readme.txt by Connie Pillon

This collection is told through a series of published snippets of poetry and daily thoughts around a variety of subjects from self love, to projection and addiction and how we should all work on simply being happy in ourselves before trying to be with somebody else as if we're not happy it won't make for a joyous relationship without mutual love and respect for each other and your feelings.

Unrequited by Misti S

This was a great collection of poetry which dives in to the title of unrequited love with depth of how it can effect you and your day life/habits. Some stand out poems of the collection to me were: Lost Too Many Homes, about literally moving and too losing so many people you love to not want to feel so vulnerable again. Safe Space, was such a tender poem about wanting to be the person you like so much's person to go to confide in It was a short yet concise collection working well as it is.

Hold The Cork by Lee Mawdsley

This poetry collection not only has a fun title, but the poetry spilling out covers so many vast areas of life we all encounter and have to adapt, change and cope with. An Empty Letter, about wanting to regain contact after being close before yet struggling to be able to communicate. Rain and Pain and The Darker Hours, were two poems looking at how the weather makes us feel more deeply and relates to our thoughts contrasting or inspiring. Life Lessons and Old Habits, how we can feel like the constant cycle of living means we're always learning whether it's good or bad developments. Support, about all the ways, you can find someone truly caring deeply for you and wanting to help. A great collection about all the good and bad times in a relationship and how it can be testing, ending and ultimately makes you feel deeply.

Out Of The Darkness by J M Edgley

As the title suggests of the collection, this poetry collection focuses on coming out of the darkness and depths of depression and living with PTSD too. Some stand out poems to me were: Into Despair, about the way depression can sneak up again and pull you back under and into it's depths. Trapped By Time, was actually really relatable and so similar to something my mum once said to me I'm too oretty to feel so sad, which I never understood and this poem really hit me deeply and completely. A Date On A Calendar too, about the fragility of life's monumentous moments that can hurt years after loss, again a really relatable poem at this time of year especially when December is seen as a joyous month, in our family, there's so many anniversaries of loss it can be more sad than a glad time of year. The collection also includes poems on child loss and the fragility of life and the open discussion of mental health around such a saddening time especially really struck with me as it doesn't get written about or openly discussed in my opinion and truly, it was a fantastic collection of poems.

Scream by M.M. Crusinberry

This poetry book discusses how silence, worry, anxiety and overthinking everything you do or say develops over time making you feel like you're becoming a prisoner to yourself trapped in your own mind. The poem, A Quiet Storm, was really relatable to me about how anxiety clouds and storms your mind and makes you feel overwhelmed by even simple things at times as your mind races to every negative conclusion that could happen. Please Don't Leave Me, was a guterenching deeply emotional poem how anxiety can push away the people you love the most, a theme through the whole collection but most deeply felt in this poem I felt. A great look into how you can feel like you just want to in life, Scream.

Alone: Poetry For The Lonely by M.M. Crusinberry

This poetry collection looked in depth at the feelings and emotions of being and feeling alone, out of place and ultimately feeling you don't fit in and are left watching outside in at others lives continuing on around you. Feeling you are trying to play a part, a role to try and fit in, even altering yourself to try build connections that eventually fades to be nothing. How the business of life can drain you to a shadow of yourself, losing touch with your old life and reality of the life you once lived. Ghosted, was a brutally honest poem about a friend suddenly disappearing from your life which I can relate to happening and it's devastating and leaves you with so many questions, this poem perfectly captured the aching feeling it leaves you with. The collection had some lovely well written, well thought out rhyming stanza's that made me smile from their relatability and ability to draw emotions so easily feeling like you've been seen and understood by someone else out there that just gets how it feels to be alone or feel you don't fit in.

Anxiety: Poetry For The Anxious by M. M. Crusinberry

As someone who's struggled with anxiety from fifteen and now about to turn thirty, anything about the subject really fascinates me and I relate easily to it as well in equals parts. When silence builds walls, was a poem I really felt about how anxiety can take you over in how you feel daily and The shrinking room, of feeling closed in by anxiety and like the world is crowding in on me/us. Fading Away was a brutal look at how it can come between two people in their relationship, like an unwanted visitor you can't get rid of. The book really captures how anxiety makes you feel in an endless loop/cycle of repeated highs and lows as anxiety can take hold at any moment.

I, Cosmo by Carlie Sorosiak

Max and his little sister Emmeline love their dog Cosmo as their parents fight and make home life unpleasant for the pair Cosmo offers up his view of the situation throughout the book as it's remarkably told from his doggie perspective.

Max has a lot of anxiety and Cosmo dotes on him the pair are a true duo especially as they hope to enter a dance competition and win the chance to be in a film which Max hopes will save their family.

However Cosmo is an old dog and suffers with arthritis and general old age dog issues and as the book goes on things decline in all ways before getting better for the future ahead...

This book shows how special a pet is to kids, families as a whole and how sensitive and aware an animal they truly are and just how caring they can be too. Prepare yourself to read a heart warming but tear inducing read!

I Am Definitely Probably Enough by Tori Press

In this quick mini book, Tori packs in her story of life with depression, anxiety and struggling with her so called imperfections which really, make us all unique and different in our own way!

We see how Tori's self love journey has been for her as she went through therapy with lovely hand drawn illustrations and simple but effective captions too.

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

Something Like Happy by Sasha Greene

Nick tries to commit suicide driven by his depression and unfulfilling job, he climbs to the edge of a building...

Then Jade stops him, bearing the weight of her sister's suicide she wants to prevent anyone else going the same way.

Jade gets Nick to meet up with her and pursue her happy list from days out with Archie an old man
from an elderly folks home, to yoga and dinner dates together the pair find a unique kind of happy from such a horrible situation. But can it last?

This was a fantastic book all about the impact and choice of suicide. It was a deep and tearful read to get through but so much happened I flew through it in a day. A fabulous debut about an ever important topic.

Running From The Rainbow by Karen McCombie

For Rainbow starting a new school is hard as she has to hide the fact her mum is the new teacher and in a bid to not stand out choses to go by Rosie a more simple less attention grabbing name after she suffered bullying from class mates at her old school.

She slowly makes new friends and also friends with the school class president who helps her feel more confident in herself and her name.

This book is great for showing how not everyone is the same and things can get better and friends will come along and understand you even if last ones didn't. A fun little read about dealing with a lot of change.

It's All In Your Head by Rae Earl

Rae Earl has created a fan in me years ago when my depressed, anxious and mentally unwell self found her books and then, TV series based on her life. Utterly relatable and both hilarious whilst remaining relevant with all things mental health.

This book takes us from the teen years to beyond on all things happening in our brains.

I can relate to so many aspects of the book that Rae talks about. All about our mental health and being aware of it whether it be OCD, depression, suicide, self harm or anxiety and other disorders, we can all take away something from this book. Whether it be tips about treatment options or just not feeling like it only happens to them and/or us.

Rae talks us through her own experiences with humour and a healthy dose of relatable reality.

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

Are We All Lemmings And Snowflakes? By Holly Bourne

In this book we meet Olive, she suffers bouts of hyper activity when she can run all the time, desire and crave sudden sex, have erratic thoughts and get by on no sleep at all until she crashes into the blackness and could sleep forever.

Olive doesn't know her mental health diagnosis but after getting hospitalised again, she winds up at a trial teen camp catering on helping mental illness.

There for four weeks, she meets, Lewis and Jamie two boys she becomes friendly with, has a breakthrough about prevention of mental illness and also spirals. We see through her photography and kindness project how passionate she can be about change and awareness of mental health as she begins a movement to raise awareness of helping mental health.

It was an eye opening idea about how teens could be treated for mental health conditions and also shows the extent of the severity of what they face can be like as we see how scary and daunting it was for Olive to face. It handles the subject sensitively and with care making it one of the best YA mental health reads I've discovered this far.

All That She Can See by Carrie Hope Fletcher

Cherry sees the worst in people, their Meddlums as she and her friend dubbed them years ago thanks to a childhood friend whom also saw them too, Peter.

Now settling in Plymouth on the latest bakery stop she has to make she finds new friends and customers to fulfil her happiness and whilst she works in comfort, dressed in pyjamas and queen of each little bakery she sets up stocked with her magically ordinary treats, she never expects to find Chase whom sees the best in everyone around him and a failed business man at first is very angry and cynical and embodies the badness she tries to keep away from people.

But as the two very locked in a business world, they discover their kind and get shocked as they find out a magical gifted guild has been watching over them and all they have been doing.

I love Carrie and her first two books were great, this one just made her work so far better. I loved the magical element to the bakery and how Cherry could help make people feel better with a cake and safe space to be as it's quite comforting and realistic. It was a well plotted and intriguing book I really loved.

Turtles All The Way Down by John Green

Aza deals everyday with intrusive anxiety thoughts often relating to medical conditions and especially c diff in particular, due to OCD and anxiety. Her best friend Daisy is obsessed with Star Wars and fan fiction writing of which she's very popular online from partaking in.

The main premise of the story is that her old camp friend and billionaire's son, Davis's father goes missing. While he may be rich money wise their father's will leaves everything to his pet Tuatura and nothing for his son's if and when he's found or turns up, dead or alive.

Throughout the novel after Daisy and her come into some of Davis's money, they still pursue Davis's friendship as they all know if their own way how it feels to be struggling and lonely in one way or another with their own issues.

Their other friend Mychel and Daisy soon start dating which doesn't make thing awkward but seems completely natural as Davis and Aza soon start sort of dating too.

I wasn't pulled in by the plot but enjoyed the story, there were lots more I wanted answering in the end which I won't discuss as it may ruin aspects of the final chapters, but I felt the main mystery never got proper answers. I would also have liked more time with Aza and her history with Davis as we are only told they went to Camp but not many flashback memories for two people who were friends or at least friendly with each other while there. Over all, I did like the book and would recommend it but it was a bit random and unfulfilling to me.

Highly Illogical Behavior by John Corey Whaley

Solomon is a unique sixteen year old who suffers with agoraphobia and severe panic attacks. He can't leave his house and fears dying yet water makes him calm. He hasn't left his house in three years until events unfold in the book.

Lisa takes an interest in Solomon after her dentist is actually his mum and she asks after him as well as writing him a letter as feels she could help him get better, she too has suffered with her mental health, she also wants to study to be a therapist in college and so uses real technique's she's looked up to try and help Solomon fear the outside less.

Lisa gets her boyfriend on side to her helping him as he shares Solomon's love of Star Trek Next Generation and he finds out that Solomon is actually an ok guy.

Solomon and Lisa grow a friendship after she visits his house and he even comes out as gay to her before anyone else.
However, I saw what was coming ahead despite never having read any blurb online about the book and I took a guess that Lisa's boyfriend would start hanging round Solomon more and more until suddenly the trio end up threatened from their own closeness.

I did enjoy the book but unfortunately, being predictable to me left it just short of what I would call stellar, that being said, it is still worth a read!

By Your Side by Kasie West

Trapped in the library over night believing her friends Jeff, Lisa or Dallin will remember and come back for her, they don't. That's until Dax finds her also in there, Autumn ends up locked in with him for three days until she has a bad anxiety attack after she hears the local news of her friends being in a car accident. She would also have been in the car had she not been trapped and frets over her parents panicking that she's presumably dead when she wasn't even there.

She really likes Jeff who was driving the car in the accident but after he's in a coma, his best friend Dallin warns her not to mess him around as he can see she's also battling with feelings for Dax after she gets him to trust her about his drug addicted mum and him being taken into care.

The book was a sweet read and I have to say very interesting at being trapped in the library with complete opposite character types which makes a lovely match as they truly brought out the best in each other.

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.

Get Well Soon by Julie Halpern

Overweight and placed into psychiatric hospital at risk of suicide, Anna writes in her diary and through letters to her best friend, Tracey. She talks about the residents and her growing crush on Justin.

We learn of the issues each of the teens in there have and rules they have to live by upon admission to hospital. For instance, binge eating adds weight for Anna and causes her to feel negatively towards herself and her body.

We follow her through her stay and see how emotionally impacting it is on her for being admitted by her parents.
It was a good book with an array of true too life characters and scenario's.