Sal by Mick Kitson

13 year old Sal and her 10 year old sister Peppa are on the run. They've had to escape a brutal past and an even more brutal end to the past. But Sal is prepared - she has all the kit for survival in the Scottish wilderness. Her backpack is filled with maps, waterproof clothing, food, penknife, fishing gear and the SAS Survival Handbook. She's watched enough YouTube survival videos to become the next Bear Grylls. But life in the woods in October is tough - it's cold and snowing. How long can they hide out before someone finds them?

When I started to read this, I wasn't sure I was going to like it, even though I loved the premise of the story. The detail of their first few days in the forest was slight overkill for me. Many of the descriptions seemed almost like word-for-word transcript out of a manual, and I skipped most of those parts. For me, it started to get interesting when Ingrid's character was introduced (even though it was a rather unbelievable coincidence that someone else was hiding out in the same forest). I loved their relationship, and the story just seemed to quickly build from there. I loved the banter between the sisters, and how Sal kept trying so hard to keep Peppa's spirits up, while trying at the same time to keep them both alive. Through her abusive past, Sal has had to quickly grow up, and she is a believable strong mother figure to her sister.

A marvelous debut novel.

Smile by Roddy Doyle

Victor Forde lives on his own in a sparse apartment in Ireland. He used to be married to Rachel - businesswoman turned popular TV presenter - but that is now over, and the main focus of his life is his time spent in his local pub, Donnelly's. It is there that he meets a man who appears to know him well, even though Victor can't place him at all. The man, Fitzpatrick, tells him they used to go to school together and seems to know a lot about their time there, especially the teachers - one in particular, Murphy, who used to tell the schoolboy Victor that he liked his smile. For Victor used to attend St Martin's CBS, a Christian Brothers school in Ireland, where they were taught by monks. It is the memory of what the monks did to the young boys - Victor in particular - that would forever haunt him. Who is this man Fitzpatrick, and why is he so uncouth and imposing, dredging up horrible memories for Victor?

There are few laughs in this book, some of it uncomfortable reading, partly because of the feeling of dread in the chapters about school, and partly because you know this sort of thing was actually happening in real life. Fitzpatrick is not a nice character, and every time he makes an appearance in the pub, you just wish Victor would walk away and ignore him, but it's like a magnet, drawing them together. The ending of the book is quite a shock, in fact it had me slightly confused, and I felt I should read the book again to make sense of it. 

Even though she plays a small part in the book, I loved Victor's mother, she was such a caring, adorable woman. This could be because the only other female character in the book was Rachel, the ex-wife. She came across as a domineering, controlling woman, and I felt that Victor was made out to be a victim in his marriage as well as in his school and in the pub. 

Roddy Doyle often writes about uncomfortable subject matters - marriage breakdowns, domestic abuse - and most of his fiction is set in Ireland (being Irish born and bred himself), so the overall feeling of the book is true Roddy.

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

There aren't many books that I've enjoyed so much that I want to read them again, but this is definitely one of them. I think it's because it took me by surprise. I'd read an interview with the author where she'd spoken about the main character, Eleanor. I obviously wasn't paying attention because I came to the book with a completely different expectation. What I knew of Eleanor was that she lived alone, didn't go out much, and was really very lonely, and that the book would explain how she'd become how she was, and how she got through life. Well, all of that is true, but as soon as you start to read the book, you realise that Eleanor is not like everyone else. She may have a job, a flat, and enjoys doing cryptic crosswords, but she is hugely scarred mentally by her childhood. Something happened which has caused her to interact with colleagues in a very different manner. She needs bottles of vodka to get her through a weekend. She has a bullying and controlling mother, and the only contact Eleanor has with her is a weekly phone call, during which the mother usually berates and belittles her.

Eleanor decides she needs someone in her life to love her and be her companion. She becomes obsessed with a local musician and tries to organise a situation where they can meet. While this is happening, one of her work colleagues, Raymond, befriends her. She doesn't particularly like Raymond, but will she be able to see past looks and realise who may be better for her in her life? 

This is an emotional and moving book about not fitting in and about mental health. It is Gail Honeyman's debut novel, but it has already been shortlisted for the Lucy Cavendish Fiction prize while it was a work in progress, and it was chosen as one of the Observer's Debuts of the Year for 2017.

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

Wow.I mean, wow. This book may have 'little' in the title, but it is oh so big in many ways. Firstly, it's 720 pages long - big in paper. Secondly, it's big in characters - and I don't mean the amount of characters, I mean it's a hugely character-driven story, with so much detail about all the people. Thirdly, it's big in emotion - I cried so many times. I think that's where I should start really. This book is harrowing, it's upsetting, it's powerful, it's emotional, it's awe-inspiring, it'll take over your life, it'll become your friend that you cannot bear to leave, it'll be there when you're not reading it. When you finish reading it, it'll leave a massive hole in your life. You will decide to read it again. It's brilliant. It'll definitely win many literary prizes.

I should tell you a little bit about the story. It's set in America, and spans the lives of four friends from university to late middle age. Willem, Malcolm, JB and Jude. Even though we learn a lot about all of them, it is Jude who is the main focus of the story, as he is the main focus of all his friend's lives. He has suffered a shocking and traumatic childhood, one that no-one would believe a child could or should go through, and we watch with sorrow and unease as he carries this weighty disturbing baggage with him into adulthood.

This is Hanya's second novel. Her first was 'The People in the Trees'. I will definitely be seeking this one out.

Smart by Kim Slater

Smart
by Kim Slater

Kieran Woods is a bit different. He is brilliant at drawing, but his special teacher at school tells him he must try to think before he speaks so as not to upset people. He also proves to be a brilliant detective. A homeless man is found dead in the river, and Kieran takes it upon himself to find out who killed him. But it's not easy, especially when you have Tony as a stepfather and Ryan as a stepbrother. They are both physically and mentally abusive towards Kieran and his mother. Kieran is not allowed to watch the television with him, he must eat his meals at different times (and not have the same food - only beans on toast for Kieran), and whenever there are visitors to the house Kieran must go to his room. These visitors usually come at night, and Tony hands over little bags and receives a large amount of cash in exchange.

As if this isn't enough unhappiness in poor Kieran's life, he has been banned from seeing his Grandma, who tried to stand up to Tony and his bullying ways, but lost the right to see her grandson in the process. But now Grandma could be the only comfort in Kieran's life, so he sets out to try to find her again.

This is such a sad and tragic story. You just want to take Kieran by the hand and drag him out of his current life and take care of him. His mother works all hours of the day, puts up with the abuse from Tony, doesn't report him out of fear, and does not stand up for Kieran when Tony picks on him. They live in a street of crime, and Tony's pet Rottweiler Tyson has been locked in the shed and just left there for days on end. It is all just so pitiful, you long for some happiness in Kieran's life. Even though Kieran's schoolteacher sounds caring and loving, even she does not investigate Kieran's home life when he comes into school with bumps and bruises.

Kieran is very brave, in fact he is the bravest of everyone in the whole story, even though he is the one with special needs and does not fully understand the way people work. He is also smart -he knows how to make use of his talents, he knows when something is wrong and he tells the right people. Good always overcomes evil.

A rather harrowing story but written brilliantly. If you like this then read The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, or Colin Fischer

If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch

If You Find Me
by Emily Murdoch

An emotional and hard-hitting story of kidnap and abuse.

Carey was taken away from her father by her mother. She was 6 yrs old at the time. Her mother told her that her father was abusive and that she was taking her away to protect them both. They go to live in a camper van in the forest. Carey is now 14 and has a new sister, 6-yr-old Jenessa. Their mother leaves them on their own for weeks at a time, saying she's going to town to get supplies. The girls learn how to fend for themselves, Carey teaches her sister how to read and write - Jenessa's favourite books are Winnie the Pooh, and they name the forest they live in Hundred Acre Wood.

One day, after their mother has disappeared for weeks and not returned, they have a visitor. Their father. He is accompanied by a social worker. They have received a letter from the mother saying she can't look after them anymore and giving custody to the father. So Carey and Jenessa leave the place they have known as home to live with a man who is practically a stranger, and who Carey believes may hurt them.

But during the stay with her father, his new wife and stepdaughter, Carey comes to realise that perhaps all she was told by her mother may not have been the truth, and all that they have suffered in the woods was not what 2 sisters should have been put through by their own mother.

Moving, tragic, tearful, horrific and yet joyful in parts, it is unbelievable how 2 young girls could have gone through so much. One event traumatised the young Jenessa so much that she became mute. Parts of the story are so upsetting it would be hard to recommend this to anyone under the age of 15. Thankfully, in stories like these, there is always one character that brings hope, and in this one it is Ryan who brings a sparkle into Carey's life.

As I've said in recent reviews, I am all dystopia'd out, so I love reading something a bit different. This was different.

If you like hard-hitting stories, try Black Heart Blue by Louisa Reid.

Black Heart Blue by Louisa Reid

Black Heart Blue
by Louisa Reid

Deeply disturbing, harrowing, dark, there is no let up to the pain in this story of child abuse in a vicarage. The story is told 'Before' and 'After' by twins Hephzi and Rebecca. 'Before' is narrated by Hephzi, 'After' by Rebecca, the event being the tragic and lonely death of Hephzi. 'The Mother' and 'The Father' - as Rebecca refers to them - are cold, cruel and heartless to their daughters. The girls are abused mentally, physically and verbally, and they only have each other as comfort. Hephzi tries to break free by falling in love with Craig at college, but misunderstandings, cruel words and an act of love put an end to this brief ray of sunshine that had broken into her world of darkness. This book will stay with you long after finishing it.