5 new books to read this week

1. Crux by Gabriel Tallent

Dan and Tamma are high-school misfits, and each other’s only friend, for whom only one thing matters – rock climbing. Crux is the hotly anticipated second novel from Gabriel Tallent. Dan is the introspective son of a world-famous writer-turned-recluse, while the queer, disaffected 17-year-old Tamma has a wild energy and unique voice that keeps this book fizzing along. The pair spend all their free time mastering local rock formations – of which the ‘crux’ is always the most difficult section – and dreaming of conquering the biggest beasts of the Joshua Tree National Park in southern California. But life throws everything it can at them to keep them from realising their dream, with their passion for climbing a clever metaphor for their mutual perseverance to keep pushing forward against all obstacles – and there are many to surmount. Tallent is a keen climber and while the discipline’s lingo can be opaque, embracing it offers a fantastically immersive experience packed with plenty of gripping highs and lows.

2. Jean by Madeleine Dunnigan

Madeleine Dunnigan’s debut novel follows 17-year-old Jean over one summer at an exclusive boys’ reform school in the 1970s. Jean, long having felt isolated from his richer peers by class and being the only Jewish student, begins to feel his world open up when he develops a friendship with classmate Tom, that becomes something more. Dunnigan deftly explores the nuances of queerness in the Seventies, through what goes on in the toilets at a boys’ boarding school, to Jean’s friendship with an older popstar neighbour. Jean is an introspective narrator, and the novel is at its best when it is able to question whether his feeling of isolation from those around him may not be so absolute as he thinks. Throughout, Jean’s desire for Tom is as raw and anxious on the page as love at 17 feels, undercut by a real sense of loss before even getting started.

3. The Barbecue At No. 9 by Jennie Godfrey

It’s 1985, and to mark the Live Aid concert, Lydia at number nine is throwing a barbecue for all her neighbours on Delmont Close. This is a charming story full to the brim with quirky characters, including teenager Hannah, veteran Steve, and Rita, who is running from her past. Everyone living on the estate has a story to tell, with depictions of the menopause, PTSD and tricky family dynamics peppered throughout the book. This is a nostalgic book for those who remember the Live Aid concert or grew up during the Eighties. It is an easy read with relatable characters and a plot which keeps you guessing.

Non-fiction

4. Life Is Rosi by Jess Robinson

The diaries of Rosi Schul, a German Jewish woman who, at 23, lived through the Holocaust, and her granddaughter who, at the same age, was being exposed to the seamier side of showbiz, may seem a strange juxtaposition for a book. But comedian, singer and impressionist Jess Robinson, who somewhat flippantly describes her debut memoir as ‘Anne Frank meets Bridget Jones’, shows through both her grandmother Rosi’s diaries, from 1938 to 1943, and Robinson’s running concurrently from 2006, that the women, despite being worlds apart, have some shared sense of identity. While Rosi, a teacher at an orphanage, is wrenched from her home by the Gestapo to be interned as a refugee in the town of Zbąszyń in Poland, Robinson is trying to secure a mortgage. Both women, along the way, learn hard lessons in resilience, womanhood and trauma. Far from being a misery memoir, Schul’s humour keeps at least her diary excerpts light, and Robinson recognises how humbling her grandmother’s recollections are when, at 23, she was stressing about her size, auditions and failed love life. She brings a fresh, original realisation of the things that really matter and a dark, witty – and gritty – take on us all needing to find a sense of perspective.

Children’s book of the week

5. A Cedric And Boo Book: New Boots by Tim Hopgood

This is the latest instalment of the Cedric and Boo series, following best friends Cedric the crocodile and Boo the elephant. In this simple tale, Boo is enamoured with his shiny new red boots – and is loathe to go out playing with Cedric, in case he gets them muddy. But Boo can’t help joining his friend in the park, running through the autumn leaves – and his new boots might not survive the trip. With colourful and dynamic illustrations, this is a sweet picture book that toddlers will enjoy immensely. The lesson – that new shoes shouldn’t come between friendship – isn’t exactly subtle, but it’s more than made up for with an engaging narrative arc and the lovely relationship between Boo and Cedric.