The Elegance Of Sadness by Noa Grey

This collection was so powerful about the way emotions can make you feel everything all at once on reflection and at presence too. Some standout poems of this collection were: Violin, a poem which as a former cellist myself I relate to hard about how each note holds so much emotion and can cause you to feel emotional at certain notes and tempo's. Loss, a poem about any kind of grief you feel but especially in this collection pet loss was a huge subject another relatable and heartbreaking subject to many of us too. Perspective, about the way we all interpret different things in life so differently, beauty and sadness to one isn't the exact same to another. This was a collection that definitely spoke to my heart and so honest with the words shared, hard to feel everything, even harder I imagine to write to capture the depths of feelings and their impact.

My Brother's Name Is Jessica by John Boyne

In this book Sam idolizes his older brother Jason a talented footballer and the two have a close sibling bond as their parents don't have a lot of time for them as they work for the government in parliament.

However, growing up Jason comes out one day to the family with his secret. His parents react badly thinking it's a silly phase while
Sam is curious and doesn't care just wanting Jason to be happy again especially as Jason gets bullied at school for his girly longer hair, scrunchie and scarf he wears despite comments and bullying.

Can the family survive the truth from Jessica?

Showing bravely how coming out can make it break a family and the stress and upset it can initially cause this was a brave and bold read which I hope will open people's eyes to how coming out is a massive huge deal to admit who they really truly are.

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!

Juniper Lemon's Happiness Index by Julie Israel

After losing her sister, Juniper is finding it hard to face certain people at her school, Lauren and Camilla were friends and then there's Heather and Kody too.

When she uses Camilla's bag and finds a letter addressed to a boyfriend or girlfriend Camilla had, Juniper takes it upon herself to find out just what her sister was keeping from her.

Frustrated at herself for not saving her sister and seeing flashbacks to the July 4/5 accident where Camilla was driving and filming at the same time resulting in the car crash accident which killed her, Brand sees her smash up the ceramics department and helps her by taking the detention punishment and helps Juniper dumpster dive for her lost index card from her collection of past events.

Juniper spends the course of the book trying to piece together the life her sister kept hidden from her and along the way finds out secrets of her closest friends which wrecks and repairs relationships.

The unique part of the book aside from the mystery romance her sister his from her, is the fact that she keeps a physical record of the most important memories from set days in a modern day where we mostly rely on technology, I liked that. It was also a promise she made to her sister she continued despite her being gone. Which shows her loyalty and connection is still strong.

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!

Paperweight by Meg Haston

Stevie is our main character in this book, her brother Josh has passed away and now her dad has sent her to a retreat clinic for eating disorders. The distinct first feel is she's having a tough time coming to terms with events and has been drunk too much to cope with her feelings previously as well as impulsively cutting her hair in to an uneven crop thanks to her friend and sort of girlfriend of sorts, Eden.

We follow her on her journey to the retreat where she stays with twenty girls in total admission, four to a cottage each. She meets her therapist who is coincidentally called Anna when Stevie is suffering with what she believes is anorexia, then later her diagnosis is bulimia nervosa. In memory flashbacks, her mum seems to have controlled the household's food choices and is a perfectionist. She has abandoned Stevie and her dad to go live in Paris with her new boyfriend.

She has plans for twenty seven days time from her supposed, sixty day admission as it's the one year anniversary since she believes she killed her brother, Eden was there the night he died but not at the scene of death, she did however cause a scene just before.

Now though, Stevie plans to commit suicide and join her brother as she feels guilty living.

This book dealt with really strong issues, death, suicide, eating disorders, abuse, manipulative behaviour, love and LGBT related issues around that. It was well crafted but I do feel in part, for readers who are sensitive to eating disorder talk and about foods and food types etc, do not read it or be mindful reading it. It again proves how true to eating disorder talk it is though and really shines light on the situations eating disorder sufferer's go through.

I really did enjoy this book and it's already one of my top for the year so far!