Glasgow Boys
By (Author) Margaret McDonald
Faber & Faber
Faber & Faber
13th August 2024
2nd May 2024
Main
United Kingdom
Young Adult
Fiction
Childrens / Teenage fiction: General, modern and contemporary fiction
Childrens / Teenage fiction: Family and home stories
Childrens / Teenage fiction: School stories
823.92
Paperback
352
Width 130mm, Height 198mm, Spine 23mm
280g
A striking debut exploring the power of identity, community and the Scottish working class. This coming-of-age story is an incisive look at young masculinity and the way even the most fraught childhood is not without hope.
Neither Finlay or Banjo can remember the last time they had a hug. Against all odds, 18-year-old Finlay has begun his nursing degree at Glasgow University. But coming straight from the care system means he has no support network. How can he write essays, focus on his nursing placement and stop himself from falling in love when he's struggling to even feed himself Meanwhile, 17-year-old Banjo is trying to settle into his new foster family and finish high school, desperate to hold down his job and the people it contains. But his anger and fear keep boiling over, threatening his already uncertain future.
Underpinning everything is what happened three years ago in their group care home, when Finlay and Banjo were as close as brothers until they stopped speaking. If these boys want to keep hold of the people they love, they have to be able to forgive one another. More than this, they must find a way to forgive themselves.
Margaret McDonald is a Scottish author from Glasgow. She is published in the disability-focused magazine Breath and Shadow as well as the prose and poetry magazines Bandit Fiction, Bubble Lit, In Parentheses, and The Manifest Station. Margaret worked for the NHS after shielding for a year, during which time she finished her Masters in English literature from Glasgow University with Distinction. She also has a First Class BA (Hons) from Strathclyde University, where she studied writing.