There are shades of Georgia Nicolson, the hilarious heroine of Louise Rennison’s YA books, as well as Caitlin Moran’s Johanna Morrigan. Capes is a care leaver herself and has a PhD in care narratives in contemporary fiction, which was supervised by Bernardine Evaristo. The Booker-prize winner’s mentorship has no doubt been beneficial – Capes has credited her help with descriptive imagery. “There’s something wrong with being in care, the care system, and it’s to do with making us into a transaction,” Bess says. Capes is a rare new talent, and she has written something very special here: a novel that transforms, with the lightest of touches.

Source: The Guardian May 28, 2021 06:22 UTC