Sadly I was unable to finish this book. The harrowing and graphic torture and killing of the dog by the surgeon about 10% of the way into the book was way too much for me. It turned my stomach and made me very upset. I don't know what else is in the book but that requires a Content Warning. It is a thing I can't stand and something I avoid in books and movies. It makes me hugely distressed. I can't imagine what that level of distressing detail could possibly add to the story. You could easily show he was an evil man without the detail. Liz Hyder has made historical magical realism the most magically realistic reading experience. It is relatable, brutally true to present life and beautifully presented with a language that sings. The characters are right there, you can feel them walking around in your mind. The setting and imagery vivid, you can almost taste it, smell it. Sarah Odedina said: “What marks Liz out for me is her courage and originality and her faultless ability to create a story that holds the reader’s attention by its sheer power. As an editor there cannot be many higher accolades than to be on the Branford Boase Award shortlist. To win the award in partnership with an author confirms that this task of bringing stories to young readers is a work of collaboration and one that is most successful when author and editor listen to one another and enjoy the process of creating a novel.” Surprisingly for a historical fiction work, there are many strong female characters. The leading ladies are all shown realistically (limited by the men in their lives), yet they aren’t doormats. They create their own space, and can fight for themselves when the time comes. I was very kindly sent an ARC of this book from the publishers Pushkinpress to read and review, but as always all views are my own!

Liz has written this piece for Teen Librarian, about the importance of rebellion and asking questions Because of the way that it was written and the fact that there is a unreliable narrator, I felt that it wasn’t very deep of a novel. I couldn’t really see the each of the characters for who there were properly or follow the events of the plot as well as I would have liked. The language used in this book is all pretty simply as well and if not for the occasional event that can be considered somewhat dark, like death, it almost felt like a middle-grade novel, solely from the way that it was written. I’m scared of the dark, and I don’t like small spaces or being underground, so writing a book about a mine was a foolish thing. But I did go down a lot of mines, and I read a lot of books about that period of mining. And then it sort of wrote itself. Newt was such a strong character in my head. Much of the narrative is written phonetically. Did you take inspiration from other books ? I was reminded a little of Riddley Walker by Russell Hoban. I finished reading Everything Under by Daisy Johnson the other day and I was totally blown away by it. I felt like I was swallowed up: you are there in that world, it’s utterly immersive. I loved it and I can’t wait to read what she does next.You were joint winner of the Emerging Writer Award this year. Silly question, I’m sure, but how did that make you feel?

I know that it was purposeful and I appreciate it, but I also can't pretend that the writing style wasn't very hard to read. Because not only did I have to read it, but it was like I was on-the-fly translating as well, and so it took a long time to read, basically. Although I loved this novel, I did find the narrative a bit fragmented due to the frequent point of view shifts. Yet after a while I became used to this rhythm of movement.Liz Hyder was the joint winner of the Emerging Writer Award this year, along with Hanna Randall. Liz has recently found a publisher for her book Bearmouth at Puskin Press. We thought we’d have a chat with Liz and ask her about it. When I began reading I, like a number of other readers, took time to adjust to the phonetic style of writing used to mimic our main character's voice. Initially this meant the reading felt slower than I'd like, but it certainly became one of the features of the book that I really enjoyed. The voice of Newt changed as they developed in confidence, and I enjoyed seeing the shifting patterns of language as they grew in awareness of the world around them. In a Nutshell: A historical fantasy written in literary fiction style. Won’t work for every reader due to the slow pacing and the writing approach, but I liked the plot. Triggers galore! There are a few highly triggering scenes concerning dogs. While a couple of these scenes might have been essential to detail the nature of that specific character, the rest felt forced in. This might be traumatising for sensitive animal lovers, so proceed with caution. I had to zoom through those sections because it was too much for me, but I also didn’t want to keep the book aside. Furthermore, there are dark scenes connected to the medical procedures of those times.