Don't let the title faze you. Helen Walsh's second novel blew my socks off - and I wear very snug-fitting socks.

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Synopsis

On the coldest night of 1975, a young man with shock-red hair tears though the snowbound streets of Warrington's toughest housing estate. He is Robbie Fitzgerald, and he is running for his life - and that of his young family. In his heart, Robbie knows the odds are stacked against them. In this unbending Northern town, he has married the beautiful brown nurse who once stitched up his wounds. Susheela is his Tamil Princess, but in the real world, the Fitzgeralds have to face up to prejudice, poverty and sheer naked hatred from their neighbours. Now Robbie has seen a way out, and he's sprinting to his date with destiny...

But back at their low-rise flat, Susheela hears a noise. This single moment starts a chain of events that will reverberate throughout the lives of all four Fitzgeralds - herself, Robbie, their son Vincent and unborn daughter, Ellie. Over thirteen years of struggle, aspiration, achievement, misunderstandings, near-misses and shattered dreams, Helen Walsh plunges us into the lives and loves of the young, doomed Fitzgerald family. She shows herself to be a brilliant chronicler of our people and our times. And in the Fitzgeralds, she has created a family who will stay in your heart, long after the final page.

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This novel was truly tragic. I almost felt no hope for any of the characters except Ellie, who (this is not a spoiler) was born shortly after the 'single moment' mentioned above. But even she (and this is a spoiler alert) takes some very wrong turns in her young life and I was left feeling quite wretched and (spoiler alert, only in the general sense) held out no hope at all for this young family.

One thing I personally couldn't understand was why (spoiler alert) Susheela never told Robbie what happened to her that night. This is where the book excels the most, I think - it's not just the storytelling that is amazing, the nuances of complex human relationships are such a strong feature of this novel. What hadn't been said is just as important as what was put down.

Take life in any small town as you know it, mix it up with a few other small towns, throw in a little imagination for the things you might not know, and you've got life in Hadleyville Falls High School. Sometimes it seems like a world far away and others it's eerily familiar. Students will likely enjoy reading about the Administration, and Administration may enjoy reading about the students. Although for the most part they are far from funny, or charming, and in some cases likeable. Yes indeed, High School might be the last place in the world anyone wants to be nowadays. It's quite the mixed up bag of pros and cons, and in this novel, we take a pretty close look at some of those cons.

This book was written by a Guidance Counselor from my hometown, and was recommended to me by my mother. I'd have to say the picture painted of the messed-up world that was my school is accurate. And probably even kind, although it's probably shocking to some. Life as a teen is definitely changing, and not for the better. It's good to see people trying to bring that to light. Ignoring it clearly hasn't helped.

There's nothing particularly outstanding about this story. I mainly read it due to its ties. But anyone who grew up in a small town will likely commiserate.