McCaughrain uses the backdrop of the Repeal the Eight campaign south of the Border to good effect This is a nuanced and thoughtful engagement with the issues, rather than a polemic; the teenage and adult characters are fully developed and complex. A smart, deeply moving book. * Irish TImes * This novel is authentic, using humour and heartbreak to cover a difficult subject. It is understated and adeptly written, with honesty and respect for its characters and its audience. * The Best Irish Childrens Books 2024, The Sunday Times (Ireland) * Full of authentic humour, youthful hyperbole and hope McCaughrain is careful not to be didactic or reductive. In the end this is a story about young relationships and concerns with believable, sympathetic characters. -- Books of the Year * The Big Issue * Drawing on the events surrounding the 2018 Irish referendum on the eight amendment, McCaughrain shines a harsh light on the lack of sexual education for teenagers in school systems, opening the space for all to enter and discuss. * Childrens Books Ireland, Editors Choice * This is a story that needs to be told and the authenticity and sensitivity with which it is told, bears witness to the award-winning authors direct experience in schools and the stories she has heard from young people Moving, compassionate and beautifully told this is an essential and important taboo- breaking book for young people to read. * LoveReading4Kids *
