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reads_eats_explores's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
One cold November night, teenagers Will and Rosie meet while sitting around a bonfire, surrounded by their school friends, including Rosie’s twin brother and Will’s good friend, Josh.
This is a story as old as time – the overprivileged, shy, straight-A girl who falls for the achingly handsome, wrong-sides-of-the-track bad boy.
But maybe as we follow Will and Rosie on their ‘will they/won’t they’ journey, things will not be quite as they seem.
Talking at Night begins in a small Norfolk town in the 1990s and is split into three parts entitled ‘before’, ‘after’, and ‘long after’, and as the book unravels, we learn about the shared traumas that give reason behind these headings.
The book overall felt very YA in narrative style, and I suppose 20-year-old me would lap this up; 40-year-old me wanted a grittier read that I could really get my teeth into.
Saying that, I did enjoy the read and found it nostalgia inducing and highly immersive (a book to binge in one or two long lazy sittings) once I got over my initial irritation with Rosie, much preferring Wills's point of view and backstory. I'll certainly read more from this author in future; this is undoubtedly a solid debut. 3.5⭐
Many thanks to the author and publisher for this advance copy. As always, this is an honest review.
Content Warnings
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Outing, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism