I loved the voice in this book so much. Miles was probably my favorite narrative of the three. His voice was the strongest, and his grief -- all of their grief -- was so genuine.
I felt the most connection with Miles, though.

The three points of view were a little choppy. I wish the set up of the book alternated POVs every three chapters so we kept moving forward in the story than going back with each change. It would have been cool to see them cope and come together in real time too.

I loved the dynamic between the three of these guys. They were genuine and found a way to be there for each other when it mattered the most. However, it was hard to truly connect with any of them and get a real feel for their friendship due to the structure of the book. I truly wish it had been reorganized. I also didn't quite like how there weren't any chapters in the three sections.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. Harley's POV was my least favorite due to its choppiness, but the first and last parts were best.

Happy reading,

Sophie :)

I managed to not shed a tear the entire time and then the last page broke me. I NEED MORE! Give me more!~

THE SIDEKICKS by Will Kostakis is a character study written in three parts from the perspective of the swimmer, the rebel and the nerd – that's Ryan, Harley and Miles – who are grieving the loss of their good friend Isaac. Ryan takes refuge in swimming and contemplates telling his Mom (a teacher at the school) that he is gay. Harley seemingly wants to turn his life around and develops a bond while comforting Isaac's Mom. And while Miles is smart, he, too, struggles with personal relationships and obsesses about watching the hours of film he took of Isaac. Each misses the friendship, listening and acceptance that Isaac provided and that grief is pervasive, though experienced differently. THE SIDEKICKS received starred reviews from School Library Journal and Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA).

A brilliantly-written book - Will really gets into the minds and lives of his characters, and deals with tragic and difficult situations really sensitively. The characters were well-developed and I enjoyed their individual stories immensely. Highly recommended!

Set at a high school in Australia, Ryan, Miles and Harley are all linked by a mutual close friend (Issac) -- but have never had independent relationships with each other. After Issac's unexpected death, the boys need to face their grief and see if there is a new way they can be friends together. This covers a lot of themes including loss, coming out, cheating and family. Happy to have a book to recommend to boys.

This book surprised me in how much I loved it. I fell, hard, for each of the POV characters, and honestly was sucked into their individual stories as well as the overarching theme.

The book is subdivided into three sections, between Ryan (the swimmer), Harley (the rebel) and Miles (the nerd). It was a total joy to watch the three boys on their journeys. I enjoyed how each POV section sort-of reviewed the previous one's contents to give you the others' perspective, and then built upon it to further the story. Each section was unique and it was easy to keep the characters apart.

Because of the character growth and the nuanced way this book deals with teenage grief, it's one I highly recommend. No one was left behind without his own individual arc, and each of the boys' interactions with fried felt relevant and realistic.

I didn't have time to download this one here, but I did end up getting an ARC from the publisher that I read and enjoyed. It's well written, fast paced and will keep you interested. The plot isn't very unique though. And I wasn't a fan of the reason why Issac was killed. It makes it much harder to sell you younger teens, which is a big part of who I serve. I do have a lot of teens looking for "sad" books and I think this one will fit right into many of their "wants".

I rarely get the opportunity to read a great YA contemporary set from the male perspective that feels authentic and engaging. The Sidekicks does just that! It is a story about coming together in grief and realizing the impact those we've lost have had on our lives. The characters' voices were all distinct. Kostakis proved himself to be an excellent writer. My only complaint would be the disjointedness of the flashbacks. It all could've been done a bit more smoothly. If you are looking for a good YA contemporary about coping with grief, this is an excellent one to pick up!

Great premise--but I feel like a lot of the plot was a little disjointed. The story jumped around too much for me to keep up with for a YA novel. I loved the characters and how they were all developed in their own time, but the time and place was all over, and not something I expect a lot of teens will enjoy.

Ryan, Harley, and Miles are not friends, but they were all best friends with Issac. When Isaac dies, the three feel lost and alone. Yet, in the end, they are able find comfort in each other with their shared grief. This novel spends time with each character's perspective, going over the same events and adding more to the story.

The format of the story is unique and in that way it is hard to connect with the characters until after reading all of the character's perspectives. It wasn't until the final viewpoint that readers are able to connect key pieces of information from previous parts of the novel and see the progression of other characters. This novel was unique.

I don't like the way this book uses flashbacks, but the story itself, especially the end wrap up, are very interesting. Hopefully the final formatting will make the flashbacks easier to follow.

The Sidekicks, by Will Kostakis, is truly a work of art in its ability to speak fluently in the voices of the three very different young men. There was no doubt that these were young men with different backgrounds, different interests, different personalities and different ways of communicating with the world. These voices were as distinct as if they had been sung from the contralto, tenor and baritone ranges of a choir. I’ve read many books where the story is told in different voices, sometimes with the voices even written by different writers. But this is the first time it has ever been done so convincingly, and the characters witnessed in such depth.
All three of these young men were struggling with the aftermath of their friend’s sudden and senseless death, trying to piece together their own role in that friend’s life and their possible responsibility in his death. Through these three young men, we also come to know a fourth character, the friend who died. He is as distinct from the three as they are from each other yet his voice is the thread that brings the others into harmony.
This really is an excellent book and one I highly recommend. It’s not a book I’ll soon forget.

Full review on Goodreads, but I definitely enjoyed this one. I always like to read something from a male perspective, and this one had 3 unique narrators tied together with one common friend and what they think is not much else. Realistic and fresh and not your "typical" format-driven YA that you find everywhere. Glad I had a chance to read this one!

The ending is a little abrupt but the story is realistic and intriguing. Very orginal. Good for teens and will interest young men.

Ryan, Harley and Miles were drawn together via a mutual friend, Isaac. They don't much like each other, but when Isaac dies unexpectedly they find that their mutual interests start converging. The novel is told in three parts with each boy sharing his story. This really benefits the story as each boy has his own perspective of the friendship with Isaac, the death of Isaac and the going forward after Isaac's death. The chaotic-ness of the voice of Harley may distract some readers.

Despite not thinking I would, especially after Ryan, I fell in love with each of them a little after their parts. This is such a great story of friendship love, grief, and how complicated people are.

(Although, to be a little picky, Harley's "could of" and "cuz" things drove me a little bonkers. Hopefully that will changed? There were also times the transitions came out of nowhere, but I think that was an ARC formatting issue, not a book issue, and I imagine it'll be fixed by the time the book's published.)