Glasgow Boys: 'Tenderness itself, a song to love and friendship.' Andrew O'Hagan

Set in modern day Glasgow, this powerful novel follows the lives of Finlay (18) and Banjo (17) as they both try to negotiate their ways through life, a life where something as simple as a hug is strange and alien act. Banjo is trying to stay out of trouble long enough (and keep his temper) to get through High School with the care of a new set of foster parents and hold down a job, while Finlay, quiet and insecure, is just out of the care system and into university, studying nursing, which at times he feels ill-equipped to deal with. Both share a past in care and, at one time, were as close as brothers. But that was three years ago and they are now estranged yet still living with the shadows of their past. However, dealing with the past may be the one thing that will allow them keep the people they love. Can either of them make the first call to forgive?

I found Glasgow Boys an incredible novel - powerful, emotional and a joy to read. From the start I really got drawn into the lives of Finlay and Banjo, two very different people from different backgrounds yet also very similar - both struggling with any form of intimacy and expression with other people. I felt this really hit home when Findlay gets a hug from fellow student Akash, something he can't remember having before: "Akash feels like sunlight heating him from the inside. Finlay's arms come up and return the embrace. It's such a beautiful thing to hold somebody." 

Emotion and expression are at the heart of the book. Being unable to express themselves leads both boys to express themselves (or not) in different negative ways - Banjo through violence and Finlay through avoiding people, especially when pressured. Readers may relate to these situation, and perhaps begin to find ways to start dealing with this.

Focusing on boys in the care system is something unusual to find in novels and McDonald has handled this with diligence and honesty. With the story being told from both Finlay and Banjo's points of view, you really build up a picture of what these guys are like. I laughed with them, I cried with them and wanted everything to work out for them. The author also uses language to show their differences, with Banjo talking in Glaswegian Scots (there's a glossary at the back to help) and Finlay just English, reflecting their different pasts. There are flash backs to three years ago, carefully placed throughout the book, giving you an insight into what happened. Learning about their time in the care home together, where they formed an incredibly intense friendship, is so well written and emotional. I found the whole pace of the book brilliant and just wanted to keep reading.

Watching Finlay and Banjo negotiate their feelings, towards their respective crushes Akash and Alena, is often moving; sometimes awkward, sometimes painful. For young people starved of love and affection, it's a big step for them and the results are not guaranteed. Love is also at the heart of this story especially that between Finlay and Banjo. While not romantic love it's powerful and a love that is almost too much for them at times. It is also touching to see Banjo realise how much he loves Alena's family - a family love he has never really known, and for Finlay to realise "My family is who I allow it to be".

Glasgow Boys is a very personal novel for the author who has called upon her own experiences and research to make this novel what it is - her working class Scottish background, working for the NHS, dependency on pain killers and her own plans to foster. That realness I feel comes through in the writing.

This novel would be a great one to use in secondary school setting because of the issues raised in it. This powerful, sometimes gritty and ultimately uplifting novel is one that needs to be read by teenagers and adults alike. I cannot recommend this highly enough.

352 pages / Reviewed by Stephen Leitch, school librarian

Suggested Reading Age 14+