Glasgow. 2007. Emo culture is thriving, but fifteen-year-old Cathy O'Kelly's world couldn't be more insular. It's her first day at high school. Bullied out of primary, she's got a new start after two years being taught at home by her Mammy. She's dreaming of getting the marks she needs to be a proper Scots writer and avoiding getting on the wrong side of the neds. Again.

But her bully doesn't wear a tracksuit. Mark's a third year in an oversized hoodie and Converse. A poet. Or so he wants to be. When he learns of Cathy's dream, he's makes it his mission to tear it down - and win her admiration.

Will a chance encounter with a punk band at Glasgow's seminal underage club save her? Or will a different kind of bully push Cathy further into herself?

About the Author

Emma Grae is a Scottish author and journalist from Glasgow. She is a passionate advocate of the Scots language and breaking the stigma around mental illness. She has published fiction and poetry in the UK and Ireland since 2014 in journals including The Honest Ulsterman, From Glasgow to Saturn and The Open Mouse. Her debut novel, Be Guid tae yer Mammy, was published by Unbound in August 2021.

As a journalist, she writes under her birth surname, Guinness, and has bylines in a number of publications including Cosmopolitan, the Huffington Post and the Metro.

Find her on Twitter @emmagraeauthor.

Reviews

'Wi her latest nuvel, grae is gaun fae strenth tae strenth!' - DR MICHAEL DEMPSTER, Director of The Scots Language Centre

'Deep-rooted prejudice against the Scots language is to be explored in a new book that features a bullied teenage schoolgirl as its main protagonist.' - BRIAN FERGUSSON, The Scotsman

'The book gives us all the inspiration to delve intae oor inn'r Scots and try and scrive in Scots anaw! It's also helped light the fire in me of encouraging my classes to use Scots regularly - after all, we aw speak it!' - SCOTT SHEILDS, The Wee Scottish Book Club

'Emma Grae's new novel paints a portrait of a young life that is both thrilling and moving.' - JOYCE MCMILLAN, The Scotsman

'Emma Grae shows an acute understanding of the faultlines in a dysfunctional family... a painfully raw debut' - THE HERALD on Be Guid Tae Yer Mammy

'A smashing story with a strong Scots voice' - DR MICHAEL DEMPSTER, Director of The Scots Language Centre on Be Guid Tae Yer Mammy

'This is a brave novel... with a strong cultural identity.' - BILLY KAY, author of Scots: The Mither Tongue on Be Guid Tae Yer Mammy

'It opened my eyes to how beautiful Scots is and has made me want to read more literature by authors writing in Scots. But mostly this author! - LILY BAILEY, author of Because We Are Bad on Be Guid Tae Yer Mammy

Book Information
ISBN 9781804250242
Author Emma Grae
Format Paperback
Page Count 304
Imprint Luath Press Ltd
Publisher Luath Press Ltd
Dimensions(mm) 198mm * 129mm * 15mm