Really enjoyed this book and the story it tells about friendships and how they evolve and change over time. Also a great reminder that you don't have to stay feeling stuck.

A great debut, a coming of age novel set in the wrong side of Brighton depicting the lives of four young people who are neighbours and friends in a totally relatable manner. I thoroughly enjoyed Little Boxes and look forward to Cecelia Knapp's next book. My thanks to Netgalley for my copy.

A beautifully written coming of age story.

I love how the charaters entwine and get along and how a death can make you look at yourself and who you are.

A beautiful coming of age story! Loved how the four boys' lives are intertwined and how a death can impact everyone's lives differently.

Loved the way the stories of four friends since childhood intertwine. After the death of Matthew's grandfather this story follows the four friends and the impact the death had on each of them. It demonstrates how like constantly changes for everyone.

This is a great coming-of-age YA read based on the importance of friendship throughout the turbulent times of adolescence and young adulthood. The characters are well developed and each character has their own voice making them relatable to all. The storyline is told from each of the viewpoints of the main characters giving this depth. A high standard debut from this author, and definitely one to look out for. Highly recommended reading!

I think I was too old for this wistful, careful novel about four people in their early twenties. The narrative head hops between the four main characters - Jay, Nathan, Matthew and Leah - as we discover why each of them is so dissatisfied with their life in Brighton, but I found some of the emotions and imagery a little bit obvious at times, with people jittery as if they’d had coffee and framed photos of absent fathers covered in a later of dust. The moments of darkness and grief kept me reading, but it was all tied up neatly and relatively happily by the end in a way I felt was unrealistic.

My thanks to Cecilia Knapp, Harper Collins, and Net Galley for the ARC of LITTLE BOXES.
An astonishing debut from this talented author. A wonderful, modern story of youth and how they process life changes, relationships, and friendships. Set in the seedy part of Brighton, the descriptive writing delivered the perfect backdrop to the lives being played out on the page. I absolutely loved it.

A really emotional and gritty coming of age story for young adults. I loved it and I willed them all the make the right decisions. What a talent from a debut novelist. I can't wait to see what comes next.

I wanted to shake the young people in this book and ask them to be kinder to one another and to themselves. Nathan's parents have a beautiful love and it informs Nathan's kindness to others. I made myself angry at how cruel Jay was and how easy it was for him to get away with it. The author doesn't even build in any consequences for his terrible behaviour. I wanted more for Nathan than what he got.
I loved the depiction of Brighton as something richer and more complex a place than what the tourists see.

It's a well written and riveting comeing of age story set in an unusual Brighton.
I loved the characters and their arc, the storytelling is very good and the plot well developed.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Four friends from Brighton. I would describe this as a young adult book. Love the Brighton setting. If you know the city, you'll recognise the vibe. Set in a seedy block of flats, it charts the lives of its occupants and how they are connected through an older man. Emotional at times and quite a good read.

I really loved this book. Set in Brighton, it is the story of 4 friends who have known each other for most of their lives and live in the same block of flats. Leah and Jay have been together since school, but he now wants them to have an open relationship. She doesn't want to lose him, so she agrees, even though it makes her unhappy. Nathan has secretly been in love with Leah for as long as he can remember, but knows she only thinks of him as a friend. Michael lives with his grandfather Ron, and struggles with openly acknowledging his sexuality. When Ron dies suddenly the friends are all devastated, and each in their own way start to re evaluate what they want from life. This is a great coming of age story which I thoroughly recommend. Thanks to NetGalley for a preview copy.
Copied to Goodreads.

After Matthew's grandfather dies suddenly, four friends struggle to face the trauma of their pasts in the wake of this fresh tragedy. Leah and Jay, a couple since their school days, find their relationship tested, while Nathan deals with a vast and unrequited love, and Matthew grapples with his sexuality. In the days that follow, Matthew begins to unearth his grandfather's past.

This is a story of sacrifice, violence and growing up different. It's also a story of friendship. It can be heart-breaking to read in places. A story of four friends who live in a council estate in Brighton. The characters are a mixed bunch who all have their own situations to deal with. It's also a well a well written debut novel. I will be looking out for more from the author Cecilia Knapp in future.

I would like to thank #NetGalley #HarperCollinsUk #HarperFiction and the author #CeciliaKnapp for my ARC of #LittleBoxes in exchange for an honest review.

A side of Brighton the tourists don’t see is the backdrop for this gritty coming of age story. Leah, her sometimes boyfriend Jay and friends Nathan and Matthew are the main subjects. They are all struggling in their own ways to find their place in life. We learn about their backgrounds, hopes and fears and it can be a heart wrenching story. As someone considerably older than the protagonists you can feel their pain and will them to make the right decisions! A promising debut novel.

Little Boxes by Cecilia Knapp

A coming of age story about four friends who live in the same block of flats on a council estate in Brighton. Leah, Matthew, Nathan and Jay spent all their time together as children and teenagers but now in their early 20s things are changing. The death of Matthew's Grandad Ron is a catalyst for new beginnings.

Wow what a voice! This is a brilliant debut novel. Such talented writing - beautiful and brutal, often at the same time. I absolutely loved this - the characters, the story, the sense of place - and can't wait to see what the author writes next. Very highly recommended!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

A fantastic debut novel from Cecelia Knapp set in Brighton. This is a real nitty gritty world of survival in a run down block of flats with all the attendant problems. Even though I am several decades older than the young characters in the book, I recognise them and their problems which are so ageless and relevant in the past as well as today, the interweaving of relationships of a set of youngsters in their early twenties is so well written, each moving forward through life following the death of a well loved older man. A real new talent from whom I shall be looking forward to reading in the future.

This is a debut novel. I look forward to reading what the author comes up with next. I loved the way the book is structured with varying chapter lengths and each chapter focusing in a different character and how they are connected. I get being pulled into the story every time I picked it up. There are some sad moments. I felt an emotional connection to everyone. This is a terrific read.

A heartwrenching debut novel about friendship.
Four friends with lives tied together in invisible knots, living in a block of flats on a run down old council estate, in the seaside town of Brighton.
Two in a damaging relationship, one with unrequited love and another with a secret he's unable to talk to anyone about.
The death of one man brings about a tsunami of feelings and change, mainly for the better.
Leah is a girl with the weight of the world on her shoulders, helping her mum cope with life, since her dad left them, and coping with the aftermath effects that had on her older brother. Her relationship with Jay is coloured by her own experience of men and how they treat women,
Jay is a damaged soul in his own right, but unable to do anything to help himself.
Nathan is the product of a successful partnership, but what he wants in life seems just out of reach.
Matthew has his own secrets. Living with his grandfather, he has never been able to be open and honest about who he really is.
When Ron, his grandfather dies, unexpectedly, feelings rise up and take over, and many other untold stories come to light,
A touching, sometimes uncomfortable, read.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

What a stunning book! I loved the writing and there were so many moments where it broke my heart. I can't wait to read more by this author.