Alex is bundled into the car in the middle of the night by Ma and taken on a road trip across the US. Like all 13-year-olds, Alex thinks of Ma as just that, a mother with no aspirations to be anything else. Along the way both Alex and the reader learn stories from Ma’s past, as she settles old scores and ties up loose ends. But even though Ma is literally and metaphorically driving the story this is Alex’s story, too, as they grow through the awkward early-teen years and learn more about themselves and their place in the world. Alex doesn’t identify as either male or female, and this is beautifully handled. Taylor’s impressive debut was shortlisted for last year’s Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year and Guardian First Book awards. Taylor is excellent on the scuzzy side of ordinary life, and her well-observed details of Ma and Alex’s lives give weight and pathos to what might otherwise feel chronically quirky. Brutal, darkly humorous and captivating.
