Growing Pains by Joseph Ball

Thank you @JosephBallBooks @TheFCMGroup_Publishing @LoveBooksTours For letting me be part of this tour and reviewing this book. Growing pains is a contemporary fiction. The story about Alex who is 11-year-old, and it’s set in the 1990s. The story is about Alex and his life at home and his relationship with his father. Growing pains is inspired by true events. From the minute I picked up the book I was engrossed and could not put it down. This is an emotional story and I felt like I was on an emotional rollercoaster with Alex because of what he’s going through. I did like him as a character and there were times I just wanted to give him a big hug and tell him it’s ok. . Furthermore, I didn’t really like his dad or his sister that much just because of the way there were towards Alex. I did feel sorry for him but was glad that he had his mum at times. Growt pains is written beautifully and is written in such a way that it pulls at your heart strings. . There are some hard topics in the book to do with neglect, and it is dealt with superbly in the book. Grown pains is an easy read and I can’t wait for book 2. A powerful, hard hitting and an emotional read five stars. Blurb Alexander is the most normal and loved eleven-year-old boy you will ever meet. Until one day, he isn’t. Living in the south east of England in the 1990s, Alexander’s life appears stable - a warm home, a loving mother, and a familiar school routine. But beneath the surface, things begin to shift. Affection turns cold. Words are twisted. The father he once looked up to becomes a figure of confusion and fear. As the tension in the house builds, Alexander is forced to question everything: his place in the family, his worth, and whether the love he thought was unconditional ever really existed. While friendships and football offer brief moments of safety, the emotional pressure at home grows unbearable, and he’s left trying to make sense of a world that suddenly seems stacked against him. Growing Pains is a raw, emotionally charged debut inspired by true events. It lays bare the hidden scars of emotional abuse and explores the quiet, persistent damage inflicted by those closest to us. Told entirely from Alexander’s perspective, it captures the confusion, shame, and resilience of a child trying to survive in a home where silence is the only defence. This is book one in a powerful new series following Alexander’s fight to be heard, to heal, and to find out who he is beyond the pain. A portion of profits from this book will be donated to child protection charities, including the NSPCC. Author bio Joseph Ball is a working-class voice author, a full-time retail manager, and a lifelong book lover who dreams of opening his own bookstore. He lives in the Dorset countryside with his wife, children, and two cats, where most days begin early, end late, and are built around family life. Joseph grew up in Essex in the late 80s and 90s, and it is those formative years that inspired his debut novel, Growing Pains. Drawing from lived experiences, Joseph has created a world that honours the people who helped him through, while shedding light on the silence that surrounds emotional abuse. Growing Pains was written to show that not all wounds are visible, and not all children who suffer are noticed. It is a story for those who smile to keep the peace, whilst their trauma goes unseen. Joseph hopes that this story might reach someone who needs to know they’re not alone, and that their voice and their stories matter too. A portion of the profits from Growing Pains will be donated to child protection charities.