Proud

You've got a choice. Peace or war? Life or death? Harmony or hate? I've never understood why that even needs discussion, it's so flippin' obvious!

Juno Dawson

I've not done a book review for a while so, having just finished an anthology of short stories and poems pulled together by Juno Dawson, I thought it was time. I'd heard of Juno Dawson but to be honest I'd not read any of her work, as an ex teacher, her work is aimed at teens and young adults, not really an excuse, I normally love books of that ink, she's just not featured on my priority list.

So, the other day I wandered into Waterstones and randomly picked up a book called Proud, a collection of short stories and poems which I can now say, has been beautifully edited by Juno Dawson.

I can't really review it as a single book as the stories are all uniquiue, all beautifully written and all wonderful in their own right so, instead I'll give you a quick summary of some of my favs without giving too much away!

Penguins by Simon James Green and illustrated by Alice Oseman I absolutely LOVED this story, it's simply uplifting, adorable and exquisitely detailed. It`s the story of a boy called Cam, who is trying to come out amidst the chaos in the press caused by two penguins at his local zoo apparently in a gay relationship. I defy anyone not to love Cam as a story teller, he is hilarious and lovable and just so wonderful. I also adored the supportive people he has in his life, namely Luis, Molly and his mum. The relationship is best described as captivating, and the ending just melted my heart and genuinely brought a tear to my eye!

Almost Certain by Tanya Byrne and illustrated by Frank Duffy

I want to tell you just how phenomenal this story is however, it's really, really hard to do without giving away the whole thing so please bear with me whilst I give it a go! It`s essentially a slice of life story about a couple of (totally transformational!) days in the life of a girl called Orla, and I adored it. I was completely sucked into her world and it really felt like I was in her head because we get such a vivid insight into her life. Another way I could try to explain this is that it`s simply magnificent both in terms of the writing itself and the content. The way Tanya links specific music and the importance music has in Orla’s life, who incidentally I totally related to, was another huge highlight for me. I obviously can't tell you what it is, but there`s a part of this that shocked me to the point I genuinely stopped breathing for a moment or two, it`s just so brilliant written! I know I've not given you much to go on however all I can say is, if you only read two or three of this collection, please, please make this one of them!

I Hate Darcy Pemberley by Karen Lawler and illustrated by Kameron White This is a female/female Pride and Prejudice homage set in an American high school, like the original, it's EPIC! It focuses on a burgeoning romance between two girls called Lizzie and Darcy. I've written this review a few times and because I loved it so much I keep writing too much! I'm a total sucker when it comes to romcoms and this is exactly the romcom I need in my life right now. It reads every inch like a classic romcom, but condensed into short story form. The romance is amazing, it's touching, tender and totally tangible. The friendship groups are awesome, and I loved all the drama between different groups, it made me thankful I'm not back in school again! The story left me wistful, warm and wanting more!

I've not really touched on the poetry in the book, if I'm honest, I found it really difficult to summarize these wonderful pieces of art and do them justice! Suffice to say, there's a moving and sensitive piece by the amazing Dean Atta called, How to come out as gay. The feeling in the words which are accompanied by illustrations by Leo Greenfield are just so completely raw and tangible, there is little doubt they come straight from the heart!

There's loads more content in this magnificent anthology but I'm going to leave it here. If you're an avid reader you will match through this in a matter of hours, if you're not, it's perfect to pick up and put down as and when you like! Go and buy it, it will touch you like few other books could!

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