This is a beautifully crafted and emotional read from the author. It depicts the story of Gerard, a 12 year old boy who ends in care along with his younger siblings. It is very believable, dealing with poverty and addiction, and so well written that you believe the characterisation. The story is very sad but I was completely immersed in the lives of the characters and the Glasgow setting and dialect just brought it all to life. Heartbreaking, emotional and poignant but I highly recommended this totally believable read. Thanks to Net Galley for my ARC.

NO SPOILERS

I have not read Karen Campbell before but the publisher’s description interested me.

This Bright Life is written in the third person, present tense, a tense I feel always puts the reader in the moment, making us part of everything. I liked that. Also, Campbell’s writing is such that Gerard’s thoughts and inner feelings are made known to us and this is a wonderful skill. But, but but…whilst I did like the story very much, for me the plot was predictable and all outcomes inevitable.

The chapters about Gerard and those involved with him I liked. The chapters about Claire and Margaret I didn’t like; it was as if they were written by someone else. I felt the plot here was poor and the characters cliched, and I didn’t care what happened to any of them! The book didn’t need these chapters and either I missed something or they added nothing.

All that said, it is a good story, mostly well written and I know many of you will love it.



Thank you to NetGalley and Canongate Books for the Advanced Review Copy of the book, which I have voluntarily reviewed.

This Bright Life is beautifully written, and Gerard is such a vivid, heartbreaking character that I felt completely drawn into his world. Karen Campbell does an amazing job of making his voice feel real—you can really hear him and feel what he's going through.

That said, as much as I appreciated the writing, I just couldn’t finish this book. It’s one of those stories that’s so heavy and sad that I had to put it down. It promises an uplifting ending, but I didn’t get that far. Gerard’s life is tough, and when he makes that one bad decision that changes everything, it’s devastating to watch the fallout.

The book really shines a light on how easy it is for kids to slip through the cracks, even when there are adults around who are supposed to help. It’s so well done that it almost felt too real at times. I’m sure the hopeful ending is worth it for those who can push through, but for me, the sadness overwhelmed everything else.

4.5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

This is a well written, occasionally hopeful but very sad book. My heart went out to little Gerard for what he was going through and how was did everything to protect his mum and siblings.

I’m glad there were moments of hope and a happy ending because everyone involved really deserved that.

Adored the writing and was gripped on the story from the very beginning.

A fabulous read. Gerard s twelve and has been in trouble before but he is only trying to take care of his younger siblings as his mum is not capable,but one day he steals a purse from an old lady and it ends badly for all of them,The story is brilliantly written with characters that all have flaws but are drawn together as they try to find happiness and forgiveness.and hopefully Gérard can sort his life out with the help of his foster parents as well as learning about his family's troubled past. It's a heartbreaking read at times but also full of humour and charm I really enjoyed it

This Bright Life by Karen Campbell is a powerful and moving story that combines heartbreak with moments of hope and humanity. It focuses on Gerard, a twelve-year-old boy navigating the complexities of his challenging life in Glasgow. Gerard is an energetic, bright kid, but the struggles he faces at home weigh heavily on him. Despite his intelligence and the joy he finds in activities like cycling and hanging out with his gang, trouble seems to follow him, and he carries the heavy burden of keeping his difficult home life hidden.

When Gerard makes a life-changing decision on one fateful April morning, his world is suddenly upended. Faced with unfamiliar adults, new environments, and the real possibility of being separated from his siblings, Gerard is thrown into a chaotic new reality. The book takes the reader through his emotional and confusing journey, as he grapples with the consequences of his actions and the loss of stability in his life.

The writing is both raw and poignant, capturing the realism of Gerard's situation with empathy and understanding. The characters, particularly Gerard, are well-developed, and their struggles are depicted in a way that is relatable and deeply affecting. Although the story can be difficult and, at times, depressing, it never loses sight of the potential for second chances and the compassion of those around him. The narrative explores the messy, often painful lives that many children face and emphasizes the importance of support, understanding, and the collective effort required to help a child rebuild.

Ultimately, This Bright Life offers a narrative that is both heartbreaking and filled with hope, highlighting the resilience of young people in the face of adversity. It’s a story that leaves a lasting impact, showcasing the strength required to overcome difficult circumstances and the importance of never losing sight of the possibility of a brighter future. The book's powerful blend of raw emotion and hope makes it a compelling read, one that stays with you long after you finish it.

Read more at The Secret Book Review.

'This Bright Life' is 12 year old Gerard's story. It's sad, harrowing and truthful. Set in the here and now in Glasgow it's well written with, in some cases too sadly, true to life characters and peppered with honest down to earth Glaswegian and Scottish dialect. It deals with the aftermath of Gerard's incident and how it affects those involved. Extremely moving but also giving hope it's a book that will keep you thinking long after the last page. Thank you to the publisher, netgalley and author for allowing me to read an arc of this gem of a book. Well worth 5 stars!

Gerald shouldn't have to deal with what he does- raising his siblings when his mum is "incapacitated", dealing with bullies, extreme poverty and constant fear and anxiety. The bad decision he makes threads through the story as he tries to come to terms with being separated from his family and dealing with the emotional consequences he faces.
There is a lot of dialect in the book, set as it is in Glasgow, but this adds to the story and brings the characters and the surroundings to life and on the most part is easy to decipher for those unfamiliar with some of the terminology!
A thought provoking read that makes you shudder when you know the same situations exist the world over right now..

You know those books that invite you in with open arms and give you a neat hug from page one? This is not one of them. With this one you’ll have to fight your way in past an angular, spiky anteroom with grumpy bouncers. But then, it rewards you with insights from the opposite ends of life: a disillusioned child with more rubbish on his plate than anyone should have at his age and an elderly woman who struggles with her failing physical power and old age invisibility. When those two remote worlds collide with all sorts of consequences - some far-reaching beyond either’s imagination, that’s when it gets interesting.
Do not dismiss it as yet another attempt to best “Shuggie Bain”. Yes, this is about the horrid underbelly of Glasgow, but this barrage of feelings that the boy Gerard is paralysed by, that is expertly portrayed here.

Twelve year old Gerard comes home one day after staying out with his 'gang' to find his mother is near comatose with drugs and alcohol, and his younger brother and sister and hungry. His baby sister needs a nappy change and has a sore red bottom. There is no money in the meter so he can't make them any tea and he needs to get cream for his sister's skin.
So Gerard makes a decision that will change the course of his life.
As Gerard navigates the fall out from his actions we see through his eyes the despair and frustration with a system which doesn't understand him and believes it is doing the best it can for him.
The story is set in the poor end of Glasgow and told with a strong dialect. The reader is immediately pulled in an environment where the inhabitants don't always expect much from life. But Gerard is bright, despite being dyslexic and either ADHD or autistic. He is emotional but strong and determined to do right by his family and his voice runs loud and clear through the novel.
Without giving too much away there is another major character, almost the opposite of Gerard in all respects who also has a strong voice and sad background.
I loved the characters and the voice of this book and it is a tale that will stay with me for a long time.
With thanks to Netgalley and Canongate Books for an arc copy in return for an honest review.

This Bright Life focuses on Gerard's story with the additional of Margaret and Claire's point of view. I enjoyed reading Gerard's story, it was really moving and the idea of how a 12 years old boy may think and see the world he's growing up but also about his family situation.

The subject matter of this wonderful novel is not one which you would expect to be a gripping page-turner but I read it greedily. So many of us are quick to condemn youngsters who fall foul of the law, especially when their actions impact on the elderly. Ms Campbell deserves the highest praise for the way she has tackled this subject in her latest novel. It is so beautifully written that even when I wasn't reading it, I was thinking of her characters, particularly Gerard.
Ms Campbell put me inside the head of this young person and made me feel the despair, frustration and horrors of what he was enduring in a way that reading clinical reports and news articles cannot.. The characters who intersect his life as a result of a desperate act add such richness to the story. Their own relationship challenges are juxtaposed against young Gerard's. It's about families, and belonging.
The darkness of the story is peppered with humour and warmth whilst managing to examine some of society's tough realities , I was uplifted and moved by 'This Bright Life'. It is definitely a book I will not forget and highly recommend it.

I am familiar with the workings of the Children's Hearings System in Scotland.. I believe this exceptional book should be compulsory reading for all those who work within the care and justice system for young people.

The voice of the main character, 12-year-old Gerard, is so engaging and his story is both heartbreaking and hopeful. It felt like a privilege to be allowed this insight into a childhood so different from my own, and my empathy has grown enormously. One of her metaphors, about fear hardening into anger like a skeleton forming beneath the skin, resonated deeply and will stay with me.

I wasn't quite so taken with the two other (adult) points of view. The stories' interrelationships didn't entirely draw me in.

Dyslexic and on the autism spectrum twelve-year-old Gerard is bright for his age. He has to be to take care of his younger brother and baby sister while, most of the time, his mother lies comatose in bed with the effects of drugs and alcohol. There is no money, but he refuses to let his siblings go hungry. At least he tries to — until, one day — when he acts out of desperation and things go horribly wrong. Except that what happens next bizarrely (but believably) becomes the children’s redemption.

The author introduces her characters one by one. At first they appear to be a fairly disparate bunch, but their connectedness slowly becomes clear as their personal stories, variously, of poverty, bereavement, loneliness, regret and familial estrangement unfold. The sensitive depiction of each individual, their situation and outlook on the world is admirable without being at all cheesy or clichéd. Their flaws lends the narrative a humanity which many contemporary novels lack.

With its Glaswegian setting the novel has vibes of Douglas Stuart's Shuggie Bain (2020), and How to Build a Boat, by Elaine Feeney (2023), because of its astutely depicted neurodivergent protagonist — at least it does for this reader. Pulling at the heartstrings, this is a pearl in fictive storytelling. A highly accomplished novel.

Many thanks to the publishers and to Netgalley for the ARC.

A very sad but interesting amazing story about a young lad Gerald trying to keep his siblings together initially.
Gerald Claire and Margaret come together in a very surprising way.Three very different generations but are brought together after a bad accident that Gerald never wished to happen.
This is a story of how people can be good and help when circumstances dictate the need and portrays how sad life can be.
I loved this story and hope the ending gives hope for a follow on novel maybe
Thanks to the author and Net Galley for enabling me to read this novel before published.

This is the story of Gerard a twelve year old boy living in Glasgow.
His mother takes drugs and he is left to look after his younger brother and his baby sister and provide for them.
This situation eventually leads to the children being taken into care.
This was a moving and harrowing story.
Thank you to NetGalley and Canongate Books for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

How my heart ached for ten year old Gerard who seems to carry the weight of the world on his small shoulders. For him, son of a drug addict Mum and elder brother of Anthony and the bairn Miranda growing up in the tenements of Glasgow is tough. When he comes home to a cold house to find his Mum comatose, Miranda crying with red raw nappy rash and both siblings hungry with no baby formula or food in the house he knows he must do something for the bairns and avoid any intervention by the authorities. Gerard or Jez, the name he is given by a good friend later in the book, will do anything it takes to keep his family together because even a bad Mum is better than no Mum at all when your Dad is no longer alive and is only a distant memory.
As Jez rushes out onto the Glasgow streets to help his siblings, the electricity top up card in his pocket
he knows that he just has to get money from somewhere. Margaret, an elderly widow is out to get her daily shop at the greengrocers bent over the fruit display, her purse sticking out of her bag and in that split second Jez makes the decision to rush up and take the purse. As Margaret turns Jez slams into her and she goes flying to the ground. Knowing what a bad decision he has made Jez just keeps on running. Claire, a newly divorced solicitor who is just moving into the area that day sees everything that happens. When she later sees Jez in the street leading to her new home she calls the police and Jez is taken to the police station where all that he dreaded becomes a reality.
As Jez kicks against authority and yearns to be a family again with his Mum and siblings his story is told from the point of view of a very scared ten year old who is wary of the world and untrusting of those trying to help him.
Margaret and Claire are well developed characters on the periphery of Jez’s story and in many ways their lives keep intersecting in the book. I have only ever passed through Glasgow but the detailed description of the city brought it alive. The author also uses a good deal of local dialect which gives great atmosphere to the book even though it may have been a little tricky for me to decipher at times.
This is the first book I have read by this author and having discovered her from reading this ARC I am eager to read more of her other books.

This Bright Life
With a drug addicted useless mother 12 year old Gerard (a name he detests) is desperately looking after his young brother and baby sister keeping them fed and cared for. When there is no money for food and his baby sisters buttocks are red raw he realises he must somehow find some money terrified that they may be taken into care and the family separated from each other.
A single act suddenly has terrible ramifications for Gerard leaving him haunted by what serious repercussions for his actions have caused. So starts the journey for Gerard of being placed with foster parents with his brother and sister in a separate home.
Social services have to decide what happens to Gerard and his family leaving him confused and distressed. Heartbreaking and emotional this is a hard hitting tale of events that unfortunately are only too prevalent in this country.
This is a story of hope, and how people come together to help those that need a helping hand to help make life safe and secure. With a cast of characters that have much depth and with humour and brilliant Scottish banter the words jump off the page into your heart.
The conclusion was particularly heartwarming but not at all final, Gerard and his family have a steep learning curve to living a normal life after such a hard start, but you feel very much but they’ll get there particularly with the love and support given.
My thanks to net galley and publisher for the opportunity to review this book honestly.

A real gem, a difficult, distressing tale told with real compassion and humour. Wee Gerard has the weight of the world on his shoulders and the ones that should have been looking after him and protecting him are either off their heads or gone. No wonder things go very wrong and he and his siblings are taken into care. Gerard’s voice is heard loud and clear and there are other stories running parallel but ultimately it’s his story and he is brave and bright and funny and strong.

Beautifully written and with genuine compassion, this was a sad, yet compelling story. The author makes us care about the characters, especially Gerard, so we just want to find out what happened to him, to make sure he ended up OK. I'm sure a lot of that was real, yet we all know that it doesn't always work out. Also good to see both sides of the story.