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!