Ten thousand saints -a review

Ten thousand saints - Eleanor Henderson
Blurb - "Vermont, New Year's Eve, 1987. All Jude wants is to get high. All teddy wants is to get out. One of them won't live to see 1988. In the wake of this death,three teenagers will try to
Find a way of honouring their lost friend. Is clean living the answer? Is parenthood? Or is it the simplicity of carrying out a last wish?"

I found this book took a good while to get going and for the first 100 pages or so I was strongly considering abandoning it for one of several other books I was more excited about reading but I persevered and it finally hooked me. Henderson doesn't write a particularly likeable cast of characters yet I still found myself becoming invested in their stories.

She sets the scene well, making you feels though you too were part of the punk 80s scene in New York and she has a vivid storytelling style. I thought read almost like it's as written for the young adult market but perhaps I was only seeing it that way because of the teenage protagonists the story centres on and certainly it had a much grittier feel than your average young adult book.

An interesting read, not too heavy despite being classed as literary fiction

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