Will on the Inside tells the story about a middle grade boy with Crohn's disease. While the book is about his diagnosis, it's not overwhelming focused on this. It does show him having to make difficult decisions and changes. The author himself has Crohn's disease. The book is portrayed accurately as the author experienced similar experiences as outlined in his author's note. The book includes additional resources to help students understand Chrohn's disease.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

Will’s story will resonate with middle grade readers who are overcoming their own obstacles and learning more about themselves. Andrew Eliopulos has written a brilliant coming-of-age story about a seventh grader dealing with a new Crohn’s diagnosis, middle school anxieties, and questions about the person he’s becoming.

I especially loved the way Eliopolus writes about the realities of middle school friendships and conflicts. He’s given middle grade readers an understanding of how to respond to the cruel conversations they might find themselves in, examples of how to be an ally, and permission to accept that they don’t have to have all the answers about themselves yet.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Quill Tree Books for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

This is one of my favorite books of 2023. I adore books about regular kids that don't read, like after-school specials. You know, informative but not preachy? This story focuses on Crohn's Disease, and while it could have included TMI- it had just the right amount of info.

I thought this was a sweet and charming middle grade that deftly handled the representation of Crohn's Disease (by an author writing from their own perspective). It was also a beautiful story about a kid who doesn't want to feel like they're on the outside and feel like they are part of their church, their community, and especially their group of soccer friends, while also navigating a new diagnosis and questions about queerness. For me, I got lost in some of the discussions of video games but know this is something tween boys especially will hopefully love and appreciate. The voice, writing and pacing were all fantastic.

I understand what this one is aiming at. A diagnosis of chronic illness is certainly lifechanging. Especially when it is misunderstood or unseen by others. And especially in the middle school years when fitting in becomes increasingly important. When your methods of defining yourself have been stripped away, who do you become? The ideas of self and control are interesting to explore but the plot is fairly predictable. The relationships are overly idealized.

It is extremely important to have more books like this that feature a character with a chronic illness. This is the first book I’ve read with a character dealing with Crohn’s disease. It also deals with characters questioning their sexual out which is another important issue for adolescents.

Character development is exceptionally strong, the descriptions of living with a chronic illness that is sometimes debilitating stay true to life ("Without even meaning to, you'd look at me different" sums up why a person might try to conceal any diagnosis), and the hidden tumult of coming to grips with sexual orientation in a setting that practices surface tolerance with homophobia underneath feels sincere. (I'm coming from the perspective of someone who has a life-altering chronic illness and who faced significant homophobia in an environment where it was nominally scarce.)

Will is in seventh grade and sooo much is going on.

Newly diagnosed with Crohn’s disease he’s struggling to be a regular kid and do all the things he wants to do.

Unable to play soccer he makes new friends with Griffin, a musical theater kid who some of his friends have been mean to.

With Griffin he discovers the world of gaming and also starts questioning who his real friends are and how to reconcile his faith with what he feels to be right.

This was a great middle grade novel to help kids understand invisible illnesses and inclusion.

This #ownvoices middle grade debut blew me away!!

I loved how real and relatable Will was as a young boy dealing with a new Crohn's diagnosis, struggling to find medication that worked for him, coming to terms with having to give up a lot of things he loves (food, soccer, etc).

There was also great mental health rep and a wonderful cast of queer secondary characters. The author tackled tough topics about homophobia and acceptance among school and Church communities.

Good on audio too, this was definitely a standout read for me and I can't recommend it enough! Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

This was an important book about not only having a chronic illness which effects millions and still has a huge stigma attached, but finding oneself and the changing dynamics of middle school. Will is a seventh grader who seems to have it all together until he's diagnosed with Crohn's. In the wake of the diagnosis, he makes a new friends and discovers he has interests outside of soccer. But all this change raises confusing feelings and conflicting emotions.

Will deals with his illness by trying to ignore it. Which is so relatable. Unfortunately, as he finds out ignoring it doesn't make it better or go away. He wants the medication to act faster, or for someone to make it work faster, but since he doesn't want to talk about his bowel movements with his doctor or parents, things get worse instead of better until he ends up in the hospital. I had a feeling the story was going this way and I'm glad it did as it relates how serious Crohn's and other chronic illnesses can be and is also an accurate portrayal of the disease.

Will has been a soccer kid since preschool when he met his best friend Henry. While he does love soccer, a chance meeting with another boy, Griffin, introduces him to the world of online rpgs. Will finds he enjoys the game they play, but know his soccer friends would make fun of him if they knew leading to an internal conflict. Can he have two sets of friends? Griffin is gay, and this poses another conflict as Will doesn't like the anti-gay sentiment expressed by teammate Luca and some of his church friends. He also begins to question if he might not be straight himself. This leads to some great discussion between Will and his pastor, with Will and Henry, and Will and Griffin. All of which lead to positive change in his friend group and at church regarding acceptance. While Will still questions what "letter" he might be, there's time for him to figure it out. While author is gay, Will's express hatred for the dance and trappings that go with it make me lean towards an ace interpretation for Will in the moment rather than gay like Griffin.

For the disability and chronic illness representation, this is great addition to growing representation. The author was also diagnosed with Crohn's as a middle school student giving it an extra dose of authenticity and believably. There's a lot of stigma still attached to bowel and digestive disorders so seeing this getting it's due in the representation department is awesome. I had a classmate and girl scout troop member with Chohn's when I was in middle school and I can't help but think of her and how having this book then would have been great for her.

My only thing is, I'm not a sports person. And soccer is my most hated. I just don't get it. So all the soccer references and stuff was so over my head, but it didn't detract from my enjoyment of the story as a whole. I give this one Four Lightsabers.

I loved this story! The way the main character dealt with his chronic disease felt authentic. I appreciated the way religion was handled. Too many books either don’t mention church at all or they go overboard. Lots of families attend church and I appreciated the perspective in this book. I felt like Will’s family was well-balanced. The characters felt real and relatable. I can’t wait to add this to my classroom library.

This was a terrific debut! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an opportunity to read a digital ARC of this book.

One of my goals this year is to read more middle grade fiction where the main characters are boys. Since I have 2 girls, I tend to read more fiction by women author's featuring young girls. While I still plan on doing that, I'm looking to expand my reading palette, and this one was a great book to recommend to middle school aged boys.

Will is an extremely likeable kid. And he's going through a real tough time! Having recently being diagnosed with Crohn's disease, Will is undergoing different medications to try to deal with the flare-ups that keep increasing. Due to this, Will has to sit out the soccer season, and he finds himself struggling to keep up his friendships and well as his grades.

Without giving anything away, Will is also exploring his identity and what that might mean for him. He befriends a kid who is much more open about his identity and sexual orientation, and Will wonders if he might be something other than a cisgender straight person.

Really, really excellent book that I can't wait to recommend to young readers!

Will on the Inside was incredibly well-written. Compared to other NetGalley titles, this one felt more developed and ready for publication. I adored Will's story. It didn't shy away from difficult topics and handled them with grace. I was sad when the story ended. I would love to read more about Will's life, or even about Griffin's in his own spin-off.

Thank you NetGalley, HarperCollins Children's Books, and Andrew Eliopulos for the opportunity to read this e-ARC!

This is a heartfelt story about a boy struggling to figure things out. Will plays soccer...at least, he used to. Once he was diagnosed with Crohn's disease, he wasn't able to manage the flare ups with running around as a center midfielder. But soccer is his safe place, his friend group, his passion, so without that, he's feeling lost. Added to that, his parents keep making decisions for him and he starts hanging out with Griffin, who's infamous at school for asking another boy to the spring dance. How can Will handle all the confusion of who he is and who he wants to be?

I thought the friendship struggles were spot on for a middle grade audience. Compounded with the struggle of his recent diagnosis, this book tackled some tough subjects in an easy-to-digest way and had a strong message of being true to yourself and having confidence.

Will is diagnosed with Crohns, and struggles to see himself now: no longer on the soccer team, now a patient; some friends don’t seem like friends anymore; how does identify fit in with his family’s belief? A windows and mirrors book

This one unexpectedly hit me in the gut, pun intended. I loved that while battling his newly discovered Crohn's Disease, Will was still a very thoughtful kid. It got me when he was in the hospital and his minister/pastor visited him and he was asking about a classmate's two moms. The church leader's response made my soul happy, and I loved that he was appreciative of a young person's perspective. Will definitely buy for our middle grade collection!

I recieved a free eARC of this book. Thank you for the opportunity to read it.

Will is an avid soccer player, with a friend circle af school and in his church youth group. He also has chrohn's disease, which is affecting him academically, sidelining him on the soccer team, and generally wrecking his life. When he makes friends with a classmate, who introduces him to an online role playing game, who is rumored to be gay, he also starts questioning his sexuality-and his faith.

This is a very real book that doesn't shy away from the problems IBD causes for those who have the condition. Nor does it shy from the pressures LGBT kids inside established churches feel and how even an "affirming" church sometimes doesn't feel so. It will help kidswho are dealing with the same issues Will is-but also those who have classmates and friends who are. There is absolutely no sexual content, nothing inappropriate, nothing but the concerns that many kids live with daily.

I hope this book gets the inclusion it deserves in school and community libraries.

4/5 stars! This book is really sweet for what it is, which is a middle grade examination of who we are, who we want to be, and what we will stand up for. I really enjoyed getting to know Will and watching him grow throughout this story. Sweet and smart; an interesting read.

I received an advance review copy for free through NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily

I loved this book so much! It gave a lot of insight into what Crohn's disease is like and was very informative about it, but still was an amazing story! I had never heard of this disease before and after reading this book I feel like I could probably accurately explain it to someone.