An interesting read. It took me a few chapters to truly get into it, but once immersed, I really thought it was a great read.

Beautiful coming of age story.Emotional moving Abby is a wonderful character a book teens will love and so will adults.#netgalley #textbooks

This was such a lovely story. Sooo easy to read, authentic teen protagonist with offbeat family, sadly real and believable tragedies to endure….

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.

First of all, thank you to Netgalley for letting me read and review an early copy of this book.

The story of this book was fine. I think it lacked emotion. There was a lot of telling, not necessarily showing. Because of that, I found it hard to actually care about what was going on in the story. There was also a lot of skipping around. There would be a single paragraph about what happened at school that day and then suddenly, we were at the weekend. This story could've benefitted from some polishing and taking out unnecessary scenes. The formatting was also annoying and took me out of the story. There weren't really chapters, per se, the story was broken up into like sub-headings? I'd never seen anything like this before. Probably for good reason.

"Let's Never Speak of This Again" by Megan Williams is a humorous and candid memoir filled with memorable moments and life lessons. Williams' storytelling is engaging, offering a delightful and relatable read.

This was slow to start but a wonderful coming of age story that will be an important read for teenagers. I really enjoyed this read

this one’s very slice of life, inconsistent and jarring but in a way that feels true to life. i love books that make me remember how it feels to be 16-17 and feel everything so strongly and to be so deeply insecure in friendships. this was nothing like i expected but i will definitely be keeping an eye out for megan williams’ next book

thank you to NetGalley and Text Publishing for this arc in exchange for an honest review!

Williams’ characters are portrayed as typical teenagers (16 year old/year 10) and the main protagonist’s group of friends display varying maturity levels, as happens in real life. Friendship dynamics are definitely at the heart of this story but there is also coming of age & dealing with loss and change. If you’re an adult responsible for putting this book into the hands of young readers be aware there are some possible trigger warnings with this novel. I do not want to spoil anything for readers who wish to discover the, sometimes seemingly middle grade and at other times definite YA, themes/issues raised in this novel on their own, so will just leave it at that. The format of the novel – short snatches of text with headings that come from the section that follows – is an interesting way of presenting what is essentially a story of one young person’s experience with learning how to be a good friend, daughter and granddaughter.

"Let's Never Speak of This Again" is a gentle coming of age story that rings true to life. Megan Williams develops themes including intergenerational family care, female friendships, the confusion of sexuality and the process of grief. Highly recommended. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC. #LetsNeverSpeakofThisAgain #NetGalley

For Abby, teenagedom feels uncertain—she has supportive friends and family, and she's proud of her place as the youngest member of the school netball team, but (she's a teenager, and) that doesn't always mean she feels like she fits in, and a new girl at school compounds her uncertainty.

I read this partly for the cover and partly because it promised a story more about friendship than about romance, and I thirst for platonic friendship stories. It delivers: it's an understated story, and it's best not to go in if you're looking for something fast-paced with a lot of action...but for coming-of-age wrestling with what it means to have old friends and new friends, and how to support friends through hard things, it's great. One of my favorite moments comes early on, after Abby unknowingly kisses her cousin's cousin, and she's squicked out but not ashamed—she's ready to turn it into a cringey story for her friends. And later, when things get difficult, I love that she tries but also often does or says the wrong thing. She's still figuring it out.

I've said it over and over, but we need more stories like this—ones where romance might be a factor, but it's not the point of the book or the central part of the protagonist's life. Again, look for this when you want something quieter, but I love this sort of thoughtful, relatable thing where the intensity of friendship takes the center stage.

Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a review copy through NetGalley.

I knew from the first page that I was going to like this book. "Sticky Satay Fingers" is a great opening headline, and the following paragraphs are hilarious.

The standout features of "Let's Never Speak of This Again" for me were:
1. Having headings instead of chapters. This strengthened the connection to Abby because it felt exactly like the awkward inner dialogue of a teenager. It was diary-like without being a diary. It also created humour and built anticipation.
2. The gentleness. There's something so sweet about this story and how it unfolds. It was so funny and sad, and we really got to know Abby and her heart.
3. The Australianisms. Hats from Bunnings, bindi weed picking, a trip to Sydney and a mum who loves Helen Garner. I also finally (kind of) understand why people like netball.
4. The friendships. I love that this was the main focus of the book. You can really feel how Abby's self-worth swings depending on (what she perceives to be) the strength of her friendships, and that is exactly what it's like when you're a highschooler. And, ok, and adult, too.

I would have loved to see more of Abby's relationship with her grandmother and netball coach, because they seemed like really interesting characters. However, I also can see how giving them more time wouldn't have necessarily driven the plot forward. They still provided some lovely moments.

Who would I sell this to?
Aside from the target YA audience, I think this book will be a big hit with parents who come in at Christmastime and ask for a book for their teenager that is "nice and not going to traumatise them." Which is a very specific type of customer, but you would be surprised how frequently this is requested.

Congratulations to Megan Williams on winning the Text Prize. Well deserved.

This book was a 4 star read for me.

If you like a coming of age story- this is a nice light read. It took me til about 30% of the book to get used to the writing format but once I was over that hump, I couldn’t put the book (kindle) down.

This book took me back to when I was in high school, taking everything for granted… not really understanding that you shouldn’t sweat the little things because things could be a lot worse.

I was extremely pleased with the ending. This book was like a self-reminder that you should really check in on your friends and family. You never know what they are holding in.

This was a really great YA book, sensitively picking up on the real issues faced by teenagers all over. Admittedly, one of the story lines was possibly more dramatic than the universal tale of growing up but it underpinned the rest of the troubles which will be recognised by young girls (I assume in particular, but don’t like to stereotype) all over. What I really liked about it was it focused on friendships and the importance of these relationships above romantic relationships, whilst also recognising the importance put on romance and sexual relationships. The more I think about it, the better it was.

I read a lot of coming of age books as well as books about friendship. This is one of the best ones I have ever read. I felt Abbys pain acutely while she navigated the widening chasm of a friendship she believed would never change. Prepare to have your heart broken and expanded with this one. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for making it available

For a number of reasons, I am not the target audience for this book and yet I very quickly found myself taken in. I admit, the first few pages were slightly confusing and I had to adjust to the narrative style (which had the feel of a Instagram Stories reel) but the relationships and experiences felt familiar. So many moments reminded me of conversations between my own teenage daughter and her friends, and when Abby's starts to feel a disconnect from her best friend, her hurt and insecurity called back my own high school days.

Abby fears that she's losing Ella and when an even bigger tragedy occurs, she's faced with hard questions what it means to lose someone you love, and who has "the right" to grieve after a loss, and how grief looks different on everyone.

In short, it's a story about growing up and the hard lessons that are a part of the process. It's about love and friendship and holding space for others when they need it most.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for access to a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This is a beautiful and tender story about friendship, family, navigating loss and how bloody difficult growing up is. Full of teen angst, conflict and drama and written in a super authentic voice. I really enjoyed it.

Such a sweet, honest read about friendship, grief, and the sacrifices we make for those we love.

Abby and Ella are best friends and nothing is every going to change that, or that's what Abby thinks at 16. We all know how friendships ebb and flow, but learning that lesson isn't always painless, as Abby will learn throughout this story. Tragedy often spins lives out of control, and when it strikes in Ella's life (and reaching to Abby's by extension) things begin to change. Abby's anxieties about her friendships are totally relatable. Learning how to be in a healthy relationship with anyone is a challenge, and I enjoyed reading about someone who struggles to see what's truly happening in front of her due to the anxieties and lies her brain tells her about her interactions. Abby is forced to truly reckon with herself and her friends and family and it's all real while still being hopeful.

This book takes place in Australia and I'm a US reader, so I had to spend a lot of time Googling to understand the book as deeply as I desired. I had no idea with netball was, and some slang was new to me.

Overall, this is a wonderful YA read.

Let's Never Speak of This Again is a solid debut from author Megan Williams. It took a few chapters before the story caught my interest, but it was worth the read.

*I received an advanced reader copy of this book from NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Let’s Never Speak of This Again by Megan Williams is a sad but genuine and honest coming-of-age story centering on teenage emotions with a sharp turn into dealing with grief.

Williams packs Let’s Never Speak of This Again full of wit and such authentic teenage angst I wasn’t sure whether to cringe because I know exactly how she has felt or cry for Abby. Either way, that makes it all that much better when the reader starts to see Abby come into her own and navigate the world with her friends with more confidence than when she started.

For the first half of the novel, I have to admit I was honestly confused at the pacing. I am glad we got to live in Abby’s head for a while, but it just seemed like the story advertised is a bit different than what the first half is. I also think there could have been more with her grandma, especially in a story so heavily packed with grief. There was really no nice ending with her grandma except that she now reads her Sally Rooney (also— a LOT of mentions to Sally Rooney in the last 30% of the book? Not particularly bad, just odd.) Not that there needs to be a Good ending, just really any ending was missing.

That being said, I do think Williams’ has a beautiful way of authentically capturing emotions. She captured the ups and downs of grief— especially grief you’re on the outskirts of— amazingly. Grief is not linear and it’s never clear cut, so this novel makes sure to honor that. Besides just grief, Abby’s teenage angst is so real it hurt my heart for her.

Let’s Never Speak of This Again is a great look through a teenager’s mind about friendship, grief, and what it means to grow up.

Thank you to NetGalley and Text Publishing for this title.