While Jessa is at a New-Year’s party, she finds out that her boyfriend has been cheating on her for months. After leaving the party in a hurry, she has a panic attack in her car and has an accident. The accident leaves her with scars on her face but also, she now sees things, like bruises, burns and scars that aren’t there, on other people’s faces. After her stay, in the hospital, she leaves Los Angeles where she lived with her mother to go live with her father in Colorado where she meets Hannah and Marshall.

Marshall was an interesting character and so was Hannah. I, however, hated Jessa. While her anxiety should have helped me identify with her, she was so judgemental and all over a pain in the ass, I simply could not. Being in her head was pretty uncomfortable…
Thankfully, I really loved Marshall, he was funny, kind and just adorable.

More than the problem with the main character, I’m still conflicted about this book. While the intrigue was interesting after a while, I really hated the way it was resolved. It felt like some christian pushing crap...

this book was a something a bit different for me and i devoured it. as somebody who suffers with anxiety and depression i could relate to the characters in this story. i could feel their pain and understand what they were going through. thank you to net galley, the publishers and the author for the chance to read and review this book

Jessa suffers from anxiety and the only thing that helps her cope (besides avoidance) is her boyfriend. Jessa's coping mechanisms are thrown out of the window, when she gets into a major car crash, which damages her brain. Jessa leaves her old life and its expectations to live with her father. She quickly befriends fraternal twins Hannah and Marshall. Hannah is working to get a piano scholarships to one of the most elite musical boarding schools in the country. Her stress levels are all over the place, but Jessa will continue to stick by her friend. Marshall has a hole in his heart, which he has had since birth. While he may have physical challenges, he doesn't let it impact his life. Jessa starts to develop feelings for Marshall, but has trouble letting anyone in. This becomes especially true when she starts seeing things on people's faces. Jessa doesn't know if it is because her anxiety is getting worse, a result of the car crash, or something else. It becoming harder and harder to hide what is going on, especially when she so wants to let Marshall and Hannah in.

I enjoy the way Miller interweaves the seemingly unreal with the real. I found Jessa's mental images of others compelling, though I can't believe that it took her so long to figure out what was going on. The relationship between Jessa and Marshall was sweet, but I feel like I didn't know Marshall well enough to really connect with him. In fact, I felt like I didn't know enough about any of the characters. They all seemed to be only developed on the surface, except for her father and potentially Dr. I. I did have trouble with the mixture of analogies, stick with bruises or stick with dragons, but both together make the narrative clunky. I enjoyed the framework of the story and the characters had potential, but I was not as wowed by this novel as I was by the previous ones I have read.

All New Things is a refreshing and honest look at what teenage anxiety, panic, and trauma looks like. As a School Counselor, I see these symptoms In my students every day and recognized what Jessa is experiencing as a realistic portrait of these dibilitating emotional issues. At times my heart wrenched for Jessa because I have experienced her symptoms myself and worked with teens who are in the midst of panic and anxiety. Sometimes, it was even a little too close to home.

The publisher did an excellent job of summarizing the book, so I don't need to do much of that myself. Overall, Jessa's journey of recovery from her car accident and the underlying anxiety she has been experiencing since her parents divorced was realistic and endearing. I cared about Jessa and wanted to see her face her fears and become resilient. I rooted for her to become well. I also enjoyed Jessa's friends, Hannah and Marshall, and their own journeys for wellness (physical and emotional). Jessa realizes towards the end of the book that we all have something, we are all fighting our own battles on the inside, but we have to face our fears in order to overcome them. This is something I have learned as an adult and is an excellent message for teens as well.

I will definitely recommend this book to my students. Many thanks to the publisher for allowing me to read this book in exchange for a review; it was a pleasure to read.

4 + stars

<i>"...perfect for fans of All the Bright Places and The Fault In Our Stars". </i>  Having noticed these words in the blurb for 'All Things New' by Lauren Miller I felt helpless to resist.    Afterall those two books are amongst my favourite YA titles.    What a wonderful discovery  it was to find out the blurb was correct.  All Things New was an excellent book.   It brought to the forefront the debilitating symptoms and effects of anxiety and other important mental health issues all of which were handled with the utmost care.  

Lauren Millers writing was extraordinarily realistic in her portrayal of experiencing a traumatic head injury.    17 year old Jessa has been involved in a serious car accident and is left feeling fog headed.  Everything is too bright,  sounds are too loud, the dizziness, unsteadiness on her feet, clutching at memories or words that are there but just out of reach, all of this resonated with me from personal experience.   Thankfully I have not experienced anxiety, or the other psychological issues which were front and centre in this book yet I had every faith that Ms Millers portrayal of these were equally realistic.   Jessa has suffered anxiety for some years now and her treatment, therapy & medication have all been unsuccessful.    Her coping strategy has been to suppress her feelings, practice avoidance and rely upon her beautiful exterior to hide the ugliness  and damage she feels inside.    Now with a heavily scarred face, her facade is broken and her anxiety is taking the upper hand.    After a terrifying change of school and with the help of her newfound friends Jessa learns some valuable lessons about facing up to her fears, about learning to trust, the importance of friendship, the life changing benefits of deciding to make behavioural changes, and of seeking and accepting help.   Lauren Millar delivered all of that without making her book sound or feel preachy. A wonderful accomplishment.

This new-to-me author has delivered what felt like a very important coming of age story.   All themes were handled delicately and worked beautifully imo.    I'm particularly interested in hearing thoughts from others, especially those who have experienced anxiety up close and personal, to understand if Lauren Millers portrayals were as realistic as they felt.

My sincere thanks go to the author, to Three Saints Press and to NetGalley for the opportunity of reading this free digital ARC in exchange for my unbiased review

I really enjoyed reading All Things New, even more than I thought I would. Through Netgalley, just browsing through their library, I was attracted to this book, by its beautiful cover and interesting enough title, but the synopsis made me feel as though I could really be able to empathize with the MC, Jessa, because of her anxiety, although mine isn't nearly as strong as hers is.

The author's writing was fairly good, or at least I didn't find myself constantly stopping and noting word choices or formatting, because I do tend to do that quite a bit. I loved that I was engrossed into all that was going on enough that I didn't feel the need to analyze.

Jessa's character, imperfect as it is, is incredibly relatable to me, but now, thinking about it, she had a lot of anger within her, which really affected the way she acted and responded to everything that went on. To a reader, this anger could definitely seem non-relatable, especially seeing as Jessa had a lot of hurt within her, the kind that really isn't something one would see too often. I suppose that the teenage angst coupled with a few more scars might make her a tad infuriating to someone that doesn't understand the slightest, but hey, this is a YA book right? And a heck of a YA book.

Her growth made me proud of her, because she really did grow in terms of strength and awareness, and it was a believable development as well, since she went through quite a lot over the course of the book.

The other characters had their own issues, and I wish that the author could've developed some of them more, because Hannah's problems were truly concerning and I think they were sort of downplayed or downgraded to just a suspicious issue to shake up her and the MC's friendship. Marshall was a really adorable character and he seemed a little too perfect personality-wise, if you know what I mean. I also REALLY liked Ayo and would've liked for him to have a larger part in the storyline, but it's fine the way it is.

Okay, one of the themes, per se, was kind of confusing and seemed like it was unnecessary, and I'm talking about the "angels" concept. The MC freaking saw an angel who came off to me as a mugger when he first appeared in the book because he reached for her wallet when she was halfway to death after her car crash. That's messed up. Then, he was a step-in school psychologist and somehow managed to have multiple appointments with her before she found out that he wasn't the actual therapist and there's just so many plot holes with that. Did she just wind up hallucinating things to make up for everything? And that's not even mentioning the fact that the psychologist supposedly forced meds on other students which is wrong in so many ways and Jessa just kept talking to her angel who she assumed was the doctor even though she knew that he was potentially the guy that prescribed her friend ADD medicine despite her lack of ADD. Yeah, that's messed up.

Regardless of the somewhat concerning angel thing going on, because of the underlying anxiety theme, All Things New really resonated within me, made me contemplative, and helped me in ways that I didn't think it would. Anxiety is a major mental illness, and the peek into Jessa's thought processes through her inner dialogue was one of the highlights of my reading process.

My gratitude to Three Saints Press and Netgalley for this great read!

This book was awesome!! I could totally relate to the main character, and her friends. I almost felt an instant connection with her. She went through something so tragic near the beginning of the book it almost takes you with her and forms a bond throughout the book that you have to finish in its entirety to understand everything that has happened. And it started way before that day. Layers upon layers are in this stunning book!!

I received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review.

This book was refreshing. The author dealt with tough subjects very real to teens and young adults in a hopeful manner. A young adult book not bogged down with a lot of bad language and mature sex scenes is unfortunately rare, but the lack of these distracting elements allows a journey of three young people to unfold purposefully.

I will recommend this book to any teen that comes into my store.

Loved the little dose of magic realism in this novel.

I was lucky enough to receive this ARC through Netgalley. I honestly absolutely loved this book. I read it all in one sitting. I just could not put the book down. It was a book that talked about serious matters but was also fast paced and an incredible read. I related to our main character Jessa a lot. Jessa is a high school girl who struggles with anxiety and I very much understand the struggling with anxiety. In a way she thinks she is coping with her anxiety by covering it up and pretending it is not there. Then Jessa has a traumatic experience, a stressor which causes the anxiety to “resurface”. After the anxiety resurfaces Jessa decides to change a lot in her life. Us the readers are able to go through the journey together of her slowly helping herself and learning to deal with the anxiety as well as accept herself. I read this book at the right time in my life as I am going through similar things as the main character Jessa. All Things New helps me see that there may be a light at the end of the tunnel. I would reccommend this book to anyone in a heartbeat, It is an important book and Lauren Miller portrays an accurate view of anxiety in my opinion.

This book follows Jessa on her journey of healing. She was healing from a car accident that left her scarred and unable to form images in her mind's eye, but she is also healing from years of hiding her mental health issues.

There were many things I liked about All Things New, and here are five of them.

1. Mental health issues are front and center
My anxiety is not as bad as it used to be, but I still remember what it was like to pass out in public, I often still cry while at the supermarket, and I sweat as my heart races when I have to go out after dark. Needless to say, this is a world I navigate on a daily basis, and I thought Miller did a great job portraying the feelings and other issues that are by products of one's mental health issues. Mental health is not a one size fits all thing, but I did find a lot of commonalities with Jessa. Maybe someone else will too.

2. Multiple ways to deal with mental health issues were explored.
Again, it is not one size fits all. Jessa had to try different medications and therapists. She tried group therapy and even religion. I really appreciated that this idea that there is more than one way to treat mental health issues was explored.

3. Jessa's dad
When her dad left, Jessa's world sort of fell apart for her, but here he was now, when she needed him most. He was patient and understanding, but also pushed her a little. With his love and encouragement, Jessa grew and began to believe that things could be different for herself. I really enjoyed seeing their relationship grow and heal as Jessa grew and healed.

4. The twins
I liked Hannah from the her first appearance on-page. There was something special about her, and I knew I wanted to know more. But the real star of and owner of my heart was Marshall. This fun and fancy-free boy with the devilish smile and the wounded heart carried the sun to every scene he was in. I cried when he was in peril, and kept was mush when he was flirting so adorably with Jessa. Marshall accepted Jessa as it, mental and physical scars and all. I kind of wanted him on page more often.

5. Magical realism or unreliable narrator?
There are some things that happen within the story that may or may not be real. Some are addressed, while this other bigger one is sort of left up in the air. I am not sure what these things were a product of, but I liked the extra dimension it gave the story.

I am really struggling with properly articulating my thoughts about this book, but I will say, they are all positive.

Overall: A thought provoking and emotional story, which left me feeling quite positive and buoyant at the end.

I liked this book right up to the point I was blindsided by the religious aspect. I think that can be a turnoff for some YA readers. I think that much of the anxiety discussion is spot on...until it's kind of explained away by religion. The author does a great job describing the sometimes crippling symptoms of anxiety. The part I think that can be a turn off is making the hallucinations into angels. I get it, it's various viewpoints and that's important too. In the right hands, this book will be an awesome resource. I will definitely recommend it to readers, but I'll be careful in who.

Jessa has managed to cover-up her panic and anxiety disorder with her beauty, fake smiles, and a handsome, popular boyfriend. When that all comes crashing down around her, changing Jessa's life for the worse and for the better. When a nearly-fatal car accident leaves Jessa's face scarred and her brain damaged her anxiety and panic become impossible to hide. Relocated to Colorado with her dad, Jessa finds that though she cannot stand the idea of seeing her face, others welcome her with open arms. There she discovers that no one's life is as easy or as good as they claim it is, that sometimes the outside isn't always reflective of the truth people hold inside.

"'I told you,' Wren says. 'It's complicated.'
'I know, I know. Barbie's unstable.'
The fire creeps down my neck, explodes inside my stomach, a furnace of humiliation that will swallow me whole."

Initially I was attracted to the cover of All Things New, because who doesn't love a good cover? Inside the book though, is a true-to-life novel with challenging situations and tough concepts that main character, Jessa, learns to embrace, accept, and face head on. I cannot tell you how many times I looked up from the pages to exclaim out loud, "this book is so good!" or how often I had to stop to grab tissue as tears streamed down my face. Lauren Miller's writing is excellent, it's emotive and descriptive, and made me so empathetic to Jessa's plight.

"Watching him I'm swept up in sadness. Why do we rip ourselves apart? My throat tightens, and again I feel myself disengaging from this moment, from its sharpness, its sting."

I loved the character development in this novel; Jessa is such a typical teen, but her experience and her natural aging made this novel really stand out for me. Her anger is believable and the way Lauren Miller writes about the anxiety, the scars, and the Aphantasia made me feel like I was experiencing it too. Additionally, there are some really stunning secondary characters in All Things New, with the award for most interesting and complex going to twins, Hannah and Marshall. Though their stories are secondary, their experiences with health issues help the progression of Jessa's story. Plus, both are interesting and bring a level of humanity to this story that wouldn't have been there had Jessa stayed the simple, "Barbie" girlfriend that she had been previously.

"I stare at the space and it seems to materialize. A wall, made of brick and mortar and fear. A wall I'm not ready to get rid of yet."

As far a young adult novels go, All Things New is going to be a love-it or hate-it type of book for readers. It is a character driven novel, but readers only read from the perspective of Jessa, a teen with an anxiety and panic disorder, which is very apparent in her thoughts and interactions. She's like many teens; she's angry at her family, she's angry about her situation, and on top of that she's dealing with a disorder that she's embarrassed of. I felt that the entire novel was very accurate, Lauren Miller makes you feel everything Jessa feels, but also includes true facts that allow us to understand her situation even more. Some readers will find that Jessa's thoughts regarding mental illnesses, modern medicine, angels, and God are something that should've been left out, but I think that many will also connect to those thoughts and the book shouldn't be rated negatively if one does not agree with her beliefs.

"But what if we could see them? How might a soul look if we could stare it in the face?"

All Things New is an original novel with thought-provoking writing, a hint of philosophy, and a very authentic story line. Young adult readers of any age will connect with Jessa, regardless of their own personal experiences with anxiety, because of Lauren Miller's story telling abilities. The novel is focused on Jessa's growth, with family, friendship, religion, and romance helping her to face her struggles, but not ruling the story. Jessa's healing makes for an addicting read that readers will find complex and realistic. It's humorous, but hopeful, with a strong message about acceptance.

"We play along, we act like we're all okay. But we're not okay. All the junk we're hiding is right there, right in front of us, right within us."

Such a beautiful story with a really great meaning.

After finding her current boyfriend cheating, Jessa decides to drive herself home. When a driver hits Jessica and sends her to the hospital, the last thing that Jessa has is gone. With new scars on her face, Jessa has lost the one thing she's been able to hold on to, her beauty. Now ugly and broken on the inside after her parents divorce, Jessa moves away from LA to Colorado with her dad. Can she find a way to repair the damages that have been with her for such a long time.

I truly liked Jessa's character. While she is broken and sad, she doesn't necessarily shut everything down and is open to getting better and listening to other people and their opinion. While she may not see it, she is very smart and kind. I really loved her.

The side story to this book is about Hannah and Marshall, a set of twins both going through their own pain, which end up becoming best friends/boyfriend to Jessa. I honestly enjoyed Hannah's story the most and was constantly waiting to see what happens to her.

While I loved all the characters, and I was constantly excited to see what happens to them, there wasn't much action or intensity to this story. There wasn't any crazy plot twist or any intense action that kept the reader engaged. I feel like if you don't like the main characters from the beginning then you wont enjoy the story.

Overall, I enjoyed the story and the characters, but I would have liked it much more if the story wasn't so predictable. I would still highly recommend this book to anyone, especially if you love stories about mental illnesses and/or guardian angels.

All Things New by Lauren Miller is one of those books that you want to go on forever. I hadn’t heard of Lauren Miller before reading this book and once again I am pleased to have found an author whose books I will keep an eye out for in the future.
This book has been described as perfect for fans of The Fault In Our Stars and I can understand why. This a perfect read for fans of that book. All New Things has a spiritual side to it that adds another dimension to it.
All Things New begins with Jessa getting in an argument with her boyfriend Wren at a party. Within seconds of being introduced to Wren I was confident he was a character I would hate.
“I want more,” he tells me now. I need more. Connection. Depth.”
After their fight Jessa thinks about going home but knows her mum won’t be pleased to see her. Jessa feels increasingly unwanted at home as her mum is constantly occupied with the twins she had with Jessa’s stepfather.
Jessa muses over her relationship with Wren.
“Two nights ago, everything was ok. We were us, we were Jessa and Wren.
Its not like our relationship is perfect or anything. The eye contact thing really bugs him. And he gets annoyed that I don’t make more of an effort when we hang out with his friends. But when we’re alone its awesome. “
Jessa, the protagonist, is instantly likeable and I think that went a long way towards my enjoyment of the book.
Jessa debates leaving the party after her fight with Wren but changes her mind and goes to find him instead. She instantly regrets it though when she overhears him talking with another girl in a bedroom and the girls says it is about time they told Jessa about their relationship already. Wren says it is complicated and the girl makes an insensitive comment about ‘Barbie’ being unstable.
Jessa flees shortly after and is driving home when a car ploughs into her.
On waking up Jessa is distressed to realise that she not only has extensive facial scaring but also the accident has cause her some brain trauma.
Jessa’s dad is there when she wakes up and asks her if she wants to come and live with him in Colorado. She decides to go with him.
Initially, Jessa’s problems follow her and she struggles to cope with her injuries, her relationship breakdown and her anxiety. Jessa isn’t used to opening up to anyone so struggles to talk to her dad about what is going on especially as she isn’t used to being around him.
At school Jessa meets twins Hannah and Marshall, each of whom have difficulties of their own. Before long, Jessa realises that she isn’t the only one struggling.
All Things New was a pleasure to read and will certainly be a book I will read again.

I have read Lauren Miller's other stories and I really enjoyed them. I didn't necessarily enjoy this one as much, but it was still a wonderfully written story. And my lack of enjoyment might have just been because things hit a little close to home.

I believe that this story does a wonderful job of showing what it's like being someone with anxiety. I thought that it perfectly captured how people can turn on and snap at people that they care about and that they know care about them because they are too wrapped up in their own stuff. I thought that it was very real and very raw and very emotional.

I do recommend it, but just don't necessarily go into it hoping for a lighthearted read that isn't going to make you think or want to be better - for yourself, for your friends, and for your family.

I received this as an ARC from NetGalley. I was not totally crazy about this book unfortunately. It started out very slow and took me quite awhile to get into it.... Jessa the main character suffers from panic/anxiety disorder which is completely understandable for what she has been through (parents divorce, car accident). The author lets us know all of her thoughts and feelings through out the book which is great. She moves in with her Dad after her accident, starts at a new alternative school and makes some new friends twins, Hannah and Marshall. Marshall who is broken in a different way than Jessa but does manage to help her start healing her insides which is where she is so very hurt. I like their romance but the end was really sudden and I'm not entirely sure what happened....the angel/religious part at the end was unexpected and kind of weird too. Not my favorite book but kind of interesting the way the author wrote the story....

Enjoyed this book, the characters, the story, and the relationships. I have little experience with anxiety in general and teen anxiety in particular...and never heard of aphantasia. So this book provided an opportunity for me to learn a little in the process of enjoying a good read. Have to check out others by this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and Three Saints Press for providing me with an e-copy to read and review. All Things New by Lauren Miller is set to be released August 1, 2017.

Beautiful, poignant, and honestly portrayed, All Things New is an enchanting story that gives hope for a brighter today and an even brighter tomorrow.

I underestimated how good All Things New would be - it was unbelievably fantastic!

The part before Jessa's accident was annoying and I'm glad the author left that behind and didn't physically drag it into the rest of the story. Jessa's accident was heart-stopping and gave me pause. Afterwards, the story picks up and from then on its really difficult to stop reading (but why would you? it's a great book).

What Jessa is going through is unfortunately more common than not. How she thinks, feels, behaves, and perceives things is exactly what someone with panic attacks and anxiety experiences. It's an honest and raw portrayal of teenage mental health issues and mental health in general. She is a relatable character even if you haven't fully experienced all that she has.

I love Marshall - he is the bright spot in Jessa's darkness, a bright spot we sometimes forget we have or feel we don't have in our lives. Usually, someone with such a sunny disposition is a little off-putting for me in stories. But not Marshall. I think his heart condition, once he began to understand what it really meant, made him have a different, more positive outlook on life - sort of like Chris from the television show Parks and Recreation. Marshall is a great character. Silly, funny, kind. I'm glad that - although this is a love story - the focus wasn't squarely on him - that he would be the end-all-fix-all - but on Jessa. And yet, I wish there was more development between Marshall and Jessa.

I am so thankful Lauren Miller wrote this story and that it will be shared with the world as it shares an important message. The story and writing is beautiful. The characters are raw and real. You will feel all the feels. 2017 has been a great year for new books so far and All Things New just made it better!