Can You Hear Me? By Jake Jones

As a paramedic we see how Jake and his fellow paramedics have had to deal and cope in certain situations such as car crashes, births, drug abusers, time wasters, hoarders, asthmatics, copd sufferers, deaths, car accidents, babies, suicide attempts and psychotic episodes too the book is full of drama filled real life experiences and tough situations Jake has been forced into facing.

I have always been intrigued into life as a paramedic as we hear all too often of them getting abused on the front line of care which to me is horrifying. I wanted to be a paramedic or midwife growing up and personally having been helped by paramedics previously have had my eyes opened with this book how horribly they can be treated and the awful situations they can have to be in. Jake has written a fantastic raw book about life as a busy paramedic in this demanding role and hope more people will pick this up to see what life can be like as a paramedic too.

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

Sick Kids In Love by Hannah Moskowitz

In this book we meet Ibby, used to hospitals as her dad's a doctor who spend all, his time at work while she also has to go get IVs for her rheumatoid arthritis every so often which is how she meets Sacha.

Sacha has Gauchers and the pair meet by chance during their separate infusions and the pair fall for each other over the rocky path the novel sets for them.

However as anyone with a chronic illness knows, health can fail you whenever randomly and can cause you to fear others judgement and make you feel uneasy, can the pair overcome their fears and doubts to stick together especially when an hospital emergency happens.

I loved this book, not just for raising awareness of kids and teens getting sick with chronic illnesses which is never repped in young adult fiction but the love story isn't straight forward especially as Ibby has mom issues with her disappearing from her life when she needed her and the females in het family being shockingly awful too!

If you want a book full of drama or relatable issues health wise or just a sweet love story, pick this book up you won't regret it!

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

Clementine For Christmas by Daphne Benedis-Grab

In this book, Josie and her bulldog Clementine visit kids at the hospital to cheer them up as Christmas approaches.

Oscar is having a bad time at home with his parents constantly arguing and not bothering with him

Gabby is secretly sick with epilepsy after being forced to move school after he ridicules her over it. Now with new friends at a new school, she finds herself facing the seizures as they come back full force...

Gabby is a strong character for dealing with epilepsy like she does and makes her a role model to other kids dealing with the issue as she learns not to let it rule her life. Oscar is a kid who's dealing with issues a lot of kids and teens do sadly but the pair together show how friendship can come from nowhere between two random people and to never rule anyone out of being a good possible friend.

Purge by Sarah Darer Littman

Janie is a secret bulimic, until now as she finds herself hospitalized and facing weeks of therapy alone and in a group. As she stays with anorexics and bulimics in the hospital, ruled by nurses and therapists she slowly unravels and finally confides the events culminating in her admission.

Janie is a typical teen in the issues she deals with by binging and purging as she feels lost and insecure as well as rejected from her family and the boy she liked. Dealing with her sister getting married and ruining the wedding haunt her and she opens up more as she builds trust with the members in the hospital such as Tom an anorexic. We delve into the complexities of eating disorders and self esteem again in this novel.

A Story About Cancer With A Happy Ending by India Desjardins

In this book, we meet a fifteen year old teen girl who has been fighting leukaemia since she was just ten years old. She lost her friend to leukaemia and we see how she feels about feeling a burden on her family and feels they'd be better off without her.

The images are full of mixed emotions with dark sad images for her hopelessness she feels and warmth with colourful happy memories about her life.

Victor is her other friend, nothing to do with cancer but her school, she falls in love with him and we see how they grow together despite the cancer between them that could be a ticking time bomb.

It was sweet and moving with little words, the story comes across well in pictures and is sure to tug on your emotions as we can imagine being the main character as she faces her future and appreciates her past.

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

Hole In The Middle by Kendra Fortmeyer

Morgan is slim, with a hole in her abdomen, her best friend and cheerleader for body positivity Caro her roommate who is always encouraging her to go out and live her life instead of hiding away.

She revealed herself publicly in a club, Mansion by dancing in crop tops. Only to discover she's become an internet sensation and is being talked about nonstop.

As she later gets approached by another surgeon she struggles trust whom is in charge of a boy and his case of deformity as he has a lump growing which correctly fits Morgan's hole, a strange coincidence but they set about trying an experiment with their separate DNA giving each other a bit of theirs to try and 'fix' themselves. Only with the press hounding them and feeling out of control of their bodies, they try to break free for a while to get a break and time together.

A story about the pressures of news and wanting to be normal and to fit in and not be the but of sick jokes of ridiculed online. It was an unheard of health issue and never read about before in YA fiction so I really enjoyed learning about it as I read, it was eye opening and very realistic with all the medical talk and trying to help solve it.

Flying Tips For Flightless Birds by Kelly McCaughrain

Birdie and Finch are twins and make the Flying Franconi's part of their circus, they run an online blog to try and advertise themselves to try help business keep going.

Set in Finch's perspective, we see new boy Hector arrive and Finch's past relationship with his best friend James and what happened to them, especially as Kitty was James's girlfriend and she's the lead bully towards them.

As Finch struggles in school Hector helps him as he wants to be taught circus act stuff and so Finch repays him by teaching him that. However it's tricky as Hector takes a lot of practice to get it and settle into the basics.

Finch battles his feelings about his uniqueness in his style and sexuality drawing unwanted attention to him until Birdie has her accident and he switches to plain clothing without his partner.

Then Birdie has an accident and ends up in hospital and in a coma during which Finch must become part of a new act with Hector as he teaches him more and more the pair naturally become a great duo. Finch then finds out Sinead and James are hiding something as he sees them visiting his sister and sets out to discover something he never expected...

This is a fun but serious novel too, featuring issues such as comas, circus acts, bullying, sexuality, individuality and friendship. I loved the play of words on the title and how Finch and Hector helped each other and became a great team too once confiding their feelings. It shows sporting and hope throughout and that's what makes it all the more gripping and emotional as they never give up on Birdie or their act.

Cursed by Karol Ruth Silverstein

I wanted to review this book after seeing the main character surfers from a chronic illness, totally relatable to myself in some ways.

Only I suffer from fibromyalgia and other rheumatoid illnesses where as Erica or Ricky suffers with severe arthritis at just fourteen causing her to skip school and struggle with daily life from waking to sleeping, all day is a struggle to walk and be in endless pain.

As she deals with her parents divorce and her health she loses her way with school work, has to stand up to bullies, find new friends and become less colourful with her anger language of cursing!

As she gets tutored after school and makes friends with Ollie and Julio her crush grows but will she realise on who in time as well as finally getting her separated parents to listen to get about how she feels?

It was a good book, however I can't help but feel that Erica didn't actually curse that much, I felt and expected her to be more frustrated than she was given the title and would be liked to have had her mum more features in the whole book as she didn't a lot but then again Erica does try to be fully independent. But for the chronic pain and illness side of things it was fully realistic and accurate and it's great to see chronic pain featuring in a young adult book for once at last too!

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

Waiting For Fitz by Spencer Hyde

Addie suffers with OCD while Fitz suffers with schizophrenia.

Meeting as they now live on the psych ward, the pair become close after both become involved in group therapy where they have to open up, obviously about their separate issues they deal with.

After Fitz tells Addie his plan to escape she become wrapped up in it too and the pair hatch their plan along with fellow ward stayers and as the pair plan ahead neither of them is prepared for just what happens and how much they rely on each other and can't always control their conditions especially without their medication...

This book started slowly but as soon as the action came it was full force we see the characters at their worst and best as they try to help and rely on each other to be free in the world again however when things didn't go to plan i didn't expect the drama that ensues at all. It was a great young adult mental health read and one that raises awareness of a lesser written about condition too.

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

Every Colour Of You by Amelia Mandeville

In this book, we meet Zoe and Tristan whom meet each other first in a hospital waiting room/ reception area. From there the pair meet through coincidence again until Zoe starts to befriend Tristan as she sees something in him he can't see in himself, despite his depression, Zoe is the colour to his world even if he takes some time to realise that fact.

Tristan suffered from losing his dad while his brother whom acts like his dad is now quite partial to drinking alcohol to forget everything that happened to them. Meanwhile Tristan has Misha, his dog to make him feel happier and loved when he feels low. He also suffers severely from suicidal thoughts and tendencies throughout the novel which is a very truthful look at how some one can swing from ok to suicidal quickly as can happen with depression sufferers.

It was a commendable book for featuring mental health so realistically throughout the book as it's the main subject tackled as well as other things from health troubles, family situations and deaths which feature too. I really liked how the main characters were like opposites but they connected super well and could see the best in each other's strange ways. A brilliant debut from a young author!

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

Five Feet Apart by Rachael Lippincott

Stella lives with cystic fibrosis only as it worsens and her lung function plummets she needs a transplant fast.

She wishes she could be with her best friends in Cabo.

Also in the hospital is Poe her gay friend and new boy, Will who wants to be living the end of his life not wasting time on a hospital trial that may extend his life as he fights a bacterial infections that's resistant to antibiotics.

Stella and Will keep meeting and seeing each other only getting closer and closer and one cough between the pair could spread infection and kill them...

So as the pair communicate by Skype, phone and partial contact, maybe Will can have some faith this times drug trial might work and Stella can move on from her family's trauma but as she fights an infection, Poe prepares to finally visit his family and Will awaits news of his trial drug, who will be left alive?

I can't wait for the film this year after reading this and loving it! The main two characters have an instant connection that is super and beyond their illness, the story was intriguing and led us to hope the pair survived if not end up together as we'd hope!

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

She Myself And I by Emma Young

As her body fails her, Rosa prepared to have her brain transplanted into a new body, the body of a dead girl, Sylvia after her brain died in an accident but her body was left in a working order.

Dealing with the two collisions, her mind in the other girl's body, she meets Joe who helps her to accept and understand who Sylvia was and realise she deserves a chance to live after all without having to feel guilty nor wonder whom the strange guy is following her around or if the press are into her case being the first in future brain transplants a pioneering thing...

It was a book which really was serious but in a good way. We see how it's so much to cope with as you see a girl struggle with her identity due to unforeseen circumstances she never asked for at all. The drama and situation was full on and seeing her try and cope with all the changes showed how strong teens can be facing huge medical operations.

A Taste Of Blue Light by Lydia Ruffles

This book focuses on the life of Lux and her friends Mei and Olivia. As well as Henry and Cal her two love interests through the book.

The main plot is that she can't recall what happened during the summer after she wakes up one day in hospital unable to remember just what has happened.

She attends an arts school and writes but after the brain injury, struggles to get back to herself.

Overall the main focus is on the sensitivity of the brain and injury whilst also looking into the cause in this case being a major event, a terrorist plot. It was an okay book but I didn't find it relatable in any way and found the first third of the book to be a drag.

Mustaches For Maddie by Chad Morris and Shelly Brown

For most Twelve year olds, they don't have a health scare or in this case when they come, they can be very, very bad. Happy girl Maddie with her infectious humor and love of mustaches has been having trouble settling into certain friendships and also dealing with her failing hand and leg.

Her friend Lexi is there for her always and even though she tried to be the friend popular girl Cassie would want to be seen with, wasn't unfortunately, apart from to use find out whom Devin Cassie's crush fancied which Maddie does.

Then it happens, rushed in for an MRI on her brain by her doctors, the worst news comes, she has a tumour pressing on her brain.

Her parents promise her a dream wish, a trip to Disneyland and are heartbroken that Maddie faces such serious and possibly life altering and life threatening surgery though her true friends utilise social media to get their friend smiling again by creating #MustachesforMaddie in which people send selfies of themselves with mustaches in on social media to make Maddie laugh.

I loved this book, I was shocked at the end though, as Maddie is real! A real living girl whom is the authors daughter actually went through having a tumor on her brain at a really young age. Maddie if you read the reviews of this book, you've done awesome and I wish for the best for you in the future girl!

Thanks to the publishers for allowing me a copy to review!

None Of The Above by I W Gregorio

Krissy and Sam are a couple attending homecoming with their friends, Faith and Vee whom is currently injured.

Yet on homecoming night, after having sex, Krissy is in a lot of pain. She makes a doctors appointment and knows the importance of getting checked out after her mum died from cervical cancer.

What she doesn't expect is to be told she has no cervix/uterus and that she really has small testicles instead as she has two small lumps. Devastated at the news she is not a girl but half girl and boy and awaiting further tests to confirm that she is possibly, intersex.

Her father struggles to take in the news as well because in some cases the undeveloped testes can be cancerous. However, takes comfort that Krissy won't die from cervical cancer alike her mum.

Krissy comes to realise that being neither man nor woman on her forms at the doctors makes her none of the above, so again she finds it a struggle to deal with. She finds a contact for an AIS support group and messages them with her number so she can be contacted.

Yet after bullying occurs, surgery options, losing people she was close to before she told her secretnand having her dream of college hanging in the balance just what future does she face?

This book, oh my, it was perfect. Truly original as I never even knew about intersex and what goes into the medical side of what the person he or she has to face. It was an emotional and shocking read not to be missed.

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

We Are Young by Cat Clarke

When Evan and Billy attend their mum's wedding to Tim, they never expect the night to go how it does.

The evening turns sour when their new stepbrother, Lewis has been in a car crash with strangers and is in intensive care. What's even more strange is that Lewis doesn't ever hang out with anyone else so just who died?

This is a gripping book with mystery being the heart of the story as Evan tries to piece together just why the crash involved all people she knew and just what they were doing together. Evan is a likeable character and also a realistic teenager dealing with sex and relationships alike most teens do along with new step parents to deal with as well. There are references to drugs and suicide raising awareness of how they can go unnoticed but not without consequence.

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

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.

Other Breakable Things by Kelley York & Rowan Altwood

Three years ago, a terrible accident for a girl saved Luc's life and provided him with a much needed heart to prolong his life.
Now, he finds out the heart is starting to fail and so he needs another transplant. Yet after the anguish of waiting before, he's now contemplating euthanasia, so he can die on his own terms and not his body's terms.

Evelyn, has returned home to their town after her mum took her off to live with her new boyfriend at the time. Evelyn missed seeing Luc and is happy to be back and so they slowly start to hang out again. She is aware there's something wrong with Luc but is not entirely sure what exactly is wrong with him. We also learn her mum's boyfriend used to abuse her and Luc is whom she chooses to confide in about this.

Luc enlists Evelyn to accompany him on an adventure as he wants to go and look into euthanasia but lives away from the area they are located. He plans the trip with interests of Evelyn's interwoven and we see from the split narrative point of view just how much he grows to care for her more despite him growing weaker as the book goes on. He still plans on killing himself, yet Evelyn is obviously emotional when she finds tabs open on his phone about euthanasia, pill bottles and a business card too all to do with a specific drug. The couple really care for each other so much that Luc wants to make sure Evelyn is looked after when he's gone so calls his parents to make them promise so.

A running theme through the book also linking them is the butterflies Luc collects and also wants to see in the conservation building when they're travelling but they have to break in as it was shut. Luc also buys Evelyn a butterfly necklace, another reminder of him for her to keep. Evelyn makes a lot of origami animals such as the crane from the cover of the book, she states in the book it helps her stay calm and keeps her hands busy but also again, it's symbolic as she does make a lot of them around Luc, nervous at first in their feelings but less so as we go on.

This book was beautifully crafted and reminiscent of Morgan Matson's novel, Amy and Roger's Epic Detour which I love!

It dealt with the topic of euthanasia and transplants seriously and showed the toll it takes on everyone, how one life can have a ripple effect on so many others one way or another.

If you like books with adventure, love and an interest in health issue storylines, this is your book!

Thanks to the publishers for allowing me to review this book for them!

Faceless by Alyssa Sheinmel

Maisie Winters is a normal sixteen year old girl. She was looking forward to prom with her boyfriend, Chireg and going to college or University with her best friend Serena. A passionate runner, she could've got a scholarship.

Yet her life gets changed forever one night. A thunderstorm causes a tree she's running by to collapse on her as she was approaching her home mere houses away. A neighbour put out the electrical fire happening to her. Yet after waking from a coma, she can't begin to comprehend what has changed.

Waking to find severe burns to her left side and her face, Maisie finds the strength to get a face transplant after her nose, chin and cheeks burnt off severly and learn to love life again no matter how much it can throw at you to deal with. Sure it takes time and a break up too, doubling the blow but Serena and her parents support despite their arguing and splitting up.
Maisie is a very strong girl and shows the extent of her courage to try and rebuild her life, not become a stranger like she feels at first towards her new face.

I really enjoyed this book and am glad to have finally checked it off on tbr list!