Tony Hogan Bought Me an Ice-cream Float Before He Stole My Ma

There's little doubt that this young writer is going to be a star... In the course of this picaresque and haunting tale, Hudson achieves something rare and remarkable. While comparison will inevitably be made between her work and that of Irvine Welsh or Alan Warner, she is wholly individual

Rosemary Goring, Herald Scotland

A laugh out loud read

In Style

A gritty, tough, sweet , sad, funny story of urban survival. Recommended

Diva

Colourful, funny, joyful and compelling

Observer

Kerry Hudson’s fine, eloquent debut novel traces the peripatetic childhood of Janie Ryan...her tale is full of warmth and bittersweet humour

Financial Times

Real and heartfelt... Hudson avoids the usual sentimental clichés and gives us, without a shred of hipster cynicism, the hope and tough warmth for which she has such a sharp eye

Jenn Ashworth, Guardian

A sympathetic coming-of-age tale and a valuable counterpoint to widespread social attitudes to women in poverty

Anthony Cummins, Metro

Concurrently very funny and incredibly sad. The writing sizzles, and the words jump off the page as Hudson describes a world of fags, booze, bingo and worse. We watch our heroine Janie Ryan struggle through it all with humour and a will to survive. I was cheering her on all the way, and I'm sure you will, too

Cathy Rentzenbrink, Waterstone's, Bookseller

Told with such an honest and engaging voice that you can’t help but turn the page

ReadBetweenTheLines

This is a remarkable debut novel of love and loyalty, of fierce passion and scabrous wit, full of characters whose broad vernacular is direct and expressive. This is about a culture with just as much right to be called British as that of middle-class suburbia

Foyles.co.uk

Refreshing originality… Hudson’s achievement is the creation of a strong, working-class, female voice in her protagonist – filling a hole in contemporary literature

Big Issue in the North

Definitely one to watch

Big Issue (National)

Hudson’s ear for language…raises this debut novel well above the average

Lesley McDowell, Glasgow Sunday Herald

Janie’s irrepressible, childish glee and the sly humour into which it evolves give the novel a wry self-awareness that is both refreshing and endearing

Lettie Ransley, Observer

A gripping, often hilarious tale of growing up in the slums of Aberdeen. Hard to put down owing to the power of the narrative, its DNA is part Roddy Doyle/part Irvine Welsh

Ijeoma Onweluzo, The Lady