LOVED THIS. Modern themes, told in a "period piece" (v. depressing that my youth in the early 00s is now a "period"....). Cerys is a relatable character, with real issues: family, friends, boyfriends, first loves, betrayal, fitting in, and hard decisions. A brilliant story, with a really great set-up. Will look for more of Natasha Devon's books in the future cos I loved the writing style. Thank you!

Definitely a binge-worthy read looking at toxic relationships, love and friendship. I really liked the imagery of a babushka doll for each time something that happens to you leaves a scar, it's an image that really stayed with me. Great read, all the feels, can highly recommend.

Babushka by Natasha Devon begins with a gripping prologue. A flashback to the past it grabbed my attention straight away. The main protagonist Cerys who grew up in a village in the Welsh Valleys gets to fulfil her dream of studying at the London School of Fashion. She will be living with her aunt Wyn. Cerys aspect on life is based on the insights from her favourite magazine Adept. So how does life in London compare in realty? This is Devon’s exploration of the joys, pains and distress that Cerys experiences in this coming of age novel.

In the first chapter I learned why the book was called Babushka. Umm...that had me hooked and I wanted to know more of Cerys Babushka. The characters were real and life like. The story felt familiar as one that could happen to a teenager down one’s street or town. Yet there was magic in its telling. This made the entire novel a gripping read.

Throughout, the novel has many flashbacks to the main protagonist Cerys life. It didn’t bother me as it was well crafted and flowed seamlessly. As her story unravels I realise that this could happen to any teen. What kept me reading was Devon’s bravura in skilfully interbraiding Cerys past and present. Here was a story of a teenager who had made mistakes but with the help of family and friends got back onto her feet. These were folks that I would want around me in times of trouble. True there were also characters I would not want in my own life – mean and obnoxious. And that’s it – the real life like characters the good the bad and the ugly were all crafted by Devon to make an awesomely inspiring read.

The story was full of twists and turns often when least expected. It kept me glued to my Kindle and I couldn’t turn the pages quickly enough. This was largely due to the fact that Devon has mastered the art of keeping the reader in suspense till the very end. All the more significant as Devon transforms an ordinary tale into an uplifting read. I hurt with Cerys and rejoiced as she triumphed through her difficulties. Her distress became mine as did her dilemmas. I was eager to know how she resolved her problems.

Only then did I glean the whole of Cerys story. I closed my Kindle with a sigh and felt enriched for having read Babushka. This novel though, is not just for teens. Adults would benefit from reading this book as they would gain a greater insight into teens feelings.

I thoroughly enjoyed Natasha Devon's book - especially the description of what was meant by the Babushka image. It's pacy and relatable. I've read other books apparently set in recent decades where the author hasn't done their research, but this felt as if it was all lived experience and properly understood references, bringing the recent past alive. Some of the plot was perhaps a bit guessable, but it was handled well and I'm a sucker for a happy ending!

(3.75 stars!)
I enjoyed reading this, I wasn't expecting myself to enjoy it as much as I did, the story follows Cerys who has just moved to London from Wales to study fashion/art , where she meets Darsh, an older guy who she instantly adores.
The author portrays being a teenager really well and the relationship with the older guy hits a little too close to home at times! The gaslighting, the betrayal, the love bombing. But Cerys is really insightful and learns a lot throughout the story, it's actually really nice to see her become more empowered and realise what she used to idolise is wrong and no good for anyone.
Really good read!

A really great take on the YA coming-of-age novel, starting with 30-something Cerys reflecting on her 17 year-old daughter's experiences in the now contrast with her own experiences at that age in the early 2000s. The bulk of the novel is about 16 year-old Cerys adjusting to her move to London - her new job, new school and the good, bad and evil people she meets.
The things that really recommend this novel are the depiction of toxic romantic relationships and the reflection of the hugely problematic sociocultural aspects of growing up in the noughties.
As someone in the same age bracket at the main character, this aspect really resonated and will appeal to adult readers, as well as being something of a historical YA for the teens of the today!
In some ways, it doesn't feel massively finished. The ending feels rushed and there's a few too many loose ends from a narrative perspective. All in all, though, this is a compelling and thought-provoking read.

I'm from a small Welsh town so the idea and relatability of escaping that and trying to discover yourself and all the good and bad that it comes with was very powerful.

Thank you to Net Galley for sending me this ARC.

It was my first book by this author so didn’t know what to expect. I liked the summary and as a child I used to love playing with those Babuskha’s.

Please don’t judge me for my way of choosing books to read :P

A little babushka is made when you’re young and something happens to you that leaves a scar…’

Cerys Williams has swapped her village in the Welsh Valleys for art college in London and the spare room in glamorous Auntie Wyn’s flat however Cerys’s London is not glossy or cool or sophisticated, despite what Adept, her favourite magazine, has told her. It’s lonely and overwhelming and confusing. Until, that is, she meets him… 

The books starts a bit slow for me but once I got into the first few chapters its has sucked me in. It was a very nice and quick read that has taken me back. Explores all the everyday struggles of teenagers with families and fitting in and takes it a bit further but I won’t spoil it for you.

I have read that is a prequel to another book by this author so I will definitely will be picking that up to read as well now I have finished this one.

If you need a nice quick read that takes you back to the year 2000 you should definitely pick it up for yourself.

Teenager Cerys heads to London to start art college but struggles to make friends on her course and begins a secret relationship with a staff member

Cerys thinks that her exciting new glamourous life will start when she goes to live in London with her cool, single aunt Wyn and starts art college. She leaves her life, friends and sappy boyfriend (who actually quickly dumps her almost as soon as she has arrived) in search of her new identity. She struggles to fit in with her art college classmates, and when she has her drink spiked at a college party she is rescued by handsome, sympathetic Darsh, in his early twenties and working at the college (she is 16) They begin an intense, full on sexual relationship and she is quickly obsessed by thoughts of spending time with him and loses sight of her other plans.

This serves as a prequel to previous title Toxic, as Cerys is the mother of Llewella from this earlier book, as she falls pregnant by Darsh and finds herself in an impossible situation. This is where events actually pan out quite neatly - sadly her beloved aunt now has only a few months to live and decides to leave her money and flat in London to her, so she can raise the baby alone but not losing sight of the new life she wanted in London. Her family and new friends are supportive and this feels like not the 'tragic' ending of a teenage mother but a positive happy fresh start. Darsh is initially dismissive and cruel on learning of her pregnancy but later sends a letter explaining he was tied into an arranged marriage and hadn't anticipated falling in love with her. There are some elements which would seems problematic in our modern times - the book is set in 2000 - as when she is drugged and found in a dishevelled state , someone takes photos of her and pins them up around college. This results in Cerys being disciplined by the principal - her aunt rightly marches into the office to defend her, as obviously this situation is not Cerys' fault and she objects to the principal suggesting she was inebriated and wearing inappropriate clothing - this neatly reflects the different mind set and cultural values of 20 odd years ago though. The inappropriate and unevenly balanced relationship between Cerys and Darsh is also viewed a bit from 'modern' eyes as we'd now view this a bit more as a toxic or problematic dynamic owing to their age difference, but again this is well handled, if softened a bit by Darsh's letter apologising for his dismissive behaviour and maintaining how much he fell in love with her.

Our very self absorbed heroine is sometimes hard to sympathise with and the ending a little neat but it's quite an engaging story, the writing really conveys her point of view and her experiences are wholly relatable.

Thanks to Netgalley for sending me this arc to review.

Cerys Williams has swapped her village in the Welsh Valleys for art college in London and the spare room in glamorous Auntie Wyn’s flat. Cerys knows there’s more out there for her in the world; it’s the year 2000 – she definitely doesn’t have to just get married and have babies and wear beige and cook stews for the rest of her life, even if Mam thinks she should.

For a book set in the 2000s, so there was very little nostalgia played upon. I would have loved a few more references thrown in to really set the scene.

To be honest, I found the whole middle section of this book very slow. I would have loved more focus on adult Cerys. Teen Cerys is a bit annoying and the naivety gets old.

The side characters are interesting and I liked the chapters with her mate Alice. It would have been great to have a bit more of Cerys exploring London and falling in love with the city.

Overall, I thought the plot was interesting and I enjoyed the writing. I didn't realise it was a prequel to another book so I'd definitely want to read Toxic to understand more about the characters.

I didn't realise this was a YA book but it was still a brilliant read for an older (40+) reader.

A delightful coming of age story about finding acceptance within your family & in life.

Cerys wants to move away from her hometown in Wales dreaming of a better life in the city where her Aunt lives in London. She enrols in college with big dreams but soon finds life is harder than she imagined.

#Babushka #NetGalley

I always look forward to a Natasha Devon book, she always has a lot to say with her themes and topics. This book is no exception.
It's such an easy read - and I don't mean that in a derogative way, just that it was easy to speed through.
Some moments felt a little blatant and preachy, but this could just be because i'm maybe not the target audience for this YA book (at 33!!)

I enjoyed reading this book, and feel like it will stay with me for a while.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for this early copy of Babushka by Natasha Devon. This was a hard hitting and powerful read that I can't wait to share with my students - it will be so relevant for them!

A great prequel to Toxic! Definitely a binge-worthy read looking at toxic relationships, love and friendship. I really liked the imagery of a babushka doll for each time something that happens to you leaves a scar, it's an image that really stayed with me. Great read, all the feels, can highly recommend.

A binge-worthy page turner about growing up, friendship, love, and toxic relationships. Cerys is 16 years old and dreams of a future beyond her small Welsh Town. She moves to London to stay with her trendy aunt and start art college. Her dreams quickly turn sour as she realises that it is much harder to find your place and people in a large city. Cerys faces a steep learning curve, a lot of hurt and trauma all within her first year. The image of the babushka doll transforming when you are young and "something happens to you that leaves a scar" is such an evocative image. This was such an emotional read and made me shed a few tears but left me grinning at the end. #babushka #natashadevon #netgalley

Cerys knows she wants more to her life than marrying safe boyfriend Rhys and settling down to life with babies and the same circle of friends. She has swapped her little Welsh village for art college in London where she envisages leading a glamourous life living with her adored Aunt Wyn, her Mum’s much younger sister. Her obsession with her favourite magazine tells her life in London is cool and sophisticated. However, at first it is confusing and busy, made worse by the fact that the resident art college cool girls seem to have taken an instant dislike to her.
After an incident when Cerys’ drink is spiked and she loses consciousness on the pavement she wakes to find herself in the flat of an art lecturer who is young, attractive and an apparent gentleman, very different from the immature boys Cerys is accustomed to.
From then on Cerys lives in a bubble until she is hit by not just one but two devastating pieces of news she must deal with. This is a young, naïve woman on the brink of adulthood dealing with emotions she had previously only ever read about. The book is a prequel to Toxic published last year but does not require prior reading.