This book is beautiful and heartbreaking and perfect. The characters are brilliantly written and are so real and I loved getting to know them.

Gerard has a difficult life. He is a little boy forced to be the grown-up and care for his younger siblings, "the weans," Anthony and Miranda, as their mother is frequently unable. He puts up with her abuse and apathy, with very little in the way of love or care. He knows what he is missing out on and desperately tries to provide this for his siblings and they rely on him in the way that they should be, but aren't, able to rely on their mother.

One day, out of desperation and fear for Anthony and Miranda, Gerard does something that he immediately regrets and much of this book follows Gerard as he tries to deal with the consequences. We also hear the story from other parties affected by this incident and see how Gerard's actions have impacted on Margaret, who is the victim (not that she'd be happy to be called one) of Gerard's desperate actions.

This book is brilliant. It's one that will stay with me and I know I will be thinking about the characters for a long while to come.

If you liked Not Thomas by Sara Gethin or My Name is Leon by Kit De Waal, give this a go.

Oh my goodness what a gorgeous book .

I really loved this book which is tender and heartbreaking and tells the story of little Gerald who is growing up in far from ideal situations in modern Glasgow His mother suffers from addiction problems and struggles to look after him and his younger brother and baby sister. One day his brother is hungry and there’s no food in the house so at Gerald goes out to try and steal something for them to eat,
Without meaning to he ends up injuring an old lady whose own isolation and loneliness we learn about gradually during the novel. Police and social services are involved and Gerald finds his circumstances falsely changed.
I loved the way we gradually got to know more about all the individuals involved in the story and how they interacted with each other as the novel unfolded


The first chapter has grabbed me immediately. It’s giving me shaggy Bain vibes I was very quickly invested in discovering what happens to Gerald
There are some big topics covered here but the author does this with poise and sensitivity completely avoiding the feeling that you’re being lectured to that comes with some novels when the subject matter is so difficult. This is by no means a “misery memoir” the book ultimately has an optimistic and uplifting tone I was left feeling glad that I’d read it and hopeful and believing in the strength of peoples desire to help
The author has a beautiful flowing writing style whenever I’m reading a beautiful novel I like this I find myself stopping and savouring some of the sentences my like poetry. For example, I Love this sentence “panic is weird it’s slow and fast you could suffocate in panic. “ isn’t that just a perfect description of the experience
I loved the language this sentence for example presumably Glasgow words more familiar to Scottish readers but they really make the writing appealing and real “what a clamjamfrey of memories have been shoogled up “
There are some tense emotional fractions for example without giving any spoilers the argument scene left me feeling quite nauseous with horror, imagining what I’d feel like if it happened to me
I would strongly recommend this novel for those who like a primarily character lead Story if you enjoyed shaggy Bain by Douglas Stuart and I’m sure you love this book too
I can see this book being very popular. I hope that other readers love it as much as I do it made the list of my top five reads for 2024
I read an early copy of the novel on NetGalley UK in return for an honest review. The book is published in the UK on the 27th of March 2025 by Cannon Gate books.
This review will appear on StoryGraph, Goodreads, and my book blog bionicSarahSbooks.wordpress.com after publication it will also appear on Amazon UK

This was mine and Kaths November buddy read. Woop we found one we loved! So I had a feeling we’d enjoy this as we both are big fans of Douglas Stuatt, and this gave off proper Shuggie and Mungo vibes, without being as sad I thought.

I loved the main character of Gerard. My heart broke for him so much throughout the story. Poor kid, brought up by a woman who I felt didn’t give two hoots about him, but the way he still loves her is just so true of a child, unconditional. He adores his siblings, and I loved the scenes between him and his little brother, the love between them is just too much and my heart was constantly hurting for them.

I really liked Margaret, I felt awful for her with the incident that happens, but I loved how everyone rallied around her to help, even if she didn’t want it sometimes. And another character Ali, a young kid Gerard meets through a gardening programme, he was a good character and I really liked him.

Such a good story, and I gave it a huge 5 stars.

12 year old Gerald makes a terrible mistake for all the right reasons and his world consequently implodes.

This wonderful book captures the voice of a 12 year old perfectly, Gerald is a wee boy who like most 12 year old thinks he's grown up already . Gerald does have more reasons than most to feel adult at such a young age and Campbell describes his situation perfectly and with grace. Anyone who grew up in Central Scotland will recognise Gerald as a classic wee Sh*te, but of course there is more too his situation than that.

I loved that reading was a Central theme in the book , how reading becomes an escape but could also open up new worlds to you.

I also loved the unlikely friendship between Claire and Margaret- and how that evolved , I did feel like both stories needed fleshed out a bit more although I do hope this means we'll hear a bit more from both in another book.

4.5!! Having read Paper Cup I knew This Bright Life was likely to be bleak at points but wow, the first few chapters had me gripped. Karen’s ability here to make you care for Gerard and his family mere moments into the book is amazing.

Part of the story is told from the viewpoint of Gerard who is only a child himself, but due to his Mum’s dependency on drugs he is often the sole provider for his young brother Anthony and baby sister Miranda. When Miranda needs nappy cream for a rash and there’s no leccy Gerard is forced to take actions into his own hands, which inevitably ends in disaster.

The other parts are told from Margaret/Claires POV, who came into contact with Gerard during this disaster.

Once again the use of Scottish dialect added so much to the story for me. It makes the characters feel real, it adds humour in dark places and it helped the book to flow. Karen builds intensity perfectly, you can feel the anger within Gerard and understand why he feels the way he does. His love for his Mum broke my heart, it’s hard to see how someone can be so selfish, but also understanding how addiction can change a person. I wanted to take him away from all the bad things he had experienced. There’s definitely some hard and heartbreaking moments within the book but I was so pleased by the ending.

I really love Karen Campbell’s writing, and if you like complicated family relationships which explore dark topics I’d say this is definitely a book for you.

This bright life has echoes of Booker Prize winner Shuggie Bain as it deals with similar issues of deprivation in Glasgow. But Karen Campbell's book follows the story of more than one character, Gerard a 12 year old responsible for looking after his younger brother and baby sister; Margaret, the woman whose life is changed forever when a desperate Gerard snatches her purse and Claire the witness to Gerard and Margaret's encounter. I really liked how these three lives were woven together throughout this book. One of my favourite characters was Ali a neer-do-well who Gerard gets to know through a geurilla gardening club. I really enjoyed this book and thoroughly recommend it.

This book reminded me a bit of Shuggy Bain, the hopelessness of the circumstances the young boy in both of them endured.
Gerard is 12 years old, his mother is a drug addiction and Gerard finds himself trying to care for his young siblings as best he can. Arriving home one day to find his mother passed out, his baby sister sitting in her filthy nappy and his 7 year old brother telling him he’s starving, starts the beginning of a tale of such despair.
Gerard can’t make a meal as the power is off. He takes the electric card and sets off to town with the idea of stealing some money to by cream for his sisters nappy rash and to top up the electric card.
He’s sees his opportunity when he spots an elderly lady (Margaret) shopping with her handbag open and purse on top. In his haste to grab the purse he accidentally pushes Margaret over and she is injured. Enter Claire, a passerby who witnesses what happened and ends up savings Margaret’s life as she is choking on her false teeth.
The story is told from these 3 main characters, it’s a grim tale as all 3 have sorry stories to tell and hard sad lives.
Having said that, it’s a great read. I loved it.

#NetGalley #ThisBrightLife

It’s tough being 11. It’s especially tough when your Mum is a junkie and you have to care for your wee brother and baby sister. Gerard is a burning ball of anger, confusion, regret and love - until his world turns upside down and his life gets even more complicated. Karen Campbell never fails to hit the right note and she gives us an authentic Glaswegian story in This Bright Life. She deals deftly with the feelings and concerns of both old and young characters and writes convincingly of every day life, of hope and love and a brighter future. I loved this book.

This is my first book by author Karen Campbell. This Bright Life is the story of Gerard, a 12-year-old boy with the world on his shoulders. His mother is an addict and he is left to look after his younger brother and baby sister. When he sees his baby sister has a terrible rash and that the electricity needs topping up he devises a plan to steal a wallet so he can buy diaper cream and add money to the electric card. What starts out as a simple purse snatching turns into Gerard getting caught after the lady he steals from is seriously hurt. Her name is Margaret and she is an elderly lady who is also a widow.

What follows is a story of Gerard and his siblings finally getting the help they need and Margaret opening the door to the outside world for the first time since her husband died. And then we have Claire, who is the one who helped Margaret when she fell, she is also the one who turned Gerard into the police and she too has a whole new world open up to her in ways she couldn’t possibly have imagined after her divorce.

This was a fabulously written story that was so engaging I couldn’t put it down, it was very realistically raw and true to life. The characters were well drawn and the story itself was poignant and compassionate. It was a very difficult read that was at times depressing but for some reason, I just couldn’t stop reading. I felt so bad for Gerard and his brother and sister but in the end, it left me feeling hopeful. I enjoyed it so much that I can’t wait to read the other book I have by this author Paper Cup and that’s the best compliment I can give an author I’ve read for the first time. All. The. Stars.

I was super excited to receive an early copy of The Bright Life as a huge fan of Karen Campbell's previous book Paper Cup. Gerard is a wee boy in P7 whose mother has addiction issues. Gerard takes on the responsibility for his younger siblings and in a desperate attempt to get some money to pay for essentials, he brings himself to the attention of the police. Gerard and his siblings are placed in foster care and the narrative switches between Gerard and the woman who was affected by his actions. A third character in the book is the area of Dennistoun which will be a real treat to those who know the East End of Glasgow. This book has been written with such care and I absolutely adored it.

This book is amazing. Beautifully written, emotional, real. A great reminder to never judge as you don't know what someone is going through. I loved Gerard, loved his insight. Thought it wrapped up neatly at the end. Just really enjoyable and, again, stunning writing style.

Well this was a surprise! A story with a heart set in Glasgow. Yes it deals with poverty, drugs and violence but not in a
‘Shuggie Bain’ way. Told from a troubled young boy’s viewpoint, the story starts when he is left alone to look after his younger siblings. He leaves his home to steal money to buy cream for his baby sister’s nappy rash. And that’s when life takes an unexpected turn. We are then drawn into the world of social workers, Children’s Hearings and redemption. The characters are well drawn, the whole scenario is believable. Lots of background stories feed into the main narrative. I loved the proper use of lots of Scottish words - not thrown in just for the fun of it but the words that those characters would have used. I look forward to reading more from this author.

I hoped for something good because I had previously read books by this author. A beautifully written story of a young boy who struggles with his life and makes a decision to change it. Lots of emotional scenes and a heart breaking storyline.
Thanks to Netgalley for an advanced copy

This Bright Life tackles important and challenging topics and the writer uses an ideal tone for the tackling of them.
Gerard is a likeable character.
Prose and plot: 3
Characterisation: 3.5

This is a bleak story, but not without moments of hope. The writing is crisply beautiful, with fierce bursts of energy and emotion. The author, Karen Campbell, has the same knack as Ian McEwan for slowing down time in moments of disaster and danger. The scene where an elderly lady, Margaret, is attacked in the street, was brilliantly evoked. The dive into Margaret's backstory - one of bereavement and estrangement - was also vivid ("It suits Margaret to let her neighbours believe she has a nephew in Australia, not a son").

It's perhaps worth noting that the book description didn't quite reflect the novel - I had the impression it would be solely focused on the child, Gerard, and his perspective on events, but the adult female characters, Claire and Margaret, felt as important to the story.

Favourite line: "A sensation of release. Like the time Gerard had a broken arm and the doctor cut off his plaster. His healed arm had flown up, weightless with delight at being free."

Many thanks to Canongate and NetGalley for the advance copy.