Snowflake

WINNER NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR 2021 AT THE AN POST IRISH BOOK AWARDS 'Wonderful and mad' Roddy Doyle'Sparks with tender charm and humour . . .

Fresh, bleakly funny' Sunday Times'Tender, laugh-out-loud funny and deeply moving' Louise O'Neill 'GAS and beautiful and truthful and touching' Marian Keyes, author of Grown Ups'A novel for anyone who's ever felt lost in the world' John Boyne, author of The Heart's Invisible Furies'Sharp, clever and affecting' The Independent'Beautifully written . . .

emotionally intelligent and thought-provoking' Daily Mail'Astonishing' Stacey Halls, author of The FamiliarsDebbie's brain isn't perfect. Debbie's thoughts aren't unique. Debbie's dreams are all too real.

Debbie White lives on a dairy farm with her mother, Maeve, and her uncle, Billy. Billy sleeps out in a caravan in the garden with a bottle of whiskey and the stars overhead for company. Maeve spends her days recording her dreams, which she believes to be prophecies.

This world is Debbie's normal, but she is about to step into life as a student at Trinity College Dublin. As she navigates between sophisticated new friends and the family bubble, things begin to unravel. Maeve's eccentricity tilts into something darker, while Billy's drinking gets worse.

Debbie struggles to cope with the weirdest, most difficult parts of herself and her small life. But if the Whites are mad, they are also fiercely loving, and each other's true place of safety. Startling, fresh and utterly unique, Snowflake is a story of messy families, messier friendships and how new chapters often mean starting right back at the beginning.

A BBC RADIO 4 BOOK AT BEDTIME PICK