I loved the friendship between these boys no matter how bad ...
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Uncaged Book Reviews:
I loved the friendship between these boys no matter how bad things got. Or how much they fought they were still there for each other. Really enjoyed the storytelling it was full of humor but also had its serious points as well. It doesnt hold back on the action. A perfect read for young adults who are looking to get in to reading, I would recommended this as Im sure it will hold their attention.
Reviewed by Jennifer

Full review at UncagedBooks.com
87314
Your Voice Is All I Hear by Leah Scheier

April is an unpopular high school student who has always had her best friend by her side. The two have always been inseparable since the second grade.

However, this year she is forced to go it alone, when her best friend gets transferred to a local private school.

Things are going miserably as  she expected. Until the new boy Jonah, decides to sit in the vacant seat in front of her.

Jonah is a cute artistically talented boy from Boston. The two become fast friends as he encourages her musical talent.

He promised his mom he would give the new school a try for one year but, when the year is over he plans on going to a school for the Arts and wants April to apply and go with him.

As their friendship blossoms into a relationship, things start to unravel. He starts having moments of paranoia, hearing things that are not there and his thoughts are not making sense.

Loyalty and trust are not easy to come by.

April is determined to stick by him and have his back no matter what. Even if it means putting herself second and lying to those around her.

With clarity comes the truth of their reality.

This book is difficult to rate, due to the subject matter. I liked how the book brought a serious mental illness to light. It was raw, gripping and heart wrenching. I thought the book was well written. I am not normally a book crier, but you will need some tissues on hand for this emotional read.

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3011985
This story is about a great friendship between a boy Jess and a girl Leslie, both of whom are in the fifth grade.  Both seem to be outcasts with no friends.  Leslie is from a liberal family, who moved from the city, and Jess is from a more traditional family, who lives in the country.  Leslie and Jess appear to be searching for appreciation and acceptance. Jess has a hidden talent, but the only person that understands and supports his drawings is the music teacher. Jess tries to become the fastest runner of the fifth grade boys to gain respect from classmates, his parents, and his other teacher, but Leslie wins the race.  After a few approaches from Leslie, they begin a wonderful trusting relationship of creativity and understanding.  They imaginatively create "Terabithia," a kingdom in the woods where they are the king and queen of their secret place. Jess builds up his low self-esteem with Leslie's imaginative ideas and encouragement.  It is not until a tragedy occurs that Jess realizes the strength and courage Leslie has given him.
The main theme of Bridge to Terabithia is friendship. But, it is a story packed with many realistic concepts and issues that children and adults encounter in their everyday lives. The author does a wonderful job with descriptive language to provide vivid imagery and feeling throughout the book. Children in the intermediate grade levels can get a better understanding of how the issues presented in the book make people feel and react. There are many realistic conflicts from the beginning to the ending of the book. The reader can also observe how the characters use their friendship to dramatically change their lives even though other characters in the story remain static.  In the beginning Jess is a very fearful character with no direction, but in the end he overcomes all his fears and becomes a new courageous person.
3861134
This was a really great story.  I was so glad when they stayed in touch after the trip and my heart warmed when the boys decided to continue their trips.
1674252
***MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS***

I LOVED this story! I have loved all of these characters from the beginning. The relationships they have with each other are heartwarming. Dan and Troy are as close as brothers and act like teenagers. Ash and Megs are they very best of friends and always there for each other. Troy and Megs together is amazing. They are so right for each other. They have their own brand of humor that brought some comic relief to the story.

Troy and Megs start out their relationship as friends. They both want each other and Megs decides she needs one night to get him out of her system. The only problem with that is that one night is not nearly enough for either one of them. After suffering through a terrible loss, they come out on the other side even stronger and more dedicated to each other.

I am excited to see what Jase's story has in store!
2162586
Little Do We Know is the story of the long-term friendship between Hannah and Emory who have been next door neighbors since they were little girls. An unfortunate misunderstanding has led their friendship astraycan they find their way back to each other?

I loved this story because it focused on the friendship of Hannah and Emory. I feel like there is not enough YA books that focus on the friendship rather than the boys. The relationship between Emory and Luke felt like a deeper relationship than a typical high school romance, and maybe that was because of what they went through together.

SPOILER ALERT: I must mention the one problem that I had with the story and that was the kiss between Hannah and Aaron. While I know others may think its wrong because of his position and the fact that hes older, that wasn't my problem with it. I sensed it coming and hoped that it wouldnt go there because it felt too obvious. I appreciated how it played out in the end though.

Hannah's thought: "All my life, I'd believed that everything happened for a reason. That it was all part of God's plan."..."I didn't think I believed that anymore. Each choice, good and bad, branched out and created a new path, and on and on, piecing itself together along the way, with no real vision for how it would all come together in the end."
2380061
My Snowman, Paul is a book about a boy named Dan. He wanted to go out and play, but he was not fond of the bully Bill. However, this book focuses mainly on empowerment. Yes Bill may not have been the nicest of boys, but a good idea would be to ignore a bully.

What I loved about this book was the angle it was written from. While it did include Bill the bully, the main focus was on introducing a friendship. I loved the idea of giving children a positive view.

I received this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are mine and were in no way influenced by outside sources. I am a professional blogger at LittleLadyPlays
1495387
Having guffawed my way through Chapter 1 of BETTER NATE THAN EVER, I simply couldn't put the book down until I was finished. Whether oohing and ahhing over the big city alongside Nate or cheering on his one-of-a-kind best friend or even feeling a pang of pity for his mother, I absolutely loved this novel from start to finish. Tim Federle's eighth-grade voice is so spot-on I begin to wonder if he isn't a closet eighth-grader himself. I've known more than a couple of boys like Nate, and he warmed my heart thinking of them. Add in a crackling writing talent and laugh-out-loud lines on every page and I'm hooked. One of the best middle-grade novels I've read--yeah. EVER.
3790138
This is a story of a young boy just beginning manhood, and a man who's mind is slowly, too quickly taken by Alzheimer's. The bond they share is so believable and deep. I enjoyed every moment of laughter and tears as I joined their friendship.
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14 year old Michael Vey is just trying to live like a normal teenage boy. Unfortunately for him, life is far from normal. For one, he has tourettes syndrome, which alone is a continual battle in life. Additionally, There was something else that distinguished him from most people, a strange electrical power; inexplicable at first but terrifying to many he went to school with. As he uncovers more information about his predisposition, he learns that there are others like him, including a girl on his school cheer-leading team, and that they are being hunted. This is a story of friendship, courage and hope as Michael and his friends attempt to defeat the odds in some of the darkest situations you can possibly imagine. This is a great book, and I can tell already that it will be a great series. I highly recommend this to people.
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Independent reviewer for Divine Magazine, I was gifted my copy of this book.

Marc and Tomas became friends, then the best of friends after they had a fist fight in the school yard. When Tomas discovers Marc's secret, the fall out is massive, and devastating. Years later, they reconnect. But Tomas wants more than the friendship Marc offers. Can Tomas make Marc see that they really are meant to be together??

Once I got my head round the flipping backwards and forwards (from then to now) I really enjoyed this! Even if its written in the present tense. I noticed it, but only enough to mention it, not for it to affect my rating.

Tomas and Marc's relationship is turbulent, and swings back and forth, but they really are meant to be together, even the other guys in the house notice the change in Marc when he eventually allows Tomas back in, to his head, his heart and his body. I get why Marc fights it so hard, what he suffered would have an effect on even the strongest adult, let alone a child. And I get why Tomas fights so hard, so darn hard to keep Marc once he has him.

I loved that Tomas saw he could take baby steps with Marc, and then how Marc came along with a giant leap forward. I loved that, when it all went down, all those years ago, it was Marc that behaved and Tomas who rebelled. The marked differences in their upbringings and their characters are what made this book, for me.

This is book three in the Sunshine and Happiness series. I have not read books one and two, but those characters play a huge part here. Even though I've not read their stories, I loved that they are here. It gave me enough of an insight into them, that I want to go back and read the previous two books. Also, I want to continue forward with this series. I saw one book being laid down, and I really REALLY wanna see that one through.

4.5 stars

**same worded review will appear on Goodreads, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble and Kobo**
3346877
A sweet story about a generous boy and caring friend; the story was nice but didn't leave me stifled with emotion
1577460
Complicate Me by Author M. Robinson is a great read. Alex/"Half Pint", Lucas/"Bo", Dylan, Jacob and Austin are friends. They have been friends since they were little. Alex just seemed to be one of the boys while spending time with them. All of their parents were friends so it just made sense that they were all good friends. The boys thought of Alex as a little sister and knew she was off limits. Alex and Lucas had a special bond that she did not have with the other guys though. But as times goes on the both know that the bond between them is more than friends. It is something special, but it seems the world and fate are against them. There is more I could say but really my review will never live up to how good the book is and I don't want to give away to much either.

From the time I started the prologue I knew this book was going to be great. It pulled me in from the start. I can honestly say this will end of in my top 5 of the best of 2015! This will definitely be one those I will re-read. I want to read it again just so I can experience the emotions I had the first time. I loved this book and recommend it. I can not wait to read more in this series. M. Robinson you hit it out of the park with this one.
813229
I laughed quite a bit at the descriptions of the party-hearty, needing to vent and blow off steam high school teachers. The characterization was just so true, not just of high school but middle school teachers also. Being the child of a teacher, the sister of one, and the partner of another, I've been around them all my life and hosted a few TGIF get togethers.  Hats off to the very special people who deal with drama all day and then try to live their own lives, too!
I enjoyed watching the unfolding relationship between Matt and Shelly, their way of being "not together" was an interesting approach to a new phase in their friendship. The deep friendship between Shelly and Mel was heartwarming also, they were true best friends through thick and thin. The story was well written from a plot and character development perspective and I look forward to Mel's story in the next book. The only thing I marked down for is my own personal pet peeve-typos. The author is a high school English teacher and I would have expected better proofreading from her!!! ( they're for their, hears for hers, to for too, you're for your)
Heat factor moderate
350325
This book brings best friends, Snake and Brian Bat, into the mix.

Snake and Gerald begin to worry that Piggie and Brian are having WAY too much playing together and that they will become each other's best friends, supplanting Snake and Gerald.

Mo Willems' timeless lesson is that we can make new friends without diminishing the original friendships.

 I often demonstrate this to young readers by lighting  a candle from an existing lit candle -- and showing how they both burn equally.  For the classroom/library, I have made four large magnets -- two candles and two flames -- and demo the same example on a magnetic chalkboard.
4797032
Thank you Sourcebooks and Net Galley for providing me with a free e-galley in exchange for an honest review.

I really liked this book, a lot. It was so sad though that two identical twin boys who have a special connection can learn to despise each other through petty competition. This was definitely a heartfelt story that came across as real people with real feelings. The author did such a good job with this that I truly thought they were real. I could feel their jealousies, their total lack of confidence of one brother and the over confidence of the other brother (although he too was hiding his lack of confidence).  Watching Charlie come to grips with his problems was hard and yes a tear or two was shed. But to me, if a book makes you feel some kind of emotion, then that's a good book.

The family dynamics and secrets really made for a great story and I highly recommend this book!
2183844
Cady and Cooper are best friends determined to complete their Weekend Bucket List before they graduate from high school the following Monday. Everyone thinks Cooper is gay, but the truth is they're both struggling with their feelings for each other, fearing they will ruin their friendship if they take things to the next level. Then they run into Eli, the cute carnie, and everything changes.

This book asks the question: is romantic love more important than friendship? The story is told in alternating chapters from the points of view of Cady, Cooper, and Eli. Its fun to see how they each perceive the same situation. All three characters have authentic teenage voices and flawed personalities. The bucket list takes up the first half of the book, while the second half deals with graduation and beyond. My heart broke for Eli following the graduation ceremony. Thankfully, things were resolved in a positive manner.

A wonderful story about growing up and cherishing whats really important.

Favorite line: Right now, were on totally different pages, maybe different chapters, in our lives. I just hope were still in the same book.

I received this book in return for an honest review.