Youth dives into the lives of four teenagers in Ireland's most diverse town, Balbriggan. Angel is about to finish school and discover if Drill music and YouTube fame can deliver on their promises. Princess is battling to escape her claustrophobic surroundings and go to university and Dean is ready to come out from under his famous father's shadow, while Tanya, struggling with the spotlight of internet infamy, is still posting her dream life for all of her faithful followers. Isolated and disorientated by the white noise and seemingly insurmountable expectations of adolescence, our protagonists are desperate to find anything that helps them belong. Oblivious to one another's presence, potential and struggles, they pass each other on the street as strangers. But when their paths cross, the connections they make will change the course of their lives. Twenty-first century life - hyper-sexualized, social media saturated, anxiety-plagued - is here. Living inside its characters' heads, and negotiating their interior landscape, this book is a love song to the possibilities of youth. Using insights gained from the young people he works with, Curran's evocative writing yields the authenticity this novel demands. With instinctive affection and admiration for his characters' strengths and complexities, Youth is a journey through streets less travelled.

About the Author
Kevin Curran is from Balbriggan and has been a secondary-school teacher in his hometown for over a decade. His fiction largely concentrates on working class life in the Dublin suburbs. His first novel, Beatsploitation, was published in 2013 and brought him national attention due to his depiction of Ireland's new multicultural landscape. His second novel, Citizens, was published to critical acclaim in 2016, and he has published numerous short stories in major anthologies and literary journals such as The Stinging Fly. He has also written non-fiction for The Guardian and The Observer.

Reviews
'Kevin Curran's twenty-first century ... is a thrilling dispatch from life lived amid the ruins of idealism.' ROB DOYLE ; 'Kevin Curran ... [writes] with confidence and brio.' COLIN BARRETT ; '"The isolation of whole communities can be glimpsed through stories of marginalised individuals." Kevin Curran exemplifies this idea.' SALLY ROONEY ; '[Curran has] some big things to say about Ireland, past and present.' THE SUNDAY BUSINESS POST ; 'Brings an edge of hard-won resolve to his tale while keeping mindful of broader social issues.' SUNDAY INDEPENDENT ; 'Here's a rasping book, full of the kick and verve of the inner city. Loved the dialogue, the vernacular of working-class Dublin and all the minor and major concerns of youth. It's easy to forget what it is to be young when looked at from the other end of life but Kevin made me remember the fine line between triumph and disaster with his great writing and love for his characters. Great book.' KIT DE WAAL



Book Information
ISBN 9781843518709
Author Kevin Curran
Format Paperback
Page Count 240
Imprint The Lilliput Press Ltd
Publisher The Lilliput Press Ltd