Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

Wow, what a book! Bullies and feeling outcase at school is kind of a universal topic, and it was so tense throughout. A gripping tale of bullying, trauma, PTSD and mental illness all culminating in one hell of a finale.

This book flew by in the blink of an eye! Straight into a tense plot which built up nicely to a brilliant ending! Great portrayal of mental health issues and a look into the effects of grief and trauma. Brill! ⏱

I almost forgot about this book, until I saw it here on my shelf. I started reading this months ago, but it failed to grip me and I can't remember how far I got into the book. It had potential, but there was something lacking that made it fall to the wayside

Unfortunately, I have not been able to read and review this book.

After losing and replacing my broken Kindle and getting a new phone I was unable to download the title again for review as it was no longer available on Netgalley.

I’m really sorry about this and hope that it won’t affect you allowing me to read and review your titles in the future.

Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity.
Natalie.

A good YA read that deals with some difficult but important subjects. I would recommend this book to teenagers and adults alike. I would read more from this author.

Last Lesson is a fantastic book. Genuinely found myself not wanting to put it down. The plot is very relevant right now, and the writing style let’s you experience events alongside with Ollie. Can’t wait for his next book.

Ollie Moorcombe, pianist and star student, about to take his GCSEs and seemingly on the brink of great things. Yet Ollie seems to be hanging on by a thread. On his last day of school he arrives with a home-made pipe bomb in his bag...how did it ever get to this stage?
We cut between past and present as we learn a little more about Ollie. We learn about the bullying he has endured at the hands of his classmates. We learn about the relationship he has with his grandpa, who he lives with as his mum is receiving treatment for schizophrenia. We learn that he fears for his life as he receives daily threats from some of his more sadistic classmates. And we learn something of the catalyst for some of these events - the death of his Aunt Kaye in a car crash, which Ollie was also part of.
There’s no getting away from the fact that this is a tough read. Graphic accounts of sexual violence, the flashbacks to the car accident and the details about Ollie’s treatment do not make for a comfortable read. The subject matter of a planned school bombing is scary - and getting into the mindset of the person planning it doesn’t make it any easier.
While it was easy to see some of the signs surrounding Ollie’s behaviour as potential triggers, it doesn’t go anywhere near explaining fully why he plans what he does. The author ensures we feel some sympathy for Ollie, which makes what he’s planning even more chilling. Seeing the decline in his mindset/behaviour was worrying, and not least because someone should have seen things were not right and done more. I got cross at all the missed signs that could have minimised the damage caused, and it certainly examines the toxic culture surrounding boys and mental health issues. I also found myself increasingly unnerved by the voice of Ollie, which was - perhaps - the first indication that this seemingly straightforward story was a little more complex than we might have been led to believe.
This will not be a book for everyone, but I do feel it raises important questions. Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read this and offer my honest thoughts prior to publication.

Wow.
Just wow.
I had no idea what I was expecting when I started reading this and was gripped right up to the end. The twist reveal I really did not see coming and that is rare.
Ollie was popular last year, but the accident has made him into a pariah- a victim of horrendous bullying.
He befriends a girl who claims she was sexually assaulted by the self-same bullies and Ollie decides he'll get his revenge via pipe bomb.
We watch as Ollie fights with his demons, trying to decide what is the right thing to do. An amazing tale of bullying, trauma, PTSD and mental illness all culminating in one hell of a finale. Highly recommend.

Woah. This book takes you on one hell of a ride.


I enjoyed this book. I was utterly heartbroken and it was very, very difficult to read at times but I feel that it was a very realistic view on how bloody tough it is to be a teenager at school. When things change literally in a heartbeat and your life is never the same again.
This is an important book that looks at the mental health issues faced by teenage boys.

This book was an incredibly raw, and at times, difficult book to read. James Goodhand tackles some very difficult topics including sexual assault, bullying and toxic masculinity as well as the main character's deteriorating mental health. This is not an easy read so I would recommend that you prepare yourself with the mindset required to go into a heavier read.

The plot is very well written and is easy to follow despite the fact the author is taking us down an increasingly dark mental spiral of the protagonist Ollie. I felt that Goodhand got Ollie's voice spot on and it became clear to see how Ollie's mind became so fractured. I found it interesting that I was able to empathise with a character with such questionable actions. I found Ollie to be unlikeable but at the same time I could completely understand how he ended up where he did. I think this illustrates the importance of being able to understand someone without agreeing with their actions.

This is the first book that I have read that tackles the struggle of male mental health issues, which I found to be a refreshing angle. This is such an important issue that people are becoming increasingly vocal about so it was great to see this in a YA novel which will hopefully bring about vital conversations amongst teen/ya readers. I really appreciate that Ollie's mental health issues are not glamourised or used as an excuse for his actions but Ollie's experience is vital in the readers' understanding of what happened.

I thought this book was an excellent read however I would certainly warn potential readers about the more difficult, triggering content. The book is an excellent example of the conversations that need to be taking place amongst young society. I also really enjoyed that this book was set in the UK rather than being a US high school novel. I'm really looking forward to seeing what Goodhand writes next.

As a secondary school English teacher, I love reading books set in schools or with teenage protagonists.
I absolutely loved this book and didn’t get the ‘twist’ until it actually happened.
It is a heartbreaking look at how a teenager’s life can be completely changed overnight through loss, hormones and peer pressure.
There aren’t enough books that focus on mental health issues, especially those of a teenage boy. My heart broke for the protagonist throughout the book - the way he had to cope with being isolated from his friends, the constant fear his grandfather would be hurt and the brutal loss of his ‘Auntie’.
This is a hard hitting novel which will leave you questioning whether the stereotyped teenage boy is really who he is on the inside.

Last Lesson focuses on Ollie who has been through some massive change in the past 12 months and they have had a profound effect on him and how he is handling life. For Ollie, he can only see one option. To get revenge on the people that have been making his life hell. He plans to kill them all in their last lesson of high school.

What a complex topic wrapped in a really readable novel. James Goodhand has looked at many complicated issues within his novel Last Lesson. He looks at the hierarchy within the school system, he looks at grief and he looks at mental health.

I think what Goodhand has done well with Last Lesson is to look at the complexities of mental health and its correlation with extremism. He has handled it sensitively and without pushing blame or agenda other than trying to help you spot the signs.

It seems strange to say I enjoyed this novel because I shouldn’t have enjoyed a novel which has such a sad message but it is hard not to like it. Goodhand is a great writer who engages you in the story and really makes you care for the characters. It will be interesting to see what he writes next.

Last Lesson by James Goodhand is available now.

For more information regarding James Goodhand (@goodhand_james) please visit his Twitter page.

For more information regarding Penguin Random House (@PenguinUKBooks) please visit www.penguin.co.uk.

Difficult to review this one without giving too much away! It's a clever ad unsettling page turner which offers the reader lots of food for thought around issues of bullying, toxic masculinity and mental health. A powerful and impressive debut, I look forward to seeing what the author does next.

Last Lesson is a book that isn’t afraid to overstep boundaries and deal with some pretty dark topics, such as toxic masculinity, bullying, death, mental health, sexual assault and pornography. So, you do have to go into it with an open mind, knowing that it isn’t going to be the most lighthearted of reads. It is also a book that I feel you need to be in the right mindset for, and that’s why I didn’t read it sooner. You need to feel ready to face the themes that are scattered within the story.

The plot, itself, despite being very easy to follow takes you on a journey through the complex and damaged mind of Ollie, our protagonist. It really does draw you in, and you want to know more about how this promising young man came to want to do something so drastic and life threatening. The layout of the story shows you Ollie’s past and present and throughout the story you do build up a picture of how Ollie came to be so unstable. It really helped me to understand how if we bottle up our feelings when it comes to grief it can mutate into something much worse. Also, with regards to the bullying aspect of the plot you really start to feel empathy for Ollie and also disgust and contempt for those bullying him. Put all this together and you can really see how Ollie’s mind came to be so fractured.

Ollie is a character that you can feel sympathy for, but at the same this doesn’t deter you from excusing his actions. I felt afraid for him, but I also felt scared of him at times throughout the book. With his mental health becoming more and more unhinged as you journey through, you start to wonder what he’s really capable of. Mind you, I did understand why his motives were what they were, and to be able to create a character as complicated as Ollie is commendable to the author. Ollie is really a one of a kind character and one that in one way or another you will feel sorry for at some point throughout the story.

Mental Health in men is something that isn’t spoken about or tackled enough in fiction, in particular YA, so I applaud the author for making this the main topic of Last Lesson. We see through Ollie, how harshly your mental health can deteriorate after a traumatic experience such as being in an accident or experiencing a death. Men, are often the ones that try to hide their mental health issues, for not wanting to be seen as weak, and this, I feel, came across extremely well in Last Lesson. With regards to Ollie’s mental health, it’s never glamourised and doesn’t excuse why he did what he did. It just shows us that there are no sides to take when it comes to this issue.

Last Lesson was a complex, intriguing read, that yes, will be controversial, but is a book that is solely needed in today’s times. It will hopefully force conversations out with regards to mental health in men and maybe bring someone the courage to get help for the issues they are facing.

The author tried to make Ollie relatable and somewhat likable but he was just two dimensional and I didn't feel like what he was planning on doing was worth the bullying he suffered from. This needed editing to make it more layered as having more layers overall would have made this a better read.

When I first read the synopsis for this book I felt like I just had to read it. It screamed hard hitting contemporary and that is something I love.
There are a lot of tough to digest topics in this book, so take that in mind when you pick it up, but it deals with them unabashedly. I could not help but feel for Ollie, and feel terrified of him simultaneously. He had such a clear goal in mind and I think it strikes me more because it is very easily a realistic situation. And I think I felt it more terrifying because I work with children and can see what can lead a child to take such drastic actions.

It was without a doubt a compelling read, and I consumed the last third of the book in one sitting because I just needed to keep reading.

I will definitely be keeping an eye out for this author in the future.

4 stars ⭐️

This novel goes straight for your heart. It's one that lingers with you for a very long time after you've finished as it makes the reader think about their outlook on topics discussed within it such as toxic masculinity and mental health in young people, It looks at how we treat people influences and affects them from their beliefs to the choices we make as individuals.
It shows it costs nothing to be kind and shouldn't be judged by a mistake they made.
A fantastic debut from James Goodhand and one that is so different from anything currently on the YA market. Well worth a read!

This was not what I expected.... I thought this was going to be a school shooting book and was kinda disappointed when it wasn’t. I also didn’t really connect to the main character and since this was very character driven that was an issue. I can’t say anything about the mental health rep in here because I don’t have personal experience but if you want a book about someone dealing with some mental health problems and bullying then this might be worth checking out.

It appealed to me due to the concept of a school bombing in the Uk.This was unique as other books on this topic have always been set in America.

I was gripped straight away by all the topics of bullying, mental health, family and friendship issues. It definitely showed the intensity and impact bullies and grief can have on individuals.

The layout of chapters showing you a timeline for the day as well as some back story was easy to follow and added to understanding of how this day had come around.

I definitely felt invested in Ollie as a character and felt his emotions with him. To some extent I expected the ending however there were some parts that surprised me.Overall it was a nice closure especially when bringing together the key people in his life and everyone accepting and showing compassion instead of ignorance.