It is 1981. Glasgow is dying and good families must grift to survive. Agnes Bain has always expected more from life, dreaming of greater things. But Agnes is abandoned by her philandering husband, and as she descends deeper into drink, the children try their best to save her, yet one by one they must abandon her to save themselves. It is her son Shuggie who holds out hope the longest. Shuggie is different, he is clearly no’ right. But Shuggie believes that if he tries his hardest, he can be normal like the other boys and help his mother escape this hopeless place.

My Thoughts:

This book got a lot of hype when it came out, so I thought I would give it a read and be honest in my own opinion. Unfortunately it was not for me, I just didn’t connect with any of the characters and felt the story was slow and just not the one for me. There were parts that were really difficult to read and I felt as though I couldn’t finish reading the book as it felt as though it was just too much for me. I hate giving up on books but this one I couldn’t bring myself to finish. That is why you should never read about the hype of a book as it may not be for everyone. This is just my opinion.