Slags by Emma Jayne Unsworth:

Sarah hires a camper van for her sister Juilette’s birthday.  Juliette is a mother, married to a decent, yet dull bloke.  Sarah limps from hook up to hook up.  The great love of her life was her English teacher, Mr Keavney. As the sisters head to Scotland by Hymer, the story switches between this and what happened in the Summer of Sarah’s last year in school.  

I’ve been a fan of Unsworth’s writing for a long time - Animals was adapted as a film and didn’t quite capture the wabisabi of the book.  This is a genuine treat. It’s funny, Rabelasian and Wildean by turns.  It’s dead on in the way sister relates to sister.  And, by turns men and boys relate to women.  

It’s also brilliant on the ascending boho that was late 90’s Manchester.  She’s also brave enough to stitch a fictional thread to this, the boy band 4Princes.  What happens to Sarah is a genuine shock (and not the one you’re thinking of).  When the novel takes a dark, sharp turn she’s still in control of a book that is sweet, sour, touching and horrifying all at the same time. 

It’s published by Harper Collins on May 8th May, 2025 and I thank them for a preview copy.  #slags