
Member Reviews

Slags by Emma Jane Unsworth took a little while to draw me in, and at first, I found the protagonist, Sarah, quite unlikeable. However, as the story progressed, I became increasingly absorbed. Unsworth handles complex themes such as teenage obsession, desire, friendship, and trauma with nuance and honesty. The novel really shines in how it moves between past and present, gradually revealing the emotional weight behind Sarah’s behaviour and choices. The interplay between memory and reality adds depth, and by the end, I found myself far more sympathetic towards her. It’s a bold, raw book that doesn’t shy away from uncomfortable truths, but it’s all the more powerful for it. While it may not be immediately gripping, Slags rewards patience with a rich, layered narrative that stays with you. A gritty, emotional read that explores the lingering impact of adolescence and the way we carry old wounds into adulthood.

Emma Jane Unsworth's "Slags" is a darkly funny and resonant novel, and its audiobook rendition is very good
. For listeners who appreciate a narrator who truly embodies a story, this is a standout. The performer navigates the complexities of the main character, Sarah, bringing her to life with an intensity that makes her journey feel incredibly personal and immediate.
The novel traverses the challenging concepts of being a woman doing ‘unconventional' things and society's reluctance to accept ageing women. It also explored the bizarre relationships that developed between sisters who end up thrown together by birth often meaning you have a lot in common, but not put together by choice.
What truly elevates this audiobook is the narrator's remarkable ability to differentiate and inhabit various characters.
The story is fearless in its tackling of challenging issues and as a consequence it wasn't always an easy listen but it was nonetheless overall and enjoyable and important book

The story follows our main character Sarah across two timelines. The first as a chaotic, love struck teenager in the 90s and the second as a 41 year old on a whisky fuelled campervan road trip with her younger sister in the Scottish Highlands. It explores sisterhood, identity, trauma and the struggle of growing up female.
I laughed out loud at so many moments. Sarah has sharp wit and the absurdity of her teenage years were hilarious. The 90s setting felt so real - the obsession with a teacher, smoky bedrooms, rebellious friendships, teens trying to act older than they are. Young Sarah’s voice is chaotic and I could really relate to her struggles growing up. In the present day, Sarah and her younger sister Juliette embark on a road trip through the Scottish Highlands to celebrate Juliette’s 40th birthday. Their banter and sibling rivalry are funny, whilst underlying tensions surface around mental health, childhood trauma and identity.
Even though I loved the humour and nostalgia, the plot occasionally felt thin. I didn’t think about the story much once I put the book down.

If you were a teen in the 90s you'll like the nostalgia of this book. 2 sisters, now hitting their 40s, go on a weekend away, and the story flips between their teen years and now. If you have a sister, you'll love the connections. Brought back some memories
Quotes that jumped out at me.
"Teenage girls have wills of iron and hearts of glass"
"She remembers women her age staring at her all those years ago. She used to think they were staring out of envy. Now she knew it wasn't envy, it was incredulity , they were looking at you think of the girls they had been 5 minutes ago wondering where the fuck she'd gone".
"being the decliner of breakfast felt like spiritual bankruptcy"
"I'll tell you another thing motherhood did, it took away my instincts, repacked them and sold them back to me"
Thank you @netgalley for allowing me to read this book.

This was quite entertaining. I didnt completely resonate with it, but I liked it none the less.
The narrator kept my interest.
Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Every Woman Aged 30–50 Needs to Read This Book!
This book got me. I laughed, I cried, and I found myself deeply reflecting on moments I'd long forgotten. It’s one of those rare reads that sneaks up on you, subtle in its storytelling, yet powerful in its emotional punch.
Whether you were the party girl, the geek, the big sister, the overlooked one, or even the so-called "mean girl," you will see yourself in these pages. The characters feel so familiar it’s almost uncanny, like catching glimpses of your younger self in a mirror you didn’t realise was still hanging. The way the author unpacks how teenage experiences shape who we become in adulthood is profound, relatable, and honestly, important.
This is a must-read for any woman navigating life in her 30s, 40s, or beyond. It's emotional without being too heavy, funny without losing depth, and completely unputdownable. It was also the perfect palette cleanser from all the fairy smut I’ve been binging lately 😂😂
Highly recommend! Add it to your TBR immediately

Slags by Emma Jane Unsworth
Narrated by Chloe Massey
Publication date 8th May 2025
Thanks to @netgalley and @harpercollinsuk for this audiobook.
I was born 1981, so I was a teenager in the 90’s, so going by the blurb, I was hoping for a trip down memory lane… but I hardly resonated with any of it. I didn’t find it that funny either, I had high hopes but felt a little disappointed, felt like the story didn’t really go anywhere, the story of them older was a bit boring. This is only my opinion, so please make your own mind up 🙂I rated it 3.5 out of 5.
Narrator was great. Clear, good accents.

Wow—this book is a ride, and a wild one at that. Emma Jane Unsworth doesn’t hold back in Slags, and honestly, that’s what makes it so gripping. That being said, I am not sure 'Slags' lives up to its name, but maybe that is the point? It’s raw, messy, and brutally honest about what it means to be a woman today—complete with all the bad decisions, self-doubt, and desire that come with it.
The writing is sharp, funny, dark, and slightly unhinged. There’s a real energy to the prose—it’s witty, biting, and painfully relatable at times. You feel like you’re inside the heads of these women, and it’s not always a comfortable place to be.
The characters spiral a lot, and sometimes it feels like they’re going in circles—chaos, regret, repeat. If you’re someone who likes a tidy plot or a hopeful ending, this probably won’t be your thing, which is perhaps why I haven't rated it as high. But if you’re into books that feel honest, even when they’re ugly, this one nails it.
What I loved most is how Unsworth writes women—flawed, complex, angry, hilarious. There’s zero sugar-coating, and that feels refreshing. Just be prepared: it’s intense, and it might leave you feeling a bit bruised.

I think in theory this should have been a very me book. Unfortunately, I didn’t connect with either of the storylines and can’t put my finger on what bothered me. I probably expected it to be more funny and didn’t expect the teacher storyline. Unfortunately not for me, but the narrator does a great job!

A tale of two sisters on a road trip & a nostalgic look at their lives as teenagers in the 90’s. I enjoyed the narration but it was difficult to stay engaged, would probably get on better with reading it.

We follow Sarah and Juliette as adults off on a caravan holiday for Juliette’s birthday. As they travel they allow us small and gentle insights into their teenage hood and the ups and downs and traumas they went through.
This book is so wonderfully written. The dual timeline is really effective and engaging. You’re completely interested in both storylines and I felt that the reader is given just the right amount of insight into their past each time that you remain keen to engage in more but aren’t told too much that it’s predictable.
The potentially triggering aspects of the book are delicately handles and the sisters act as excellent foils to deeper discussions about womanhood, adolescence and intimacy.
Also the setting of Manchester was so lovely to read! The audiobook narrator did an excellent job and it was a beautiful depiction of a wonderful city.
I loved this book and have already recommended it to a friend!

There were some really nice touches of nostalgia dotted throughout this book (I love you, Hanson) and the obsession around a random boy band was written spot on. On the whole though, I didn’t connect with or like either of the main characters, and didn’t resonate with any part of the journey we went on together.

This was an enjoyable read but I didn’t find myself connecting with it. There were some passages that were amazing but overall it wasn’t a favourite for me.

A funny, sometimes dark, always emotional novel from Emma Jane Unsworth. Sarah is a 47 yo woman, who takes her sister, Juliette, on a Scottish road trip for her birthday. Through intermittent flashbacks, we find out about Sarah's life as a teen, with their chaotic family. The teen years set in the 90's had me smiling in recognition, as well as cringing! Loved the book, highly recommend.

A better title for this book would be ‘Sisters’ but perhaps then it wouldn’t have the same impact. It’s mostly about two sisters, Sarah and Juliette, on a road trip to the Scottish Highlands to celebrate Juliette’s 40th birthday. As they slowly start to unpack their relationship and their memories, there’s a real insight into the nature of siblings with Sarah being the older and guilty big sister and Juliette being more streetwise and, somehow, now, more adult in many ways. The interplay between them shifts from their childhood roles of big sister keeping an eye on the kid to a more complex relationship where Sarah is trapped in the past.
That is where the ‘slags’ of the title come in, through the voice of the 15 year old Sarah soon to leave school, fantasising about her English teacher, and hanging out with her friends who are obsessively thinking about their favourite boy bands. The trouble with the plot is that none of this is really authentically slaggy! It comes to a kind of head where Sarah and her mate blag their way into a dressing room at a rock concert, followed disconcertingly by the even younger Juliette but, after a lot of agonising and some convenient vomiting, nothing happens. Nothing happens with the English teacher either, and it turns out in passing that the school is fee-paying and not the bad end of Grange Hill!
Part of Sarah’s excuse for being a slag is that her mother is a drunk, but a drunk who tries at some level to do her best for her children. It’s not very authentic either!
However, the continuing portrait of Sarah as an adult rings true. The way she struggles to make relationships and to, even simply, relate to people, as well as a series of failed sexual relationships is a convincing portrait of a struggling adult slightly traumatised by childhood and something weird that happened on the bus. She is carrying a lot of baggage when she and Juliette set off on the trip!
Juliette has developed in another direction as a suburban mother with a dull husband, two children and a feeling that life has passed her by. She admits to a torrid affair and some sexual exploration. She has a more honest opinion of herself and where she sits in the world.
At the end, the road trip turns out slightly silly with the pursuit of the teenage boy band member, now in paunchy middle-age playing the pubs. Somehow, Sarah blames him for her troubles but, frankly, it is not his fault, and things then go from bad to worse!
So, in the end, this is a bit of a mixed up book. Some reviewers find the slag chapters authentic but they didn’t do it for me. However, the relationship between the sisters is well explored even if the ending is a bit daft. Should you read it? Probably yes if you have a sister, especially a younger one who you felt, or were made to be, a bit responsible for!

I liked the narrators voice but lost a bit track of the story. I ended up not finishing the audiobook (i made it to 55% before any desire to hit play again left me). For what I've listened to the book feels like a mix of Derry Girls and Bridget Jones what should have been right up my alley. I do think reading the book would have been a better option for me and I might give it a go in the future.

Well sadly this took me quite a while to get through as I had to listen to it in parts due to finding it rather difficult to engage with at all! This really is not anything like the synopsis insinuation imo as in the dual timeline aspect from Sarah pov particularly being 15 to her 40s!
I fully anticipated a lot of humour within this type of book admittedly it raised the odd smirk and maybe one or two slight smiles but that was it and this was at comments such as facial gymnastics silly things but they made me laugh!
The story itself of when they were 15 begins ok if a little slow but it starts off with potential however when Sarah and Juliette begin their trip and during this birthday tour it seems to get a bit lost as they are now in their 40s and we are going between timelines. Both timelines just don’t seem to merge well at all.
Although Juliette is married with children and Sarah pretty much admits she hasn’t changed enough etc it’s just rather uninspiring, flat and dull. Some of it was even a bit cringe worthy to be honest; I appreciate this may seem harsh however the point of the review is honest constructive criticism where necessary.
The narration was done well enough in that you could envisage two teenage girls although again maybe there was a little difficulty in timeline split determination as no change in pitch or tone etc for age difference so it all blended making it another slight sticking point for me!
I appreciate the opportunity to listen to this ELC in return for an honest review with thanks to Harper Collins UK Audio and NetGalley 📚🎧❤️🙏🏽

Slags is a darkly funny and emotionally raw deep-dive into sisterhood, rage, and midlife reckoning. Emma Jane Unsworth brings her signature bite to this story of two sisters navigating the chaos of adulthood while reckoning with unresolved tensions from their past.
The book moves between two timelines - the gritty, awkward intensity of being 15 in the 1990s, and the messier, more fractured reality of midlife in the present. The flashbacks are brilliantly nostalgic, filled with alcopops, dodgy eyeliner, and emotional landmines that still echo decades later.
I was a teenager in the 1990s, so loved this timeline in particular. Unsworth’s representation of being this age in that era (the awkwardness, the obsessions, the naïvity) are so sharp and insightful, I felt at times as though it could have been my diary I was reading. I especially loved the repartee between the sisters. The brilliant jokes and back-and-forths made me heartily laugh out loud.
The audiobook is narrated by Chloe Massey (who also narrates Unsworth’s other audiobooks) and her solid performance adds a layer of intimacy and immediacy to the story. You can hear the frustration, the humour, the heartbreak - all the jagged edges that make the characters feel human. Her voice captures the raw emotional charge of both timelines and makes the tonal shifts feel cohesive.
That said, the novel does start to spiral a little toward the end. What begins as sharp and insightful storytelling veers into something more chaotic and unhinged. This was likely intentional but, for me, it lost some of its emotional weight in the process.
Still, it’s a compelling, original read that doesn’t hold back - especially for those who enjoy their fiction with bite, boldness, and a heavy dose of nostalgia. I bought the hardback of this book and look forward to revisiting it again one day 🧡
Thank you very much to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK Audio for gifting me a copy of the audiobook. All opinions in this review are my own.

i was optimistic about what this book might have 'brought' for me - the title intrigued me, re. what topics might be going to come up throughout the book, the description mentioned (northern) english culture in the 1990s which is a time period i love reading about, and the whole thing was relatively short at just under 300 pages. sadly, this is not how i'm feeling having just finished it. i felt the title was slightly misleading, only revolving around one small plot point, rather than an overarching theme, and the fmc didn't seem to mature enough in the later timeline for me to tell when we were switching back to 15-year-old sarah. i think this book's main issue was that it all felt a bit performative, that some things were only included just so the author could make it 'more relatable,' or 'edgier.'
thank you to netgalley and harper collins uk audio for an advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely loved this book. The nostalgia factor alone had me grinning as a woman who grew up in the 90s.
Despite being a southerner through and through I loved how rooted this novel was in Manchester. Listening to the audiobook only increased this deep rooted sense of space as the narrator’s gorgeous voice led us through the plot. It was also incredibly funny and again the narrator had a wonderful tone that suited the dry wit.
I found the relationship between the sisters really relatable and both characters were also very relatable. They felt like real women with faults, personalities and lives. They were messy in a glorious way and I just wanted to join them on their road trip.