This book is one of my absolute favorites. One of my past English teachers recommended it to me and I am so glad I listened.

Well this has been a journey. Not a bad one either. When I first found the musical, I was not in a good place. It helped me more than you could possibly imagine. I was so thrilled to hear that they were releasing a novel. This story needs to reach more people. It honestly helped save my life. Maybe, just maybe, it can help someone else out too.

(This book is soooo worn from me reading it so much)

“If the pain is in you, it‘s in you. It follows you everywhere. Can‘t outrun it. Can‘t erase it. Can‘t push it away; it only comes back. The way I‘ve been thinking, after all that‘s happened, maybe there‘s only one way to survive it. You have to let it in. Let it hurt you. And don‘t wait. It‘ll reach you eventually. Might as well be now.” -Connor Murphy

For me this book was another grade school favorite. I tracked this one down for years, and only once I was visiting family in Alabama, I finally found it. Johnny‘s struggles remind us of the hard times we all have but his perseverance pushes us to be stronger as our own individuals. I still love this book even today.

I read this book in grade school (back when I despised reading any type of novel) and honestly I loved this book as much as a fourth grader could. Even though it was a school assigned book, it made its way into my heart. The characters are well written and when they strive for something more, you can‘t help but want to help them get there too. If you get your hands on this book please love on it in your own way.