A book about brothers, troubles, sickness and difficulties. It really pulls at the heart strings and left me sobbing at the end. If you're a Shuggie fan then this should definitely be on your radar if it isn't already.

I'm not sure I have the words to review this book. It's stunning. Absolutely heartwrenching. I've not cried like I did at the end of this book for a very long time. Beautiful.

Beware this book will break your heart. It may be titled Boy’s Don’t Cry but this 37 year old lady certainly shed some tears.

Set in Dublin, Ireland this tells the story of two brothers Joe and Finn. A beautifully written story of brotherly love within a family ravaged by gangland crime.

It’s a brilliantly compassionate study of masculinity against a harsh backdrop of poverty, societal expectations and limited choices.

The dual narrative told also from different timelines worked really well in building the emotional connection. You know what is going to happen early on in the book the mystery lies not in what happens to these boys but in how it happens and the subsequent impacts. Those last few chapters as the two boys stories start to wrap up were some of the most emotive I have ever read.

Scarlett writes with such authenticity, compassion and empathy. The characters, the relationships, the emotional all feel real. Finn in particular is one of those special characters you hold in heart once you’ve read their story. Joining the likes of Shuggie and Jude those beautifully crafted souls that exist only on paper but break your heart nonetheless.

Strong recommendation from me, If this is her debut I’m eagerly awaiting what she writes next.

Oh my gosh! This book grabbed my heart and broke it on two - so many emotions! This books is beautifully written and I loved the two different points of view. A tough subject to write about, but written with such dignity and heartfelt emotion. An author I will be keeping an eye on in the future. Irish writing at its best!

Wow! This is a seriously emotional book that will literally rip your heart out. Beautifully written and sensitively handled.

My heart! Boy’s don’t cry is a beautiful story about life, loss, hope and love. I adored Finn. Hard to read sometimes, and if you’re not a fan of profanity in books you might want to steer clear (doesn’t bother me). A book with subject matter like this could have been seriously depressing but it wasn’t. I finished it with tears and a feeling of hope in my heart. Highly recommend.

I didn't know what to expect from this book but it was so, so beautiful and really caught me off guard!

Beautifully written; a tale of brotherhood and loss that is both utterly heartbreaking and heartwarming.

Joe and Finn live with their Ma and Da in the Bojahixu, or the 'Jax' - the Dublin tower block where a notorious gang roam freely - including their own Da. And while it might be the only way they've ever known, Joe doesn't want his younger brother to accept that life has to be this way forever - he wants to show him a life outside the dark concrete jungle they've always called home.

But now, at seventeen, Joe is close to losing hope. His Da is in prison, his Ma hides away from the world to face her sadness alone, and maybe worst of all Finn has become sick - Joe feels alone in the world, spiralling with no purpose and no direction. The world, his family, his friends - they've always told him what to do, who to be and most of all, never to cry. But how can you stop crying when your world is ending? And who can Joe be when he's forced to figure it out on his own?

If you're looking for something happy to read, put this book back on the shelf and walk away. This is the kind of story that is full of heartbreak, disappointment and emotive - and take a step back to think.

Joe, our storyteller, is just a teenager but paints a visceral picture of a world of gangs, drugs, violence and loss. A fairly quick read, but still packing so much detail and feeling into the pages, although personally it felt like some details were missing for me that would have made the story that much more complete and whole.

A striking debut that explores family, legacy, class and the impossible expectations that young men are expected to uphold and the dangers they can cause to everyone.

I definitely think we'll be hearing more from Scarlett in the future.

Good book, not like anything I've read before. Enjoyable from a writer who is new to me. Would recommend.

This is such a blisteringly emotional book that I genuinely don't know how to rate it. Reader, it's so sad. It's so well written and the characters are so well drawn that I spent most of the time weeping like a waterfall. As a critic, I can see how deftly Scarlett writes, how much of a writer she is. But at the same time, I really couldn't bear to carry on reading because it just affected me so much. I kept putting it down because it was getting too much for me. If you have thicker skin than me and want a book with hugely sympathetic characters and important themes, this is for you. If you cry in Disney movies, proceed with caution and a box of tissues.

I can’t really tell how much I enjoyed this book because enjoyed isn’t the right word, it touches on some difficult situations and how we deal with them. I was hit hard with Finn’s story and his coming to terms with what was happening to him, and felt the switch from present to past was really powerful!

A beautiful, moving literary tale of redemption and how one man tries to escape the shadow of his past but without destroying the positive memories he has.

A gritty, moving, though unsentimental, tale of the lives of two brothers - one a preteen and the other a gifted young artist. Well-crafted, using the local vernacular, we get a real sense of what it feels like to live in that place, to experience life as those characters do. We are reminded how difficult it can still be to break away from the life we are born into even if we are thrown a lifeline. Finn and Joe are likeable, lovable and loyal, and the reader can but not root for them. The ending is tragically inevitable yet, despite our sadness, we end on a note of hope and a profound wish that ‘things will turn out.’

Boys Don’t Cry, a forceful but sympathetic depiction of a family’s strengths and weaknesses, follows the fortunes of two brothers living in a Dublin tower block. The younger, Finn, is on the verge of adolescence when he develops a life-threatening illness. Joe, the elder, is torn between the long-term opportunities a scholarship offers and the immediate gain forced upon him by a local crime boss. Their father is a violent career criminal who drifts in and out of jail. Their mother barely copes with keeping the household together. Struggling to survive within a conflicted community, the family is isolated in its fight for survival and a better future.

In her enthralling debut novel, Fíona Scarlett uses dual narrative to effectively explore issues surrounding fatherhood and toxic masculinity. She writes in the language of the Dublin streets, which is harsh but colourful and full of dry humour. The joys and sorrows Finn and Joe experience will stay with me for a long time.
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Finn and Joe have such a compelling story, if a sad one - a poetic exploration of life in Dublin, life in an abusive home, and the fragility of life when a loved one is going through illness.

Thank you Netgally for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review.
The cover of this book was what initially attracted me and then when I read the blurb I was instantly interested. This book succinctly and poignantly presents the story of Joe and his brother Finn. They live in Dublin, in a tower block. Life is not easy for the boys and their mum. Their dad is involved in a lot of illegal businesses, but that also means that no one touches the boys. Mum works in the local pub, and although she is a strong woman, at home, she is at the mercy of her husband’s violent tendencies. She loves her boys fiercely and would do anything to ensure their happiness and wellbeing, often to the detriment of her own.
This is a story of loss, pain, abuse, hope and tough choices. The story is told from two points of view: Joe’s and Finn’s. Although the story is harrowing and heart-breaking, there are moments of humour and lightness. Finn’s voice was my favourite, but also the one that broke my heart. I felt his fear, but also his realism. Joe is angry with his dad, his mum, and the world, but he is also incredibly sad about losing his little brother. He is fighting hard not to make the same mistakes and choices as his father, but sometimes life has other plans.
This book is brutal, but well written and gripping. After the first 30 pages, I devoured it and could not put it down.

A harrowing, but unflinchingly honest book, it was difficult at times to read, but nevertheless important and moving. I felt it helped me to understanding people in these kind of circumstances better, which is high praise.

I enjoyed this book, though it is very sad. 17 year old Joe is struggling to come to terms with his 12 year old brother's death from leukaemia. His father is in prison and his mum is drinking to get through. The story is told from the viewpoint of the 2 brothers, Finn describing how he became ill and Joe trying to make sense of it all. Thanks to NetGalley for preview copy.
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Absolutely fantastic read. I have loved this and been completely unable and unwilling to put this one down.
This is a great read which I will be highly recommending.