Monday 24th February to Sunday 2nd March is Eating Disorders Awareness Week. Please visit the following links for information and resources on how you can support yourself or someone you know:
Beat Eating Disorders https://www.
The Laurence Trust https://www.thelaurencetrust.
Jonas is hiding a secret. He suffers with bulimia, and not even he knows how bad it really is. Until he meets Louis, a confident dreamer who believes in a better future for both of them - a summer filled with music, memories, and life-changing moments ... But when tragedy strikes, Jonas must discover how to face things alone.
Sometimes but not often, you read a book that is so poignant and powerful it takes your breath away, and for me, Pieces of Us is one of those books. It's a book that reaches into your very core and settles in your soul, and it’s one that needs to be savoured as it deserves thought and time to absorb what's happening - it isn't a book you should race through.
Jonas is a writer but one who fears anybody reading what he has written. It's Louis who encourages him to write a book which is why he begins to write the story of their friendship. Theirs is a relationship that isn't defined but is everything to them. It's the most wonderful relationship to read: protective, caring, full of love and warmth that is there for all to see but never defined.
Both boys are both harbouring very different secrets, ones that unfold as the book progresses. For Jonas it’s his bulimia which clearly dominates his life and consumes his thoughts. Stewart writes the book in a way that makes things feel very personal and intimate and I think that is because he’s written from his own experiences (it takes great courage to do this and there will be readers who will be eternally grateful for this as they see themselves and begin to understand they are not alone). Male bulimia is something that isn’t often portrayed in literature and it’s done so very well here – it will definitely help readers to understand that internal struggle that exists every moment of the day.
The book also covers the themes of death, sexuality, friendships and family struggles and, again, does so in a very real but sensitive way that will enable readers to relate with the characters.
I don't think my meagre words can do this book justice so I'll simply say that this is quite possibly one of the most powerful, breath-taking and emotional books I've read. It's a book that will remain with me, and one I simply sat with once I’d finished it and let the emotions wash over me as I sobbed (I have to admit though, that there were also smiles and some laughs through the book as well).
Aimed at readers aged 14+, Pieces Of Us is Stewart’s debut YA novel and published on the 27th February.
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