Set against the grim background of Glasgow's working class, this book talked to my heart. Both Finlay and Banjo are the kind of beautiful, broken boy I love to read about and, indeed, to write. They have huge hearts, but have been so beaten up by life, it's hard for them to let them show. There are definitely some massive parallels between this book and many of my own. I understood these kids in a deep and powerful way.
It's a story about love and connection on so many levels. Not a romance (but there are elements of that in there) it's really what I would call a true love story, a story examining all the different kinds of love that exist in the world. And the power all those different loves haave to heal even the deepest of wounds.
So, I strongly recommend this one. It's heartbreaking in all the best ways and will likely bring a tear to your eye more than once.
*WINNER CARNEGIE MEDAL 2025* *WINNER UKLA AWARD 2025* *WINNER UKLA SHADOWER'S CHOICE AWARD 2025* *WINNER BRANFORD BOASE AWARD 2025* *SHORTLISTED YA Book Prize 2025* *SHORTLISTED WATERSTONES CHILDREN'S BOOK PRIZE 2025* *A 2025 READ FOR EMPATHY BOOK*
'Tenderness itself, a song to love and friendship.' Andrew O'Hagan 'Desperately poignant.' The Guardian 'Powerful.' The i Paper 'Stunning. Hopeful, heartbreaking and ultimately joyful.' Simon James Green 'Astonishing . . . Exceptional in every way. Resolutely not to be missed.' LoveReading
Two boys can't remember the last time they had a hug.
Meet Finlay. He's studying for his nursing degree at Glasgow University, against…
I loved this book. Eli is such a delightful character, even when he's in some stupidly awful situations. And the relationship he has with his silent, possibly magical older brother is beautiful. You know what a sucker I am for a good brother relationship... The depiction of Brisbane's criminal underworld in the 1980s is perfectly drawn in its gritty, slightly shabby and worn-out criminality.
And the writing is gorgeous. As a wannbe reporter, Eli's editor tells him he's too flowery, too focused on the details, and the author is just as focused on the details - to great effect. There's some gorgeous language in this book, even though it's as tough and gritty as the streets the Bell boys grow up on.
'The most extraordinary writer - a rare talent' Nikki Gemmell
An utterly wonderful novel of love, crime, magic, fate and coming of age from one of Australia's most exciting new writers.
Brisbane, 1983: A lost father, a mute brother, a mum in jail, a heroin dealer for a stepfather and a notorious criminal for a babysitter. It's not as if Eli's life isn't complicated enough already. He's just trying to follow his heart, learning what it takes to be a good man, but life just keeps throwing obstacles in the way - not least of which is Tytus Broz, legendary…
I loved this book. Stick was such an endearing character and the relationship between him and Bosten was beautifully realized. It was clear that the pair of them had stuck together through all kinds of indignities and horrors meted out by their parents.
The contrasts between their home with its rules and petty demands and the homes of their friends and most particularly their aunt were well drawn, and Stick's amazement as the differences felt very real.
There are some very obvious parallels between this book and my own Standing Too Close, so that may be why I responded so much to it (and hello, new comp title!)
But that aside, this is a powerfully emotional story with a spunky central character with a raw, real voice. I definitely recommend it.
Fourteen-year-old Stark McClellan (nicknamed Stick because he's tall and thin) is bullied for being "deformed" - he was born with only one ear. His older brother Bosten is always there to defend Stick. But the boys can't defend one another from their abusive parents.
When Stick realizes Bosten is gay, he knows that to survive his father's anger, Bosten must leave home. Stick has to find his brother, or he will never feel whole again. In his search, he will encounter good people, bad people, and people who are simply indifferent to kids from the wrong side of the tracks.…
Seventeen-year-old Blue Lannigan believes in exactly one thing: his two younger brothers deserve more than the crappy apartment and abusive, drunken mother they’re stuck with. And when he comes home to find one brother bruised and bleeding (again), the other cowering in terror (again) and their mother drunk off her ass, blaming all three of them for her tanked singing career (again), Blue decides waiting until he’s 18 to leave is no longer an option.
Deciding to hole up in an empty house at the lake until Blue can figure out what to do next, things get more complicated when the owner of the house arrives unexpectedly. Especially when Blue realizes the unconscious woman they’ve tied up on the couch isn’t a stranger after all, but someone who could give him just what he’s looking for.
After avoiding reality and playing house, a scene at the grocery store lands him in handcuffs and his brothers with a social worker. Add to that losing his job and being stuck in a group home he hates, and Blue’s sole purpose becomes finding his brothers and getting them out of whatever hellhole they’re in. Blue’s hopes unravel, and betrayal rips his heart in two as he tries to reconcile the role he plays in his brothers’ lives while trying to figure out his own.
