We Pretty Pieces of Flesh is a book that really grows on you. The combination of its literary title, the striking juxtaposition of a muted image with bold text on the cover, and the strong Yorkshire dialect of the prose all make it difficult to place at first. It takes a while to work out what’s going on and to situate the story in early-2000s Doncaster, but once you’ve got to grips with the three interchanging voices, the story really gets into your heart.

The novel follows three best friends—Rach, Shaz, and Kel—from the age of eleven to thirty, revealing their shared memories through their distinct perspectives. There are early sexual experiences, first boyfriends and wild nights out, as well as darker moments of addiction, loneliness and struggles to make ends meet. The girls’ personalities are sharply defined: Shaz is the confident troublemaker, leading the more cautious Kel and Rach astray; Kel, who dreams of being a teacher, struggles to take a firm stance on anything; and Rach is torn between wanting to be like Shaz and mistrusting her exaggerated stories. This is a story about best friends on the cusp of adulthood, enjoying their last moments of innocence before their bodies become “pretty pieces of flesh”, their paths begin to diverge and terrible secrets threaten to come between them.

We Pretty Pieces of Flesh doesn’t read like a debut. The writing is so assured and the structure is skilfully conceived, with the tension building towards a nostalgic night out in Donny after several years apart. I’d recommend it for fans of Shuggie Bain and Trainspotting, who like gritty, voice-led stories with strong sense of place. While some readers may find the dialect-heavy prose and the intertwining voices challenging to navigate, it’s right up my street, and I can’t wait to see how it will be received when it’s published in February 2025.

We Pretty Pieces of Flesh tells the story of three best friends from Doncaster, Rach and Kel and Shaz, growing up in the late 90s and early 2000s. They drink, they sneak into clubs, they fight, they make really stupid decisions – and years later, they are completely different people.

I loved the sound of this one – although I would say that the blurb is wrong, it is actually primarily set in the 2000s, not the 90s. But I didn't know it was written in Yorkshire dialect! Personally I just don't like books written in dialect, even Scottish ones I'm familiar with, so it took me a really long time to get into this. I stuck with it, though, and I'm glad I did – although I felt like skim-reading some parts and I never quite warmed to the dialect, it ended up being a thoughtful and layered read about a very complicated friendship dynamic. It's told in a non-linear structure and delves so deep into what it's like to be an insecure teenager. I think particularly anyone who went to a crap school will recognise a lot of this – it brought memories of school and being a teenager back, and made me grateful I was too uncool to do anything more than drink at my friends' houses lol.

So I would read more by this author, but maybe not anything written in dialect??

We Pretty Pieces of Flesh follows three childhood friends (Rach, Kel and Shaz) from their first days at secondary school in Doncaster, through their teenage years together and later years apart, culminating in a reunion night out when potentially explosive secrets simmer under the surface. It’s written in impressively well-rendered local dialect, and is at heart a coming of age story, depicting the ups and downs of the teenage trio, and reflecting on where those years have led them - examining the bonds of friendship and as well as the forces that can tear them apart. The book seems initially to have Rach as its central character, the slightly better-off member of the trio, but gradually shifts its focus between the three, with our sympathies shifting somewhat in the process. Rach begins seeming like a relative outsider in the school years, but ends up drifting into a life of local normality, remaining in the area as a school teacher, marrying a dubious teenage dropout and (allegedly) voting for Brexit. Kel is the quieter of the bunch in school years, but ends up studying in the US, detached from her home and finding herself struggling with relationships and a fatigue based syndrome that seems to be ME. Shaz starts out as the cockiest of the bunch, popular with the lads and developing a reputation for herself in the process. In a trajectory that seems somewhat fated throughout, she ends up skipping college and struggling through a succession of dead-end jobs in Donny. Her relationship with the others is burdened in later years by a secret that she feels she cannot tell. But she ends up feeling like the heart of the novel, and increasingly becomes the central figure in the later part of the novel. I wondered at first whether the dialect might prove a little off-putting to some readers, especially those who are unfamiliar with the almost street-by-street nuances in the pronunciation of certain words in South Yorkshire and the surrounding areas. Even as someone who grew up speaking a version of this dialect (now sadly lost, to my eternal regret) it initially took a bit of getting used to. But once you’re in, it lends the whole thing a real momentum and energy. It’s also true to life, clearly written by a local and not by someone who thinks Yorkshire dialect consists entirely of adding 't’ in front of every second word. And there’s considerable fun to be had with it for those attuned to the micro-variations in usage - whether you’re right, reyt or reet says rather a lot about your background!

At times it feels claustrophobically focused on Doncaster (in a good way), and in those teenage years the characters see a trip to the next town as something akin to a lunar voyage. But their horizons slowly broaden, notably Kel’s, although it’s with some irony that her big departure to the US ends in her being mostly housebound due to her illness. I enjoyed this section though, as it suddenly felt like we were thrown into the world of an entirely different novel, making the whole so much richer-feeling as a result. But I also loved the narrowness of focus in much of the rest of the book. I’m not truly attuned to the detail of Donny, but some of the bars and clubs were familiar, as of course is the good old Donny Dome; and more broadly it felt like the world pictured was a very familiar one from my own youth (helped along by the fact that the characters are just a few years younger than me). It is, quite correctly, a book riddled with the stench of Bacardi Breezers and various other favourite sticky alcopop concoctions of the era.

I found a lot to enjoy in this one overall. It’s an incredibly rich book: thematically, aside from its central focus on friendship, it touches on sex, sexuality, class, drugs, friendship, illness, eating disorders, abuse, post-industrial decline, and myriad other topics. It does this with a lightness of touch, as well as an emotional warmth that means it’s never an overly grim read, in spite of that foreboding subject list. Its characters are memorable and relatable, and each develop more layers as the book develops. Its depictions of teenage drama of all stripes is constantly engaging: even as it covers ground we’ve often seen in coming of age novels, it does so with a fresh energy.

Another really strong debut that I’m very happy to have stumbled across. I hope this gets the attention it deserves next year. (9/10)

The debut of this author was quite an explosion, showcasing a style that felt refreshingly original, particularly due to its use of a Yorkshire dialect. While this choice presented some challenges, I found it to be an intriguing and rewarding reading experience. I thoroughly enjoyed following the journey of three friends as their story unfolded. Although there were moments when the shifts in the timeline and points of view felt a bit abrupt, these instances did not detract from my overall enjoyment of the book. Its a solid 5 stars for Me since I was thinking about this book all the time and really enjoy It.

I fell in love with this book almost immediately. At first I found the Yorkshire dialect a bit daunting but really quickly picked it up and felt it added so much character to the story. The characters were so well developed and I loved each of them for their strengths and their flaws. This felt such an honest depiction of the complexities of female friendships throughout the years. I was so surprised to read that this was a debut novel as it was just perfect. Really look forward to reading more from this author.

As a Yorkshire girl born & bred this hit real close to home actually. Whilst I didn't have this exact experience growing up I do know a lot of people that did and the way the author describes the events even got me reminiscing on everything I did as a teenager. It's kind of crazy this is her first ever book honestly.

The dialect I can imagine might be a bit difficult for people not from Yorkshire but I found it incredibly easy to get on with and I think had it been written out of dialect it wouldn't have hit so emotionally for me. I really did have an emotional reaction to the events and the characters and the vibe of the entire thing.

So cool to read about Yorkshire!!

Thank you to Colwill Brown and NetGalley for my ARC!

I am absolutely gobsmacked that this is a debut. This book has all the confidence (and use of dialect) as Irvine Welsh’s Trainspotting, combined with a genuine representation of the weight and expectation placed on women in the 90s, especially those from a northern working-class background.

My fiancé was raised near Lakeside in Doncaster, and this is the first ARC that he was actively asking me for updates on and getting excited hearing even a slight representation of his childhood. He’s actively excited to pick it up and read it when it releases. Absolutely loved it!

What an immense debut title and such a feat to write it all in a Yorkshire dialect. I did get a little confused every now and again with the sharp change in scene/time/POV but it all worked towards the overall novel.

I was lucky enough to receive an ARC through NetGalley for this book.

This book captures growing up in a small northern town in the 90s/00s so well. I am a couple of years younger than the girls but their experiences were so relatable and it made me feel such nostalgia. It’s a brutal look at growing up and growing apart from your friends, the complex and weird friendships you have in your teens, body image, self esteem, those early teen relationships. I really enjoyed it. The writing style, especially the fact it’s written in a Doncaster dialect made me slow down and really think about what was written which I liked as I normally race through books.

A future coming of age classic? I think so, yeah.

‘We Pretty Pieces of Flesh’ follows three friends, Shaz, Rach and Kel, at different points throughout their lives from their pre-teen years to their early thirties. We see them form their trio for the first time, and follow through the eyes of each in turn as they grapple with adolescent jealousies, queerness, eating disorders, sexual assault and drifting apart. The novel explores class and living in poverty in post-Brexit England through incredibly powerful and moving prose, while simultaneously being a genuinely funny and relatable story of growing up. It’s perfectly balanced, and a really brilliant debut novel.

I can see this being a massive hit and when it’s released in February and completely deservedly so.

I really struggled with this one! I’ve read accent and dialect focused books before, and I’m not far from speaking the same Yorkshire/Midlands dialect as these girls, but the writing was so hard to get into. I had to really think and focus on every single word and what it meant, plus the plot itself moved very slowly. I did enjoy the characters and their development as they grew and their friendship changed, I just wish the writing was easier to digest.