LoveReading Says
Heart wrenching, honest, funny and bold, this exceptional novel about the life, loves and agonies of a young carer, and the love between a mum and her sons, is a storytelling triumph.
Seventeen-year-old Bobby Seed is a devoted son and big brother and an all-round firework of wit and charm, wise and strong beyond his years. He’s also a young carer to his mum who’s suffering from debilitating MS. Bobby has to “brush his mother’s locks every day, sort out her medicine, sponge her clean three times a week, ooze positivity” even when all he wants to do is “punch the shit out of a walk or wail in the shower”. In his situation “the worry of death never leaves you”, but that doesn’t stop the brilliant banter between Bobby and his mum. Theirs is a beautiful, tender relationship. Bobby does what he does for her “because she’s my Mum. That pure and simple”.
Bobby’s spirits are kept up by best friend Bel and attending Poztive support group for young carers. It’s there he falls for Vespa-riding Lou, who helps him fulfill his mum’s unexpected birthday request as her deterioration quickens. But then comes the ultimate request. Can he do what Mum needs to alleviate her excruciating pain and loss of function?
Always warm and witty, and never sentimental, this raw portrait of real-life ravages is suffused in the magic of the human heart. Bobby is an unforgettable, inspirational character – we could all do with taking a leaf from Bobby’s book of strength and wit - and author Brian Conaghan is a writer of the highest rank.
Joanne Owen
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Brian Conaghan Press Reviews
Utterly moving and heartbreakingly beautiful, this is a brilliant novel - The Sun, Five Star Review
An emotional rollercoaster of a book, written with so much heart it bounces off of the page. The darkness is balanced by cracking dialogue and humour. A bold, life-affirming read' - The Irish Independent
Conaghan is a sublime storyteller who can make the reader hang on his every last word (and all of the others) ...Conaghan is sensitive and the dark plot retains a lightness. - Alex O'Connell, The Times, Children's Book of the Week
Although it's heartbreaking at times, there's also tenderness and humour ...The tremendous empathy with which Conaghan writes about young people is impressive - The Irish Times
Heart wrenching, honest, funny and bold, this exceptional novel about the life, loves and agonies of a young carer, and the love between a mum and her sons, is a storytelling triumph ...Always warm and witty, and never sentimental, this raw portrait of real-life ravages is suffused in the magic of the human heart. Bobby is an unforgettable, inspirational character - we could all do with taking a leaf from Bobby's book of strength and wit - and author Brian Conaghan is a writer of the highest rank. - Joanne Owen, LoveReading4Kids
Brian Conaghan is a courageous writer, never afraid to really go there. He combines the straight and the blunt of kitchen sink writing with a luminous meditation on the nature of love and life and death. And he has shone a supportive spotlight on the lives of thousands of young carers across the UK. I cried buckets - Jill Murphy, The Bookbag
Conaghan's lightness of touch and sense of humour shine through in this heartbreaking story, and each of the characters lingers in the imagination until the final page - The Scotsman
A hard-hitting, heartbreaking tale ...One sentence after another knocks the reader out - Independent
Brian Conaghan has done it again. Uncompromising, gritty, laced with a black humour, this is a novel that you live ... An extraordinary book to be recommended to thoughtful, enquiring readers prepared to take a step into the dark. - Books for Keeps
Truly outstanding - The School Librarian
A powerful love story about this unique family of three ...[a] beautiful novel - Inis Reading Guide
This is a portrayal of young male bonding, complete with all the lively banter of true camaraderies, at its most tender and affectionate - Praise for WHEN MR DOG BITES: Irish Times
Beautifully observed and hilariously uncomfortable - Praise for WHEN MR DOG BITES: Guardian
Believable, funny, brave and vulnerable young male characters ... thought-provoking novel ... drama and tension in plenty ... irrepressible humour - Praise for THE BOMBS THAT BROUGHT US TOGETHER: Joy Court, The School Librarian
Humanity and humour thread through the challenging storyline from the first page to the very last - Praise for THE BOMBS THAT BROUGHT US TOGETHER: The Bookbag
