Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for this advanced reader's copy and the opportunity to read this early. Review has been posted on Waterstones and Amazon.

I am a big fan of Emma Jane Unsworth’s previous novels so was excited to receive an advance copy of Slags on NetGalley.

Told in a dual timeline, the story explores the relationship between two sisters. One side of the story is told from Sarah’s point of view recounting her teenage years, the other is in the present day as she and her sister go on a road trip in a campervan around Scotland,

I really enjoyed reading Slags and found it to be humours and moving, and I’m sure there are parts where most readers find themselves identifying with the characters. The structure of two narratives teases out events from the past and their long term effects on Sarah. Overall a great read.

Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read this book in return for an honest review. This book was so nostalgic for me as a teenager in the 90’s following Take That, drinking hooch and smoking menthol cigarettes. This story was written so accurately and really explores the minefields of teenagers growing up. The story looks at friendships and family relationships from 2 different time periods, teenagers and 40 plus adults. The friendship between Sarah and Nessa reminded me of my best friend at that age. A really enjoyable read that I would recommend.

After reading the description for this book I was desperate to read it! I was so excited when I got accepted for an early arc on Netgalley, thank you to the publisher.

The story follows sisters Sarah and Juliette as they take a camper van trip to celebrate Juliette’s fortieth birthday.

The story switches between timelines to Sarah’s last year in school to the current time on the trip. I loved the timeline of Sarah’s teenage years, it was full of nostalgia, with sad and happy moments along with the friends who you thought would always be around.

I was eager to know what happened to Sarah as a teenager and I flew through this in a couple of sittings.

I loved the brutal honesty from the author too. You do sometimes forget how difficult the teenage years were at times. I’ll definitely be reading more from this author.

Fabulous book, two sisters on a road trip through Scotland. Talking of their present day issues and remembering past explorations and their teenage years. Well written, playful, funny and an insight into growing up and coming of age, and middle age all combined

Wonderful book. Focuses in two sisters who could so easily be portrayed as caricatures but they are incredibly deftly painted. Moving, grim and, ultimately, hopeful,

A huge thanks to NetGalley for providing me with this ARC!

I’m an absolute sucker for a provocative title, and this book hooked me instantly. Equal parts nostalgic, hilarious, and thought-provoking, it delivers a relatable flashback to the teenage years of so many northern women. The author masterfully captures the chaos and charm of growing up, weaving a story that feels both deeply personal and universally recognizable.

I particularly loved the stream-of-consciousness narrative style—it brought an unpredictable energy to the story and kept the pacing so fast and engaging that it was nearly impossible to put down. With its sharp humour and raw honesty, this book is a vibrant celebration of youth, identity, and everything in between.

Raced along through this one, and now keen to explore Unsworth's other books. Loved the switching narratives, handled brilliantly - the first person/third person was a great signal for this. A great book about siblings, nostaglia and women.

A poignant, sad, enraging and funny look at relationships with friends, sisters, sex and bodies from teen years to middle age. I enjoyed following Sarah and Nessa’s road trip through Scotland and all its sisterly subtext, as well as the flashbacks to Sarah’s girlhood. The only thing I found slightly jarring was the switching from first to third person between some chapters.

Sisters Sarah and Juliette go on a road trip to Scotland for Juliette's birthday. Sarah is carrying a lot of guilt over incidents that happened in their teenage years, and wants to unburden herself to Juliette. The dialogue between the sisters is really funny, and some of the situations in the book made me laugh out loud. I found the end part a bit shocking and ir didn't really fit with the tone of the rest of the book.
Good writing. Recommended.

The relationship between Sarah and Juliette was complex and many layered - and the pain from years of misinterpretations and judgment was really well written. I wasn’t sure if I liked the characters a lot of the time, despite what they were saying being really relatable.
Overall enjoyed

Thanks you NetGalley for Slags by Emma Jane Unsworth. I was drawn to this book by the cover and the title. Unfortunately I couldn’t get in to it and I found it a bit confusing.

DNF @ around 20%

I couldn't connect or relate to the story but i do think it was well written and it will appeal to others. Just wasn't my cup of tea.

Singleton, workaholic, Londoner, Sarah has hired a retro Hymer motorhome and has headed to her home town of Manchester to pick up her younger married with two kids, sister, Juliette who is a few years younger and about to turn 40. The birthday road trip follows the sisters around the Scottish Highlands. Sarah has some deep, dark secrets and hang ups and Juliette surprises her with some of her own. The narrative follows the sisters in the present day and with alternate chapters that flashback to Sarah's GCSE year when she plans to run off with her English teacher and hangs out with her tough friend Nessa and gets up to "no good." Men, boys, sex, alcohol and drugs are involved. I enjoyed this tale but some scenes were a bit strange and the pacing flagged a bit at times. There was a really badly written sex scene with an older man. It was really sad in parts. Overall, I liked it and would certainly read some more books by this author.

Sarah and her sister Juliette are adult women who have escaped to Scotland for a weekend without Juliette's children. The narrative flips and back and forth to when they were teenagers and crushing on teachers and other unsuitable boys. Juliette seems settled with her marriage but it's not quite as it seems whereas Sarah acts as carefree about sex as she did as a teen. This is a fairly quick and reasonably enjoyable read.

The author brought me back to the minefield that was my teenage years and the uncertainty of what was coming next, it’s a combination of nostalgia, sad and happy moments that made me smile and be glad those years are long gone. It’s my first time reading anything by this author and I especially liked the brutal honesty of it as we tend to look back at the teenage years with rose covered glasses forgetting all the angst and drama that went hand in hand trying to impress all the wrong people. Definitely a five star read.

After reading the preface for this book I was really looking forward to it. Pity it fell short in quite a few ways. Yes it took you back to school days and the crushes that we all went through, not necessary with teachers or people in authority but Joe Public themselves.

School friends who you thought would be friends for life, but then as you grow you find you have little in common.

The trip in the motorhome for the two sisters were really quite funny in places, and really down to earth.

Just felt a little confused in places as to which time period was being written about.

I loved Emma Jane Unsworth’s two previous novels and “Slags” did not disappoint. I enjoyed the relationship between the two sisters. I also loved the nineties nostalgia of the flashback diary entries. The novel kept me guessing the whole way through about what had really happened to Sarah as a teenager.
I’ll definitely buy this on release as I want my own copy.

3.5 ⭐

There's something about Unsworth that leaves me feeling nostalgic.
In this instance for the sibling relationship, the best friend at school.
Things aren't always peachy here, but at times she nails a moment, or a feeling and I'm right there with her.
A book that made me smile a lot.
At the good, and the bad.

as soon as I seen this book I KNEW I needed to read it, this book felt nostalgic, a breathe of fresh air. the humorous qualities throughout the book with the two sisters as they navigate their road trip fuelled with alcohol and memories, the first chapter drew me in and made me laugh out loud. the book definitely reminded me of old nostalgic tv shows and films.

THIS BOOK IS AMAZING