It is difficult to believe that this is a debut novel from the polished assurance of this story of a working-class Dublin family and the difficulties surrounding them. Two brothers, Joe 17 and Finn 12 living with their parents with Da working for a criminal gang, and Ma working in the pub, trying to hold body and soul and her ‘boys’ together – never far from physical violence. Joe is intelligent and a gifted artist, Finn just a regular boy trying to fit in until investigations are made into the bruises that mark his body.

Overwhelmingly this is a story about love, but not in the full hearts and flowers form: this is about love in its purest form. The form that is impossible to illustrate from familial love to first love and sweet awakenings which brings with it responsibility, fear and duty. We witness the care shown to Finn from his school teachers and the medical staff and even the concern of friends and neighbours.

A brilliant piece of writing, emotive, heart-rending with a deft touch. I cannot praise it enough. Did you like Angela’s Ashes? This is as poignant, as upsetting, as perceptive in its descriptions of the community. I could go on and on. Just read it if you have not yet had the chance.

Thank you to the author, publishers and NetGalley for providing an ARC via my Kindle in return for an honest review.

Boys Don’t Cry by Fiona Scarlett

This is the honest, gritty story of two brothers living in a Dublin tower block, which touches on family, grief, and class. I struggled to believe this is a debut novel, because it left me bereft of emotion when it ended. A feeling this is very rare when reading a novel. I enjoyed the dialect, the descriptions were so vivid and real. I thought the characters were perfectly assured and real. What a powerful real this was.

Thanks to Netgallery for the advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

I haven't stayed up until 1am reading a book for a very long time. But when you're sucked in so strongly to a story it's impossible not to finish it. I was absolutely blown away by this heartbreaking story. What really struck me was that i could identify with every single character and understand their POV. One of those stories that is so immersive that I will be pushing it on everyone I know come April 2021. Absolutely fantastic read and cannot wait to see what Scarlett does next

Boys Don’t Cry is a beautifully-written debut. The novel is narrated by two brothers in the O’Reilly family. It begins with twelve-year-old Finn recounting memories of growing up in a working-class community in Dublin. He lives in a flat with his Ma, Da and older brother, Joe. His days consist of school, watching Tipping Point, playing football and squabbling about who’s going to be in goal. Then he starts to show signs of an illness and everything changes.

His teenage brother Joe wants to make something good of his life. A scholarship student at a private school, he is constantly trying to negotiate between two worlds. The first, a world of privilege and cocktail parties. The second, one of survival and reputation, where the shadow of his Da’s choices follows him everywhere. With his father in prison, Joe finds it difficult to subvert others’ expectations of him. When he is targeted by a local gang leader, Joe must choose which path he will follow.

The depiction of Finn’s illness is both nuanced and compassionate. Subtle moments stand out, such as Ma taking him for a rare afternoon trip to the cinema while they wait for his potentially life-changing medical results. Through Finn’s narration, we can feel his mother’s anxiety but he is oblivious, lost in excitement about the expensive snacks she’s bought from the cinema kiosk. It’s authentic and powerful.

Boys Don’t Cry is a story about family, grief, class and friendship. The author does not shy away from writing about difficult subjects. Domestic violence, illness and abuse are written about with sensitivity. I enjoyed this book and found myself absorbed by the relationship between the two brothers.

There was a dramatic event near the end which could have been developed more, as I would have liked to have seen the aftermath explored in more depth. However, this is only a small point and it does not detract from the overall emotional impact of the book. This is a sensitive, moving debut featuring well-developed characters that will stay in readers’ minds long after the book is finished.

Thank you to Faber & Faber and NetGalley for providing me with a copy in exchange for a review.

This is a heartbreaking and very emotional novel that is exquisitely written. Fiona's writing style helps to bring such raw emotion to the text that it was impossible to not shed a tear! The dialect of Dubliners used in this text also added extra authentication to the character and give them almost a third dimension. ⁠
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Even through the many darks of this story, in true Irish fashion, Fiona is able to add in some comedic working class/Irish humour. It depicts so well how many chose to deal with hardships. This is a book which will stay with you long after you have finished it due to the eloquent level of detail from an incredibly talented author.

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This book!! Honestly. Boys Don’t Cry is set in working-class Dublin and flicks between the perspectives of brothers, Joe and Finn. Their Da is caught up in crime and Joe promises himself to never end up like him. However when Finn becomes sick, Joe finds that keeping his promise isn’t so easy. I cried so much reading this book. I became immensely fond of both Finn and Joe. I wanted to scoop them up to protect them. The weaving of the brothers’ narratives flowed beautifully, and I adored their bond.

I genuinely couldn’t put this book down and the reason I didn’t read it in one sitting was all down to the fact that I was so reluctant for it to end.

I believe that Fíona Scarlett is a writer we should all be hearing a lot from after this book is released. Her characters are so strong with personality that leaps off the page. The way she writes about Dublin is highly vivid such as the imagery of Dollymount Strand and the nostalgic treats from my own Irish childhood.

Scarlett touches on grief, brotherhood, class, masculinity, friendship and family in such a beautiful manner that it just pulls at every feeling within you. I laughed, I cried.. it was an absolute emotional rollercoaster in every sense. I genuinely can’t believe this is a debut. A stunning read that I’ll be thinking about for a long time.

Is it too soon to have a contender for one of my top reads of 2021?

Thank you to Faber & Faber and NetGalley for allowing me to read this book.

Boys Don’t Cry plunges the reader into the lives of a Dublin family besieged in all directions. Life is a set of challenges, the harsh urban environment their driver to adapt in order to survive. While the tough reality of this backdrop never goes away, from the very beginning it is clear this is a family on the brink of life-changing events.

The novel’s dual narrative interweaves the story of two brothers, both of whom come to yearn for a better life in very different ways. Fíona Scarlett’s skill is to make the voices of these two so different and so individually resonant. While Finn’s story is an unravelling tragedy, Joe’s is a building realisation, a frustration and a need to defy what would seem to be the logical trajectory of his existence. He is determined not to take on the shape of his hard-hitting Da, and is keen to do the right thing to support his stoic Ma. The depiction of the parents is a study in observation, the nuances of their characters detailed utterly convincingly, and it is clear that while Da’s strength is all muscle, Ma’s mental resolve makes her completely his equal.

Boys Don't Cry is dramatic and visual, the lives of the family and their friends and associates described in rich, colourful terms. There is a lot of humour to balance the heartache. Above all, this is a celebration of language and of life. All humanity is here, in all its shades, and that’s what stays with you long after you finish reading. A brilliant debut.

Thank you to Faber for the opportunity to read in advance of publication.

Boys Don’t Cry is a beautiful novel, exploring the themes of family legacy, love, grief and perhaps surprisingly, given the latter theme, living life to the fullest. The writing is assured, but never showy. There is a confidence in the clean prose that elevates this book beyond most debut novels. I marvelled at how the sparse writing style still managed to bring a lump to my throat through most of the book.⁠
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I particularly loved how Scarlett captures the melody and dialect of working class Dubliners without ever falling into cliché. This element more than any transported me into a world I knew very little about.⁠
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Despite the sometimes harrowing themes, the author skilfully weaves in humour throughout the book. As in real-life, even at the darkest moments there are flashes of comedy. This contrasting technique deepens, rather than lessens, the pathos of the story.⁠
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As a lover of food in fiction, I was delighted by the references to Irish dishes such as Guinness stew and Coddle as well as staples of my own childhood growing up on an estate - slush puppies, waffles, fizzy worms and Lucozade among others!⁠
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The mark of a great novel is one that stays with you long after the final page. A week after finishing the book, I’m still thinking about Finn, Joe and all the characters of ‘The Jax’ tower block. I suspect this will be the case for many more readers of this wonderful novel. Highly recommended and an easy five stars.

A heartbreaking and unforgettable debut!

There is nothing glamorous about the lives of the two brothers, Joe and Finn, as they navigate the difficulties of growing up in an inner-city Dublin housing block. Drugs, gangs and domestic violence are the daily grind for these boys, especially the older brother, Joe, who is determined not to follow the same path to destruction as his father. But even though the themes are dark, what is really at the heart of this novel, is love, family, friendship and determination. And it's funny too!
Fiona Scarlett's writing is so assured and her characterisation so accomplished that it's difficult to remember it's a debut at all.

Thank you to NetGalley and to Faber for the chance to read and review this advanced copy.

This is a great book detailing the life and death of 1 of 2 brothers.

Told in alternate chapters, we get to meet Joe, older brother of Finn , after his brother has died. Alongside we get Finn’s story of how he got ill and how this tips this family apart.

Easy to read, hard to put down as you just want to carry on reading (despite knowing how Finn’s story ends.

The last few chapters will have you crying you eyes out, a brilliantly written book where you can feel the raw grief instantly.

I was so excited and honoured to be given an advance copy of this book. Everything about it appealed to me, from the stunning cover to the storyline.

It’s difficult to do this book justice in a review at all. The author has perfectly captured life in the less well-off parts of Dublin for young boys growing up. Her characters are so real and authentic that they jump off the page and you feel as if you know them. But it’s not a story of everyday, ordinary life, because Finn is ill, and the family have to deal with the hardest thing that you can encounter. In an area where it’s difficult to stay on the right track, Joe now has added pressure on him, and so much to deal with.

I work with children that live in areas like this, and the characters and storyline resonated so much with me. I’m always loathe to compare authors, but Fiona Scarlett is certainly up there with the likes of Roddy Doyle. This is an incredibly accomplished debut, and I think this is going to be one of the top books to watch this year.

A beautifully written, authentic novel, that will make you both laugh and cry, I just want to recommend this book to everyone. It will stay in my mind for a long time. It’s published on April 29th, and available to pre-order now.

Joe and Finn are two boys growing up in inner city Dublin under the cloud of their notorious father who is part of a gang but currently in jail. Finn is on the cusp of adolescence when struck down by a terrible tragedy, forcing Joe to navigate unchartered territory.

Well written and dealing with powerful themes of grief and masculinities, it weaves it way through in a gentle manner rather than hitting you over the head. A good start for this debut writer.

Joe and Finn, two brothers living in Dublin flats, each with their own battle to fight. Hardship, drugs, illness and crime. Great dialogue and well written debut.

This is such a special debut that will take you on a roller coaster of emotions. It will make you laugh and make you cry. It is truly unforgettable.

The dual narrative tells the story of two brothers Joe and Finn, growing up in a Dublin tower block under the cloud of their father’s role within a notorious gang. Joe is determined not to follow in his Da’s footsteps. But when Finn falls ill and tragedy strikes, he finds his convictions harder to cling to.

Scarlett’s debut novel is a triumph, told with empathy and heart. This novel is about so much more than grief, it’s about family and friendship and most of all enduring love. The relationship between humour and grief is such a fine line to walk and Scarlett does it effortlessly, with characters that will stay with you long after you’ve finished reading.

Truly a triumph.

Thank you for my advanced copy of this book.

Scarlett's debut, Boys Don't Cry is a novel of rare beauty, one that will break your heart and mend it at the same time.

The dual narrative novel tells the stories of brothers Joe and Finn, growing up in inner city Dublin, a world filled with crime and menace, brought to their door by their father's prominent role in a gang.

Joe is determined to escape his Da's world and to forge a better one for himself and Finn. But Finn, at the precious age of twelve is too young to think of much more than scoring penos and getting out of doing his homework. But when tragedy strikes and the world around Joe closes in, he isn't sure he is able to or even wants to fight for a different life anymore.

With the heavy themes in this book, it would be easy for this to become a depressing, didactic novel, but Scarlett's great triumph in her writing is her refusal to root the story in anything other than character. This is a novel about family and friendship, and it is a novel, above all else, about the endurance and strength of love. Finn and Joe's relationship is the beating heart of this novel, but the full cast of wonderfully drawn characters all have their place to show love and hope will always win out. Scarlett's seamless blending of light and dark, of humour and grief and her great rendering of dialogue create a lightness to the story she wants to tell. The control is entirely hers, and the result is stunning.

Thank you for my advanced copy of the book.

If, as many believe, all stories are ultimately about love, you would be hard pressed to find a stronger proof than in Fiona Scarlett’s devastating debut Boys Don’t Cry. A dual narrative, set amidst the turbulent urban landscape of Dublin, it follows the fortunes of two brothers, Finn and Joe, as they navigate the shadowy spaces in-between what it means to be male amongst the working class patriarchy. Though a smaller, sparer novel than its most obvious comparison, the Booker prize winning Shuggie Bain, the narrowness of its focus works entirely in its favour, producing a work of pure and intimate beauty.

Twelve-year-old Finn is happily poised on the cusp of adolescence when tragedy strikes; a crucible of perfect magnitude to illuminate both the loss and longing for childhood in a world where the window for innocence is marginal at best. His older brother Joe, long past such innocence, is meanwhile tasked with not only dealing with the fallout, but with the wider loyalty to friends and family, a pressure that comes to bear on all aspects of his life. As the normal rites of passage become transformed into petty indulgences for both boys, so the theme of free-will takes centre stage. How much choice do we really have over our lives, the novel asks, and ultimately the answer is quite a lot. For even if choice is not to be found in our circumstance, our mindset, it tells us, holds the key to freedom.

In the midst of such dark story territory, what impresses so deeply in this novel is its lightness of touch, and the absolute joy with which Scarlett renders her landscape and its people. You get the impression reading that this is not some virtue signalling for the working class but a genuine lived experience of community in all its glory. Details leap from its pages, from the slapstick of wheelchairs in the doorways of pub toilets to the devastating pathos of concealment demonstrated by a victim of domestic abuse. And it is the unstinting gaze of these details, in their colloquial and unsanitised prose, that makes this novel feel ironically so affectionate and humble towards its subject matter, and ultimately so authentic.

What is so interesting, too, is that given the gender identities of its two protagonists, it is the feminine sensibility that has the biggest influence on the story, and which gives it its greatest power. Behind every act of violence and male bravado is a woman holding it all together, nurturing the men almost without their notice, and guiding them towards better decisions and greater dignity through both their visible and invisible intercessions. It is not true that boys don’t and can’t cry in the novel, but they need a woman’s example to tell them how to.

Scarlett has a considerable gift for dialogue, capturing not merely the nuances and musicality of her exchanges, but the intertextual silences and physical reactions that live within them. The subtlety of difference between the two main voices - a fault in other books - only heightens the fingerprint of a family here, especially in terms of outlook, changing when it matters to become something that oh so cleverly turns the direction of the emotional plot.

I remain cynical as to the existence of a perfect book, and if there is a small niggle to be found here it is in one element of crisis towards the end of the novel that doesn’t seem to reach a complete, dramatised conclusion. Perhaps to linger on this aspect, however, would be to shift focus from the power of the story’s denouement which is, quite rightly, given the full attention of emotional and narrative force, and moved this hardened cynical reader at least, to tears. It takes skill to be manipulated in this manner by a work of fiction; the slightest tip into sentimentality and the moment is lost, and it is testament to Scarlett’s raw power as a novelist that she is able to avoid this pitfall and create something which feels quite so real.

Or perhaps it is simply that the story nags at something at the very heart of us all: that eternal dilemma between sacrificing ourselves for some greater purpose and wanting to embrace life selfishly because we can and should. Existence, as this life-affirming and fearless novel demonstrates, is rarely as binary, but Love can take us a long way towards a state of no regrets. A five star triumph.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, Faber, for an advanced reading copy in return for an unbiased review.

I didn't expect to love this book as much as I did. It's about the bond between brothers 17 year old Joe and 12 year old Finn. Set in an estate in Ireland, the boys father has a notorious reputation for being in and out of trouble. Joe is determined not to follow in his fathers footsteps but its all too easy to get involved in illegal activity in their estate. i finished this book in a few hours and found that I could not put it down. It's so well written and gripping, I loved it!

Boys Don’t Cry by Fíona Scarlett: Set in the soul of inner city Dublin, a family struggles with the lot of their circumstances and the wolf of criminal menace at their door. At the core are two brothers, one fading, the other lusting for an alternative life that they both deserve. Gritty. Devastating. This story will linger.
My thanks to Netgalley and Faber Books for the opportunity to read this ARC, due for publication in April, 2021.