Sylvie says he's her boyfriend. Only at the party after some drinking, they all play a form of spin the bottle making them all have to kiss one another, outside the room.

After that, Sylvie, Miranda, Carl and his friend Paul all get hanging out including for outings bowling, at each others houses, visiting Kew gardens and shopping. That is until Carl and Paul fall out and Carl Locke himself away.

But once he stops running, the girls are there for him against Paul, after he's the one with the issue...

Following friendship as the lines blur between romantic interest and friendship we see how homophobia can impact lives especially as verbal abuse could turn physical. The strengths of friendship are shown here as the girls are supportive and appreciate their friend is going through a very hard time. However I didn't like Sylvie assuming Carl would marry her eventually as he never hinted he would when she recalls memories growing up it seemed very unrealistic and a crush that would fizzle out eventually after so long unrequited I would've thought. Though over all for an early LGBTQIA+ book it was well written and awareness raising.

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.

Straight Expectations by Peggy Cryden

This book is a must read for anyone unsure or challenging their sexuality and/or their gender too. Also their family may find it useful as a guide to accepting the changes ahead.

After a detailed look into years of Peggy's own life, alike us all she grew up through a lot of turbulent events within family members, abusive partners, breaking up of relationships, teenage curiosity and growth.

Growing up is hard enough, but for Julia, she knew there was a bigger issues. Self doubt buried away for years until finally beginning the transition which is a big step, taking hormones, altering your look, continuing education and also therapy sessions.

The book reveals a full look into issues facing family, friends and obviously the individual making the transition. There is also a look into campaigning for LGBTQ rights which proves how much the issue raised truly still needs tackling as no one should face discrimination or abuse towards them.