this book was interesting in theory but i didn't enjoy reading it, mostly there was too much stream of consciousness and not much action. so the writing style didn't work for me, unfortunately as i like the topics it explored

Suicide Gyal is an interesting read, the blurb gives little away about the content of the book and I was surprised with how much the book dealt with especially as it is a quick read.

The book deals with a lot of heavy topics, mainly focused on sexual abuse and the consequences it has on characters that the main character knows. I really liked Sharon, the main character and her observant/detached behaviour made her a good narrator to the book. Even though the book is short I did connect to the characters because they all had more to them then just one side, this was shown through their actions or a short chapter in their perspective. Although I did feel sometimes the writing was a bit confusing.

Sharon has been diagnosed with schizophrenia and in the book she is visited by ghosts of those close to her who have died, one who warns her that her sister is in danger and that it connects to the murder of her sister’s friend. I felt the mystery and tension in the book were built really well and whenever Sharon expressed her fears it was written well.

The book is fast paced and deals with a lot of issues and characters however I did think the ending was a bit rushed.

3/5

I received an ARC of this book through NetGalley. I am not a fan of it. The description makes it sound like there are high stakes but from what I’ve read there is not much of a plot. I really wanted to enjoy this. Corporeal ghosts and preventing a murder? Sounds amazing. But in the first 20% nothing happened. The story has so many flashbacks that are irrelevant (or at least seem that way) and it is difficult to tell what is a flashback from what is real time until the section is finished and you are suddenly in another location. It might just be the writing that is not for me and I couldn’t get into the story, but I do recommend reading a preview before purchasing.

I will say that I did not finish the book. I just couldn’t.

Suicide Gyal dived into some incredibly important issues regarding mental health, race and other social issues in the UK and I think that this was done really well, however I just didn't enjoy this book. It was incredibly slow and despite being under 200 pages, took me days to read it. I found it really hard to really get stuck into this book because there was no factor that really hooked me. In the beginning a huge amount of characters were introduced all at once which was very confusing, and I would've liked to have seen more of the character 'G' after the trauma she goes through. The writing style was also very youthful and it felt as though the writer was spoon feeding the information to me, rather than leaving anything to be discovered between the lines.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an advance readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

I really loved this book! I was hooked from the start, and as it is quite short I read it in one go. Highly recommend

When I first started reading this book I was instantly drawn in. Sharon was a really well written character who I couldn’t help but get attached to. I enjoyed the majority of the side characters as well.

There are so many issues dealt with in this book; mental health, racism to name but a few. I enjoyed reading about a character who had a mental health condition that seems to have such a stigma around it; schizophrenia. I’ve never read a book with a character who has schizophrenia so this was definitely a learning curve for me as well.

I enjoyed the plot a lot, the mystery and the twists and turns meant it was difficult to put it down. When I thought I knew what was going to happen, the plot would go in a direction I would never have guessed.

One thing that really put me off was that there was so much of the book was Sharon’s inner monologue which isn’t my favourite thing in the world. I would have preferred more interaction with the side characters rather than it all being Sharon. I’ve never been a fan of long inner monologues and I think this book really highlighted that again.

Overall, this was a good book and I think had there been more interaction with other characters and less inner dialogue I would’ve liked it more.

Wow! Where do I start with talking about this book. I was hooked from the very start. The characters are so believable and the main character Sharon is the instant draw, she is complicated and “messed up” and oh so likeable. Whilst reading I was absolutely desperate for her to come out on top, find the answers she needed and survive!
The mystery element of this story is fantastic, there are many twists and turns and I was kept guessing until the very end.
I can’t emphasis enough how clever this book is., it presents us with so many issues that can be related to in modern life- poverty, grief, gang culture, mental health, family issues and abuse, all of which are handled tastefully but are also presented in a brutally honest way.
It is a pleasure to recommend this book, it really is something special.
Thank you to the writer and publisher for the ARC of this book in return for an honest review.

I'm struggling to think of the right rating for this book because I had so many feelings and I'm not quite sure how to order them coherently. I feel like this review might come across quite rambly, so I do apologise in advance. However, I think I'm leaning somewhere towards a 3.5-3/75 but I can't quite decide.
Also, the cover on NetGalley is so much nicer than the one on Goodreads. And yes, I think a good cover does make a reader want to pick up the book.

Okay, so what did I like?
- This book tackles with some very important topics. Mental illness, religion, race and the effects this can have. Antrobus portrays these all very well and realistic. There is sensitivity there but also the fact that she is not afraid to discuss these issues.
- This book is essentially centred on a mystery of the death of a young girl April, from Sharon's estate and nobody is ever charged for her murder. Sharon knows what happened, or at least suspects, but the fact she has schizophrenia means that she isn't believed by others. I thought this plotline was an interesting journey to go down. I love anything mystery related anyway, so this interwoven with the numerous other subplots worked well.

Although I thought Antrobus' writing was good, it was also very flowery - and we know how much I dislike when an author uses flowery language constantly. I feel like it ruins the flow of the story and it doesn't read as well. There was numerous occasions a simpler, more common word could have been used to describe something to ensure the flow of the book. I also think looking into this (and considering I read the arc) some more editing needs to be done, particularly when it comes to punctuation regarding speech. However, these are minor errors an editor could pick up.

Overall, a decent book with a good message. I wish we got to see more from some of the side characters than we did as a large chunk of this book is just Sharon's monologue.

I received this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A sincere thank you to the publisher, author and Netgalley for providing me with an ebook copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This is not my usual genre, I’m more into romance stories and literary fiction however I wanted to take the opportunity to read something from outside my norm. And I am glad I did!! Thank you for opening up my mind to something totally different.

THIS BOOK!!! I cannot even begin to explain how much I was pulled into this story! I couldn't put it down!

Essentially this book is a mystery, but it is also so much more than that! It’s a story of mental health that explores an alternative way to view a “mental illness” which usually has such negative connotations that schizophrenia seems to have. It explores the afterlife and a plain of existence that not everyone can see, but some people can. Racial profiling and racism in everyday life is touched on, as well as being gay and Black and also being Gay in regards to different religious beliefs and the way it can affect relationships. Gentrification and social cleansing are also important themes for discussion. So, so many important and interesting topics are explored that are very relevant in today's societies.

Sharon is a character that has so much depth! She has been diagnosed with schizophrenia, but you are offered and alternative view to this “mental illness” that you would not usually experience. Growing up on a housing estate, she is used to and exposed to situations and experiences that some people would never have experienced in their life. Sharon is strong and you can see this throughout the book, despite mental illness usually depicting people as weak, Sharon is more than her mental illness it seems, she is unique. She can see another plane of existence, in which she experiences visits from people who have passed and one who needs her help in order to move on. In this case April, a girl who was murdered on her estate when she was younger and was found in the canal, but no one was ever charged with her murder.

I love the diverse voices in this book. Diversity is also another important exploration within this story and is very relevant right now. It is mentioned that one of the characters is Gay and Black and he is often seen as one of the school's poster boys to promote diversity within the school, along with a disabled boy. Attending a BLM protest over the weekend a young woman spoke about her personal experience in school and being put on the school website, just because of the colour of her skin, in order to make the school look diverse and more favourable in the eyes of investors, the school board and future applicants. But the thing is people want and deserve to be on the website for their achievements, not just because they are different or a minority, because that doesn’t show real diversity in your schools, if you have to stage a diverse photo. This book really has covered a lot of topics that I personally haven’t read in other books but have seen and heard about in real life. This book feels real and so do the characters.

This truly is a gripping mystery and I couldn’t put it down. The journey you go on with Sharon is so cleverly written. I am truly glad I was able to have the opportunity to read this book.

Suicide Gyal is an original, insightful and well thought out novel with strong diverse characters who each have their own unique voices that add to the story. It's a very relevant read.