When I started reading Words We Don't Say I just didn't like it. I didn't like Joel's rambling thoughts; it really just made my head hurt. I didn't like that nothing seemed to be happening, but for some reason, I really felt like I needed to keep reading. I'm glad that I did.

Things totally do happen in this book, and they are both thought provoking and frustrating. Of course, there is some joy thrown in.

Joel is complicated because life is complicated. He makes mistakes, and he tries to do the right thing. He has the beginnings of two solid friends that help steer and support him.

I can't say that I ever got over Joel's rambling thoughts, but I still really appreciated how the book dealt with life (religion, guns, homelessness, veterans, PTSD, banned books, automatic 'F's').

I loved this book. It's a unique story of a teenager, Joel, who has suffered a traumatic experience and has bottled up his emotions and responses, except for the hundreds of text messages he has written and saved unsent on his phone to three indivuals: his principal, his best friend and his secret love. He's a troubled but noble young man who makes mistakes and struggles with guilt, some of which he needs to learn to set aside.

This is probably my favorite YA book of the year so far, or at least in the top 2. America needs more books like Words We Don't Say by K.J. Reilly. This is a book about real (though quirky) kids in stressful situations, working through trauma and making sense of a less than perfect world. Much less.
I loved this book for many reasons, but most strongly because the teens in the story never tossed aside their individuality in trade for popularity or acceptance. Like so many teens that I know "in real life" as a high school teacher, the characters in this book were passionate about the world and compassionate about the people of the world, but not sure how to make a difference. These kids observed, and listened, and came to care about people in this world who need to be seen and heard and cared about, but all too often are not.
This is a book that should be read by all teens, and adults, too, for that matter. It would make a great classroom read right around Veteran's Day, putting a flesh and blood spin to a holiday that seems far removed from the lives of most teens these days.

Interesting book that I think some teens will connect to. The characters were realistic and relatable. I think if my teen wanted to read this book, it would open up a lot of discussion. I would recommend for older teens.

I rates this 4/5 Stars...More like 3.5 stars, but I’ll round up this time because Joel’s struggle and character development worked for me. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t sure I was going to love this book but I felt compelled to see it through and I am glad it did. I appreciated Joel’s evolution from having so much inside him that he couldn’t share...so very like many young people I know and work with. The author’s use of saved text messages brought this age old struggle beautifully into the present. I loved the PTSD/veteran storyline but I will confess that I didn’t love the darkness that the gun brought to the story. That alone will give me pause in recommending this to students. Otherwise, it was a powerful commentary on the curse of PTSD that taught me much about a problem that needs to be better addressed in our society.

Fresh story and unique characters. Full review on Goodreads. Glad I grabbed this one. Still thinking about it a week later.

Honestly, the story did not greatly appeal to me. The synopsis sounded very intriguing, but I had trouble really connecting with the main character, and the plot wasn't grabbing me like I had hoped/expected.

I want to start off saying I went into this book blind, like I do all books. The voice K.J. gave Joel read like a teenager. His voice was genuine and his random, anxious thinking was realistic for his age. I loved the concept of saving drafts of his text messages. I empathized with him that at times he felt he shouldn’t share his true voice. The secondary characters were also spot on: Eli, Benj, Jacey, Alex B. And of course, Joel’s parents. The downside that cut up the forward flow in the plot for me was the repeated statements, the run-on sentences, and the holes in the storyline. I loved the hands-on postivity and kindness of the characters and the genuineness in their actions. Finding out the horrible thing that happened and how it all pieced together near the very end of the novel was another let down for me. I felt the ending brough closure, in a move forward way, but there were many events that were irrelevant which would make for the climax to have happened earlier in the novel. Overall, I appreciated this message of “Words We Don’t Say”.

This story takes you inside the thought process of a teen boy trying to navigate grief and growing up while learning tbr hurts that others experience as well. He learns about the "violence of words" and why books and stories carry so much power. If you are a teen you'll be able to relate to Joel's rambling thought process. If you are an adult, it will help you remember your own teen years and allow you to grow in empathy for a new generation of teens.

Joel is trying to figure out how to put his life back together. He misses his best friend Andy, and is in love with a girl who doesn't know how he feels. Joel spends his time taking care of his little brother and helping Eli at the soup kitchen so he can spend as much time as possible with her. Through Joel's interactions with a homeless man at the shelter, maybe he can figure out where he's going in life.

I really wanted to like Words We Don't Say. I liked that the story addressed homeless veterans and PTSD, and I truly liked how it ended. That being said, I really hated how it was written. The rambling narrative style was just too much for me, and the repetition got annoying. I did like seeing Joel's unsent text messages--that helped the narrative. I think this book will appeal to some of our readers, but not too many.

KJ Reilley wrote "Words We Don't Say" just as a teenager talks. That being said, the curse words were a little much (although it's realistic). "Words We Don't Say" made me laugh, cry and think....a winning combination for a book.