The Play was such a beautifully written and incredibly heartfelt read. I honestly still can't believe this is a YA novel because of how deeply it tackled so many dark and emotional issues with such care and honesty. It felt raw, powerful and painfully real at times, and I found myself becoming completely invested in the characters and their stories. What stood out most to me was how the book highlights the battles so many young people are quietly facing every single day without many of us even realising. Brian Montgomery handled these themes with so much compassion, showing both the struggles and the strength it takes to keep going. It never felt overdramatic, instead, it felt genuine and incredibly moving. The characters were wonderfully developed and felt so authentic throughout. Their emotions, relationships and personal journeys were written in a way that made it impossible not to care about them. Harry and Sara especially completely broke my heart. Their story was emotional, unforgettable and had me feeling genuinely teary, especially towards the ending.

The Play was such a special and heartfelt book. It was a wonderful story and I enjoyed the concept. It tackled issues that are so relevant for young adults. No one should never feel unsafe ever. The cover has a group of kids and a teddy bear on it. I thought it worked really well and it was designed perfectly. The writing is really good and the story flowed so well. I enjoyed the setting too. The characters were incredibly special. They were extremely well thought out and developed. Harry and Sara broke my heart. Their story was incredibly moving and it genuinely made me cry. I definitely recommend this!

The Play: Harry's Story by Brian Montgomery follows Harry Groves from a brutal childhood in a violent, neglectful home through years of bullying at school and then into the creation of "The Play", a grassroots musical project that turns his pain, and the pain of his friends, into something hopeful and loud. The book moves from Harry's life with his little sister Sara, through her death at the hands of their parents, into foster care, healing, and eventually a youth-led performance movement that tackles bullying, racism, homophobia, transphobia and mental health head on, both on stage and in real life. It starts in a damp social housing unit and ends on the road with a touring show and an epilogue that stresses survival, persistence, and responsibility to the next generation. Reading it, I felt like I was being dragged into a storm right alongside Harry. The early chapters are very emotional. The scenes of abuse at home and the cruelty at school are not softened. They feel raw and, at times, hard to look at. I found myself angry at the adults who look away, and at the same time very protective of Harry and Sara. The moment when Sara dies, and Harry learns what happened in that small office at school, left my stomach in knots. The writing there is simple, direct, and emotional, and that choice makes it land even more. Later, when Harry begins to write "for Sara" and then turns that grief into a musical project, I felt a real lift. The book does not pretend that art magically fixes everything. It shows a long, messy grind full of small wins and big setbacks, which made Harry's eventual success feel earned rather than easy. I also connected with the way the book treats the wider cast and the bigger ideas. The bullying in this story is not one-note. It covers racism, religious abuse, queerphobia, class, disability, and online cruelty, and it lets those kids have voices, songs, and arcs instead of keeping them as background. Chapters like "Bullies Not Welcome Here," "Redemption", and "The Reformed Trio" shift the lens and allow room for change and accountability, even for characters like Mathew Jones and Liam Harris, who start as almost pure villains. That choice won me over. It shows how harm comes from systems and pain, not only from "bad kids". I liked the mix of prose, bits of lyrics, and the behind-the-scenes feel of building a show. Sometimes the narration tells me what to feel instead of trusting the scene, but the honesty behind it comes through so strongly that I was willing to go with it. By the time I reached the epilogue, with Harry looking back on the funding fights, the rejections, and the moment he turns down a big film deal to protect the "heart" of The Play, I felt proud of him. The project has grown into something bigger than one boy's story. It becomes a touring movement that belongs to every young person who steps on stage or sits in the audience and finally feels seen. That final note of "still standing" feels earned. I would recommend The Play: Harry's Story to teens and adults who want a frank and heartfelt story about abuse, bullying, grief, and recovery, and who can handle some very heavy scenes along the way. It's a good fit for youth workers, teachers, and parents who want to understand what some kids are living through, and for young readers who feel invisible or silenced and need to see that their stories matter and can be turned into something powerful and public. If you are ready for a story that hurts, then reaches for hope and community and the power of performance, this book is worth your time.

I think this book should go on school reading lists immediately. I think this covers just about everything bad that can possibly happen to a child. Harry is just ten years old, and understands the pain and the shouting and the hunger better than his little sister Sara. Until the worst happens, and his parents break her beyond repair. Harry vows to look after Sara's favourite toy, a one eyed teddy called Bear. Then when he reaches adulthood he vows to do something, and creates a play, featuring all those kids left in the Shadows. It sounds heartbreaking and if you're unaffected by the subject, you have a hard heart. However its not depressing or sad, its actually uplifting and really quite wonderful. What has been created is special. With 2 performances to date, I hope it gains momentum at incredible speed and hundreds of thousands of kids get to experience this. There's related workshops related to mental health and around the issues they face. Really very moved by this.

This is such a powerful book, especially for young people. The book challenges so many areas of young people's lives and what they must cope with. From their inner demons to external differences, and everything in between, this book looks at all the ways people are treated differently, looked down on, held on pedestals or bullied. It is about taking in the whole picture and really seeing what is happening everywhere around you. The author has the young people really find themselves and their voices, through the play and they begin to see that each difference can be celebrated and they can find their own crowd of people who really support and lift them up. I liked the overall message a lot, and I also really like the style or writing as I think it is aimed at the intended crowd really well. It isn't too pushy or cringe so that most young adults would really enjoy reading and would take on the message as well. This is a book young adults really need to read.

This book should go on the front shelves of all school libraries, if you ask me. It should also be available at every local library. And, maybe, just maybe, it's worth adding it to the list of books that are recommended for teens at schools. The book feels real and raw. It's not cute and fuzzy. It's not your usual pseudo-teaching and pseudo-inspirational "book for kids" written by old people who were young like a few centuries (lol ok, decades, but centuries sound way more fun and dramatic) ago, and their writing feels forced and fake-young, THIS IS NOT THAT KIND OF BOOK. The book is filled with real-life struggles and triumphs, diverse perspectives, and it's a powerful reminder of the importance of community, acceptance, and the healing power of storytelling. It's emotionally intense. It's empowering. It's transformative.

This is such a hard hitting read, brutal in parts but also tells the reality of bully and abusive and the heartbreak that comes with it. Harry and Sara have a terrifying childhood and after an horrific childhood incident we see Harry having to deal with the aftermath at such a young age. There are tough subjects covered in this book but I think they are important to be brought to the forefront of our thoughts. As Harry gets older we get to see lightness and joy come into his life, you feel the warmth coming through, the way the book is written shows humour and wit and at the end I felt it was an uplifting read. An amazing piece of work and something that says with the reader, such an important story to be told and lessons learnt.