I feel honoured to have been given an opportunity to read this book, it was so beautifully written and it really touched my heart. The main characters are Anna and Harrison. Anna has joined the Best Buddy scheme at school in order initially to progress her CV and she is assigned to be with Harrison. Harrison suffers from high functioning autism and this book deals with how he starts to progress and the developments he makes with Anna as his friend. Its such a hard subject to write about and I know parents that are going through these battles where any small thing can be a massive milestone and to others its just seens as day to day, it tells the story from the sides of both Harrison and Anna and for me the story it is really told exceptionally well here. I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I've been looking for a book like this for a while, I think autism/Aspergers is really interesting and I somehow love that extra quirk it gives a character. That said; I absolutely loved Harrison.
I expected to enjoy it but I did not expect to fly through it in a couple of hours! It definitely gripped me and kept me reading until I'd finished it in a single sitting.

Harrison, oh Harrison, I've already said I love him, but why do I love him? His quirks! He doesn't like when his food is touching, he doesn't like people touching him and he doesn't like germs. Even though I don't have Aspergers or autism I could definitely relate to him - when I was younger I had some of the same issues. Harrison made me laugh out loud through out the book - especially with all his repetitions and how he acted around Anna, it was so extremely cute that I couldn't help it.
Anna I liked, not as much as Harrison though. I could also relate to Anna since she tries to do well in school and sometimes it feels like she only get acknowledged by her mother if she do well in school - I've had that, not so much any more though. Anna is sweet, she's funny and she really see the best in others - she's also very patient with Harrison and I absolutely loved their relationship because of it.

I also loved the romance part of the story, and I loved that stereotypes aren't really a thing in this book - Joel (Harrison's brother) is a plays both hockey and girls but he's not stupid or annoying, he's sweet. Justin, helps with the Best Buddy club, is very quiet but he's actually not shy and there's something going on between him and Anna and I loved that part! There is also a bit of bullying in the story, I'm quite surprised that there wasn't more, but I liked that there's only a single episode or so.

The story itself was great! I loved that it's told from dual perspective so we know exactly what each of them is thinking. My problem with the storyline is that I loved the first half better than the second half. I think the second half was too fast for me, it seemed like everything had to happen very quickly for the story to end sooner and I don't like to feel rushed when I read.

That said, I really enjoyed the story and getting to know both Harrison and Anna. I think this book is going to be a musthave when it comes to school libraries and I definitely recommend it.

Meet Harrison and Anna. One is a fifteen-year-old boy with an uncanny ability to recite every bone in the skeletal system whenever he gets anxious ― and that happens a lot. The meaning of "appropriate behaviour" mystifies him: he doesn't understand most people and they certainly don't understand him. The other is a graduating senior with the world at her feet. Joining the Best Buddies club at her school and pairing up with a boy with high-functioning autism is the perfect addition to her med school applications. Plus, the president of the club is a rather attractive, if mysterious, added attraction.

Fragile Bones is intriguing and eye-opening, a look into the lives of two teens and the struggles they face daily. A look into autism and not only how it impacts Harrison but the people around him.

Harrison is an interesting character with his honest no nonsense voice, his rituals and routines, his breakdowns. His family, as supportive as they can be, with their gentle nudges towards trying new things. His is a very clear view of the world. Black and white, no shades of grey. Ordered. The world is chaotic, changing, unpredictable, and Harrison's brain can't quite process that the way someone's without autism can.

Anna is bright and cheerful. She tries so hard to get her mother's approval, to get her to understand it's not all about going to university on the east coast or in the UK. She tries so hard in school. She tries so hard to make things work with Harrison, not just going through the motions but genuinely interested in getting to know him better. But she doesn't need to try so hard all the time. The answers aren't always found in a textbook. There's no shame in not being perfect, in not knowing everything.

Harrison's family tries to help, they try to understand him. I didn't always like them, though. I'm torn between supporting them as they support him, as they try to break him out of his shell, and disliking them for putting too much pressure on him to mature and one day get a girlfriend. That he'll have to get over his phobia of germs if he's ever going to kiss a girl one day. I'm not sure if he'll ever be interested in girls that way.

This is a very interesting and relevant kind of book. It's not overwhelmed by the young romance Anna has, there's a good mix of friendship and learning along with it. It's all about Harrison and Anna learning from each other. Harrison's growth is slow, but I expected that. Baby steps. If the series continues, I imagine I'll continue reading it.

Fragile Bones follows the story of Harrison and Anna, during their time in the Best Buddies program at Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School. Harrison has high functioning autism and is fixated on bones and can name every one in the body. Anna is an ambitious 4.0 student in her senior year working towards acceptance into a prestigious medical school. The two are paired as Best Buddies and their time together helps them to both grow in unexpected ways. Each chapter is told in either Harrison or Anna’s POV. I really enjoyed this writing style. It was very engaging to see the world from Harrison’s perspective and then to see the same events through Anna’s eyes.
This was a very touching story. I liked each of the characters and the love interest between Justin and Anna. I liked the family dynamic in the Henry household and the struggles that each family member faced. I found these sections authentic and eye opening. I would recommend this title to those who also enjoyed Wonder by R.J. Palacio, House Rules by Jodi Picoult, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon, and The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion. In fact, the character of Harrison Henry reminded me of a younger less mature Don Tillman.

Fragile Bones is a young adult book that deals with autism. Anna is a senior who joins the Best Buddies program in an effort to build her college application. She wants to be a pediatrician and believes the program will be a rest learning experience. Harrison is a sophomore who has high functioning autism. Whenever he gets overwhelmed, he recites all the bones in the human body.

Harrison has a great support system with his family and Anna has a mother who seems a little less invested, unless it has to do with her grades.

I really enjoyed the alternating viewpoints. I loved getting to see how the both approached the different situations. I saw that there will be a series where every book is a new set of buddies. I need to find out if any others are available yet.

I loved this book. Specifically, Harrison's voice. Harrison has Asperger's (which, according to Harrison, is now known as high-function autism) and is such a heartwarming character. He fixates on bones, has a germ phobia, an amazing intellect, and even though life gets hard and people get mean, he still perseveres and tries to adjust as tough as that may be. My heart broke for the challenges he endured, the bullying he succumbed to, and the overall difficulties he suffered by having Asperger's.

Enter Anna, a senior girl a few years older than him who joins the Best Buddies program in order to befriend and help someone with a mental disability. She is kind, thoughtful, and respectful. I loved how she struggled sometimes with figuring out how to be friends or reach out to Harrison, but how she never gave up and adapted so well to the issues that arose.

The secondary characters felt just as realistic as Anna and Harrison. Joel, Harrison's older brother, copes as I imagine any sibling in this situation would. He is kind to Harrison and helps when he can, yet he still gets frustrated. I loved that Harrison's parents were involved with him, getting him to stretch is comfort zone and loving him unconditionally regardless.

Harrison made me laugh. (I was surprised by how much I did). Sometimes he took things so literally, and when he explained it, I found myself nodding along, completely seeing his point. Other times he made my heart melt or sadly even break a little. He was so brave to endure what he did and yet, everyday he got up and made the choice to continue living in a world where he was different, where he had to deal with so much more than just the normal stresses of high school and being a teen.

This book really interested me, so much to the point that I started it at midnight, and had it finished by 4 AM! Harrison's life is what really intrigued me, with his Autism and the mannerisms he has because of it. I was glad to see that he has such a supportive family in the book, even his his brother could be a bit pushy and inconsiderate at times, but I guess that it works to show what real life with an autistic family member could be like. It's not all sunsets and roses; instead, it's hand sanitizer and the occasional meltdown. Anna is a character with her own issues, mainly her mother, who expects the best grades from her daughter. I feel that her character could have been stronger, but I think that we can really see how she comes to understand Harrison better over the course of the novel, with her making special considerations on how to act around him, and accommodating his behaviors.

All in all, it was a great book that really captured my interest. I'd deduct a star mainly for the characterization of other characters, and for the constant mention of a girl wanting to kiss Harrison. I think that the other characters shouldn't have brought it up so often, especially if they know it would bother Harrison.