Sad Girl Hours

By Author / Illustrator

Anna Zoe Quirke

Genre

Mental Health & Wellbeing

Age range(s)

14+

Publisher

Little Tiger Press

ISBN

9781788956949

Format

Paperback / softback

Published

04-09-2025

Synopsis

Saffron struggles with seasonal affective disorder (SAD) and is dreading autumn and winter. She took time off in her first year at university and can't afford to do the same this year if she's going to achieve her dream of being an astrophysicist. She's managed to keep it a secret from her friends - fearing that they won't want to spend time with her if they see her at her lowest - but it's getting harder. Especially when she meets Nell.

Nell - wannabe poet, autistic and proud, and lover of autumn and winter - is determined to show Saffron everything these seasons have to offer. The two grow close, and when Saffron confides in Nell, romance blooms. But with Saffron struggling to keep a lid on her mental health and Nell figuring out her own sexual identity, things soon spiral out of control.

A dual-perspective sapphic rom-com perfect for fans of Casey McQuiston and Alice Oseman.

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Reviews

lorraine

Saffron and Nell meet at university through mutual friends and have an instant connection. Whilst Nell tries to understand if the attraction is more than friends, Saffron worries about the changing seasons and how to ensure her friends don't find out about her family and SAD diagnosis. With exams, tutorials and the pressures of finding out who you are, Nell and Saffron navigate uni life and their own relationship.

Sad Girl Hours by Anna Zoe Quirke is a book of the ages. Although it contains many heartbreaking understories of mental health and serious parental neglect, the main message is to be open and yourself, and there will be people who love you. Several of the characters have gone through massive change in their lives, and dealt with difficult scenarios, but they rely on their friends for support, and this helps them to cope with the demands of education and living away from home for the first time.

The book's characters are quirky and endearing, particularly Nell, who is unapologetically herself and trying to understand her sexuality. As an autistic person, she has learnt to deal with her mental health and there is a beautiful scene where Nell and her best friend finally open up to one another about who they believe they are and where their sexuality might lie.

A book of our times, Sad Girl Hours covers a whole spectrum of possible sexualities and relationships, something that is crucial to start conversations for young people. The book also covers serious parental mental abuse and neglect, something that could have been explored further, along with Saffron's SAD diagnosis and resulting problems. The inclusion of Nell's poetry is a light and endearing touch but I wonder how readers may find this in the midst of everything else.

The overriding theme is one of love; between friends, between lovers, and within a family. I found the book to be humorous and also heartbreaking, with many poignant scenes and breathtaking, lyrical writing. I am just not sure if the whole book merged as one coherently, but it is definitely a book that young people will enjoy and it could open up many conversations between friends.

432 pages / Reviewed by Lorraine Ansell, school librarian