A Song Only I Can Hear by Barry Jonsberg

A Song Only I Can Hear by Barry Jonsberg
Published June 2018 Allen & Unwin

Blurb:

Good evening, Rob. Your first challenge follows. These challenges have nothing to do with impressing Destry Camberwick. They are all to do with Rob Fitzgerald impressing Rob Fitzgerald. Bear that in mind at all times. Challenge 1. You will enter the Milltown's Got Talent competition. This gives you over a fortnight to polish your act and work out strategies to overcome panic attacks. I would wish you luck but the point of this challenge is that you don't need it. 
Introducing Rob Fitzgerald: thirteen years old and determined to impress the new girl at school, but it's a difficult task for a super-shy kid who is prone to panic attacks that include vomiting, difficulty breathing and genuine terror that can last all day. An anonymous texter is sending Rob challenges and they might just help. Or not. Beautifully moving and full of heart and humour, A Song Only I Can Hear is a delightful novel about dreaming big, being brave and marching to the beat of your own drum.

This is, hands down one of my favourites from 2018...and it's another book that I can't actually tell you to much about.  I read a lot, so it's not often that I don't 'see something coming' in books, especially where I know something is coming...but this one got me.

Great characters:

Rob... brave, willing to try anything.  Maybe that's what we all need at times...anonymous messages, challenging us to get out of our comfort zone.

Grandad...who loves a bit of swearing, but it's OK because Rob has edited Grandad's words in the book, so there's a lot of Blankety this and Blankety that.

Andrew... best friend. I love the goalkeeper coaching session. Andrew's advice is this...imagine Destry is standing behind you and they are trying to kick the ball into her face...Rob's job is to protect her face...shouting I WILL NOT LET HER FACE SUFFER.


So while I can't tell you much, all you have to know is this...Rob is a character that you will love, and this book will make you laugh and cry...and both are good things...

I have labelled this as YA, but read it as an adult, and then decide which young people in your life need this book in their lives...I think it's great for age 11/12+...