I'm Not Really Here

I’m not really here is a YA romance novel that once I started, I could not put down!

I love how the themes within the pages are complex yet so easy to read. The main character Jonah is very relatable, we follow him as he moves with his family to a town called Patience. He is an Aboriginal queer teenager who plays league and overcomes the grief of his mother dying, all while navigating a new school, friendships and love.

This is a well written, beautiful story and I enjoyed the journey Jonah went on. I liked how Lonesborough wrote about Jonah’s sexuality and how accepting his family was. It made me understand the pressures and how scary it can be to come out to friends and family. This book could provide hope for people going through the same thing.

It deals with issues that teenagers face today and is very relevant, especially as it is set in high school. However, for a book that was published this year, it does reference some older social media sites like Facebook but the issue of bullying is still very relevant. This doesn’t take away anything from the text. In fact, I believe that it is vital for people to see themselves in texts and I think this book does this perfectly.