On Loneliness by The School of Life

In this book we meet various people, see their portraits and hear their stories. Many stories come from hardship, trials life has dealt them to deal with and range from isolation due to illness, losing family, friends, coming out, going to prison etc, really hard hitting issues that can turn life as you know it upside down. At the same time though, showing loneliness affects anyone and everyone no matter gender, sexuality, age it doesn't define but instils one very good point, connection can happen in real life or online, daily living a simple smile can start a conversation developing connection and we should all judge each other less.

All The Things We Never Said by Yasmin Rahman

Mahreen is a Muslim teen whom feels she can't compete or stand out in her family against her brother or cousin who are both high achievers and has what she call The Chaos in her mind telling her to cut and causing her depression.

Cara is a disabled wheelchair user after a car crash changed her and her mum's lives forever and she feels stifled by her mum now too.

Olivia is a girl from a rich broken family background with a sinister secret about her mum's new boyfriend and wants to escape her life.

The girls get put together after they each individually sign up to a suicide pact website, MementoMori.

Only as the girls complete the tasks and hang out more they become friends. Until things change after they stop doing the tasks set to them from the website and instead have their lives ruined by the person behind the website as they manipulate all the information about the girls as they can. As each girl hits a new low, one of them goes too far but with the girls not talking, can they come together to save each other in time?

The plot reminded me of the Hollyoaks teen self harm pact with a digital edge from the website involved in this book. It doesn't belittle mental health but shows the sinister extent teens could go to harm or end their lives. The website reminds me of the anorexia buddy websites we hear about causing harm to teens mental health and this book broke down boundaries that mental health only effects one type of person as we get the three very different girls all suffering. I particularly like Olivia telling her story in verse as she came across as a ghost in her own home forgot by her mum as she suffered abuse unnoticed. This book will make you appreciate all the good in the world, as it can be horrifically dark.

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

I Have Lost My Way by Gayle Forman

Freya, a singer recording her debut album has lost her voice while her mother is flapping around her frustrated at how things are working out, while Harun is making plans to run away and find the boy, James, he loves as Nathaniel ends up in New York after a family tragedy.

Freya, Harun and Nathaniel all meet in Central Park. Freya falls off a bridge while Harun watches her fall onto Nathaniel whom she gives a concussion to and so they stick together and go to the emergency room together before events spiral to them sticking together the rest of the day as Nathaniel and Freya get feelings for each other, Harun wishes to see James and introduce Freya while she feels seen for herself for the first time in ages despite who she is and the fact she remembers Harun's James writing to her about his situation at home and being kicked out for being gay.

We learn about each characters past and issues with family such as loss of members, lack of either parent in their life or the reality that they're pressured to be something they aren't whilst they all seem to have common feelings of loneliness and unable to be enough for their families to feel they're not approved of because of sexuality or otherwise. There is a strong mental health storyline too from the parental side as Nathaniel's father is depicted to be unstable and exist in multiple worlds symptomatic to bipolar and depression.

This is a book to give hope to those who wander alone feeling lost in the world and proves that while we may feel one way, it's not true and we are all noticed in some small way at least.

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

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!