A01=Liz Allan
Author_Liz Allan
best debuts of the year
books to read if you loved The Virgin Suicides
Category=FBA
Category=FXB
class
coastal town
edgy
eq_bestseller
eq_fiction
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_modern-contemporary
eq_new_release
eq_nobargain
escape
friendship
girlhood
grunge music
Nirvana
poingnant
poverty
raw
rebellion
rebellious girls
revenge
single parent
teenage girls
Product details
- ISBN 9781399748278
- Weight: 360g
- Dimensions: 142 x 218mm
- Publication Date: 12 Mar 2026
- Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
- Publication City/Country: GB
- Product Form: Hardback
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An Observer Best Debut Novelist 2026
'An electric portrait of teenage friendship and fandom, bubbling with rage and yearning . . . empathetic, addictive and feverish as a Nirvana gig'
Guardian
'A powerful and evocative debut from a writer of great skill and deeply felt emotion'
Observer
'I loved this book . . . raw, grungy and frenetic'
Alice Slater, author of Let the Bad Times Roll
'Part Virgin Suicides, part Veronica Mars'
Louise Hegarty, author of Fair Play
'Effervescently paced and outrageously funny . . . jaw-dropping'
Luke Kennard, author of The Transition
'I was totally absorbed . . . amazing and unlike anything else'
Saraid de Silva, author of Amma
The Bastards aren't afraid of anything.
It's the mid-nineties, and in the small, shitty coastal town of Vincent, four girls - each hailing from single-mother, multi-sibling families, form a band: The Bastards. Friends since they were children, they consider themselves 'forgettable girls' - distracted, disillusioned, and desperate to escape the fates of their mothers.
Winning the Battle of the Bands is their ticket out - they might not have talent, but they can play three chords and scream until their vocal folds burst out of their throats - and nobody wants it more than them.
But when lead singer Lily Lucid quits, and accuses their idolized music teacher of sexual assault, the three remaining girls are left with nothing. They'll do anything to keep their dream alive, even if it means sacrificing school, Lily and their mothers. But how far out of control can they spin before there's no turning back?
Liz Allan is an Australian writer and teacher living and working in the UK. Her short story, 'Our Voices, Fierce' was awarded the Rachel Funari Prize for fiction in 2018 and her stories have been shortlisted and longlisted for numerous other awards.
