I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

The Feeling Good Club: Smash Your Worries, Bella! is a wonderful book to help children understand many different feelings such as anxiousness, worry, fear, nervousness, anger, sadness and happiness. As you an probably guess from the cover, the book is told in a journal format which adds fun to it for the reader. I loved how easy flowing this book was and loved the emojis used which made it more visually understanding as to certain emotions for the child reading it. It's a great book to encourage children to keep a journal themselves as this is something often suggested in therapy and is something I do myself and have done since childhood. Bella was a cute character too and I can see many children being able to relate to her. At the back there's a very handy and informative added bonus pages of mindfulness ideas, tips and suggestions and some very useful ideas of ways to practice it for children. I will definitely be looksling at a paper copy for my own daughter and look forward to the next book in this new series.

Who doesn’t love a cute, uplifting middle-grade story? That’s all I wanted from this book and I was delighted that it delivered!

Bella’s best friend Rohisha has moved away and now Bella has no friends at school. Even worse, she is worried about having to give a Class Talk soon. But then, she joins forces with Archie and Shazmin, a duo who couldn’t be happier to welcome her into their fold. To try and work through their problems, the three of them form The Feeling Good Club but there are still challenges ahead.

I loved the charming illustrations that were all over this book, as they really added to the feel good, joyful theme. It also made the whole book feel like Bella’s journal too, which offered a unique quality into her life that made it easy to connect to her.

The little extra bits of artwork in the book reinforced the fact that we were reading Bella’s journal. I could easily relate to her anxiety and sadness about Rohisha moving away and having to go through school life without her. I loved how infectious her desire to be positive was and the cute format of the book really helped keep that upbeat vibe, even when things were happening that weren’t so great.

Bella loves to bake and this becomes more central to the story towards the end. Any book with lots of references to food and particularly sweet stuff immediately draws me in and I loved seeing Bella do what she loved and flourish during it.

There is also a lovely focus on mindfulness and the wonders it can do for an anxious mind. Their mindfulness session is what inspires Bella and her friends to start The Feeling Good Club, which gives them the power to overcome their fears. I really think that introducing things like mindfulness and stress management to young children is a great idea and can definitely lead to them becoming smart, relaxed and emotionally mature teens and adults.

I also loved the theme of acceptance and celebrating your true self. It’s such an important message to impart on young people because we live in a world where it sometimes not safe to express your true feelings. However, if everyone felt comfortable enough to do so, happiness levels would increase exponentially.

The Feeling Good Club is a new series celebrating happiness, acceptance and truth. It’s funny, relatable and very charming with some highly important themes. This first instalment was such a delight to read and I can’t wait to see what adventures the gang go on next!

This is a useful book for helping children to process and cope with their feelings. Bella is a relatable protagonist that many can relate to as she navigates life, friendship problems, loneliness and more. I like how there's also insight into Rosh and the upheaval that she faces as someone who has moved away. Bella's other friends are sufficiently developed too.

I am a fan of diary-style novels and love the doodles sprinkled on each page. They are such a delight to look at, from the rainbows and stars to the characters and their animated expressions.

Personally, I found the book quite hard to get into and had to make myself finish (the upside is that it's a quick read). The storytelling was a bit too explanatory at times, especially when a character is trying to analyse emotions and coping strategies. I felt like I was reading technical self-help instead of the escapist fiction that I wanted.

Nevertheless, kids will likely enjoy this more and resonate better with it.

I requested this book for my little girl who has become quite anxious over the last year or so. As she is the target audience, I asked for her opinion. She wrote:

“I give this book a 1000/1000. It was a real page turner and kept me intrested (sic) all the time. This book made me feel calm and relaxed. It also showed me there are other people out there who have worries. The book really hooked me on like I’m a fish and there’s a fishing rod near me. I recommend this book to of of my friends, because they can experience anxiety. I am really intrigued for the next book and I hope I can read it! “

As a parents, I appreciated the discussion points around children’s anxiety and how to strategies to overcome it. The way it’s formatted, in a diary with doodles etc makes it really approachable to children and that can only serve to enforce the important messages within the pages.

Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to review an advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you so much to Little Tiger Group / Stripes Publishing and Netgalley for the ebook to read and review.

Bella’s life has changed quickly and she has many thoughts, feelings and anxieties. Her best friend Rosh has moved to a new place and left her, now she doesn’t really talk to her. She is all alone at school, until she finds some friends thanks to her teacher. She has to give a speech on something she loves at school but public speaking terrifies her.

I really liked the whimsical style of this book with it being Bella’s journal and she put her feelings at the top of the pages and then writes down everything she thought, felt or happened to her each day, with lots of drawings and doodles too. It’s a really clever way of sharing the story.

I really liked that through all her changes in her life Bella managed to work through them all because of the guest teacher that had come to school to help them learn and understand their feelings and how to get back to feeling good. So many things caused her anxieties and stress so having that help was so great for her.

I really liked her friendship with Shazmin and Archie, the three of them were complete opposites of each other but actually worked well together and had more in common than they thought. I loved that they formed the Feel Good Club together as they all wanted to help each other with their struggles and find ways to get through it. They were really great friends and Bella grew a lot through the story because of them.

It’s a really fun and intersteing book, I think children will really love this series, especially those that have read others of this same styling. The friendships are really great, there are lots of funny parts, the characters have growth and development, it helps give guidance on understanding their own feelings and overall it’s just a fun and easy read.