Review // We Are Young by Cat Clarke

Published: 3rd May
Publisher: Quercus
Format: Kindle
Synopsis: On the same night Evan's mother marries local radio DJ 'Breakfast Tim', Evan's brand-new step-brother Lewis is found unconscious and terribly injured, the only survivor of a horrific car crash A media furore erupts, with the finger of blame pointed firmly at stoner, loner Lewis. Everyone else seems to think the crash was drugs-related, but Evan isn't buying it. With the help of her journalist father, Harry, she decides to find out what really happened that night. As Evan delves deeper into the lives of the three teenagers who died in the crash, she uncovers some disturbing truths and a secret that threatens to tear her family - and the community - apart for ever...

I requested this book to review because over the years i've heard so many good things about Cat Clarke but I hadn't read much (if anything, actually) by her and wanted to give it a shot. I had no preemptive ideas about this book so I just dove in. Bare in mind I read this book a while ago now so some details may be fuzzy!

We Are Young first seems like it could be any novel, we have a girl who is struggling with her family dynamics as her Mother weds the local radio DJ and her alcoholic father is an absentee one at best. However, within a few short pages everything in Evan's life changes. Her now step-brother is in hospital, several of his friends are dead and nobody can figure out what the hell has happened!

There is of course the mystery of what happened to Lewis that runs right through the book but really, at the heart of it all is the relationships between all of the different characters. Evan's family life is a bit of a mess and she's doing everything she can to protect those closest to her, however in order to do that she's going to have to mend some bridges and work closely with her biological father to work of the mysteries.

There are a lot of moments in the book that are genuinely disturbing. Something is completely off with her brand new enthusiastic ever-happy step-dad.....but what is it? What will Evan discover as she tries to find out what happened in her home town? Ahh I just want to talk about everything! But I made a promise to myself to keep Loaded Shelves a spoiler free zone...! This book is real, flawed, full of emotion and one hell of a ride. This is another one that I managed to read whilst I was at work - not because it's simple or anything like that, purely because the adrenaline and fast-paced writing kept me turning the pages. I highly recommend!

BLOG TOUR! Extract from The Rebel by Jaime Raven

  

Welcome  to my stop on Jaime Raven's blog tour! Today I've got an exclusive extract for you from The Rebel...and it's a cracker! Sit back, relax and read on....

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It didn’t take long for Roy Slack to reveal his plan to Danny Carver. It was a simple one, after all.

Danny’s reaction was predictable. His jaw dropped and the colour retreated from his face.

‘Is this a fucking joke, boss?’ he said, his voice stretched thin with shock. ‘Because if it ain’t, then I think you might have lost your marbles.’

Slack stood up and stepped out from behind his desk. It was uncomfortably warm in the office so he slipped off his cardigan and threw it on the chair. His white shirt had dark patches of sweat under each armpit.

He crossed the room to the cabinet with the bottles of spirits on top.

‘Care for a whisky, Danny?’ he asked.

‘Too bloody right I do,’ Danny answered. ‘And please make it a large one because I think I need it.’

Slack smiled to himself as he poured out triples of his finest malt, flown down from his favourite distillery in the Highlands.

He handed a glass to Danny. ‘You’ve been with me a long time, mate, and you’re the only person in this world who I’d trust with my life. It’s why I’ve told you what I intend to do and it’s the reason I’m now going to tell you why I want to do it.’

Danny’s hard face fisted into a frown and he rolled out his bottom lip.

‘Well, I’m all ears, boss,’ he said.

Slack sat down beside him on the sofa and sipped at his whisky.

‘I also need you to know that you’re going to be well looked after whatever happens,’ he said. ‘I’m going to transfer a large sum of cash into your offshore account first thing in the morning. If the firm survives then you can stick around if you want to. If it doesn’t you’ll have the option to fuck off abroad and enjoy an early retirement.’

Danny’s frown deepened and he tilted his head to one side.

‘Sounds to me like you’ve given a lot of thought to this, boss,’ he said. 

Slack nodded. ‘It’s been rolling around inside my head for weeks. Now I can’t wait to get on with it.’

Danny grinned, showing off his two gold teeth. 

‘Well, it sure is an insane idea,’ he said. ‘But for what it’s worth I reckon the fuckers have it coming. Most of ’em are more crooked than we are.’

Slack knew he could depend on Danny not to fill his nappy at the thought of what was going to happen. They didn’t call him The Rottweiler for nothing. He was a man of violence, a crazy fuck, who had maimed and killed more men than he could probably remember. 

He was also fiercely loyal and had carried out heinous crimes on Slack’s behalf without a second’s thought. He was completely devoid of empathy and compassion.

For that reason Slack had absolutely no doubt that he would be able to count on him in the days and weeks ahead. 

‘So come on, boss,’ Danny said. ‘There’s no way you’d be set on doing this just to hang on to what you’ve got. There has to be something else, something that you’ve been keeping close to your chest.’

So Slack told him, and for the first time since they’d met, Danny Carver was lost for words.