Oh wow, what an incredibly moving book. I didn’t expect this story to capture me the way it did, from the first chapter I was hooked and had no choice but to finish this book in one sitting. I adored Banjo and Finlay, they both felt so real and raw. From the get go I was emotionally invested and craving answers about these boys. They were emotional and traumatised and beautiful characters that represent so many young people that are misunderstood and often overlooked. This book was brimming with love and hope, but equally heartbreak and despair. I’ll be thinking about this one for a while, what a poignant display of human emotion.

‘My family is who I allow it to be.’

Glasgow Boys. The title and blurb immediately reminded me of gritty stories set in Glasgow like Shuggie Bain and Young Mungo, or even Boys Don’t Cry, set in Dublin (please pick up this one if you haven’t yet), but while reading I found beauty and hopefulness instead of darkness.

I have to admit, I had to get used to the writing. Third person, present tense is never my favorite, and combined with the short, blunt sentences and chapters, it felt distant to me. But the writing grew on me.

Meet Finlay, the bony, blonde, socially awkward, closeted student. Meet Banjo, the short, ginger, hot-headed, athletic boy. Both craving for love.

Two boys so different, but once close as brothers when they lived in the same group care home. Until they had a fall out. Neither of them having had a hug for ages. Both surviving on their own. Neither of them needing anyone else.

Sometimes, my mom’s heart hurt tremendously, and I all wanted to do is hug those two boys. I had lumps in my throat when they thought about the one at the other side of the bathroom door, or when they touched the wooden dresser and knew another person was touching it too. I had tears in my eyes when Banjo got beaten up or Finlay felt so alone. I bawled my eyes out when Banjo gave Mr Black to Finlay. And when I read what had happened between them I sobbed. Uncontrollably. But …

I didn’t only have tears from anger of sadness. I blinked wildly when Finlay talked about his sexuality and when Alena’s mom called Banjo a sweetheart. And for most of the book, a smile danced on my face. Because of Finlay’s immediate crush on Akash, because of Banjo’s joy in working in a greasy kitchen, because of the people who accepted them for who they were, and because of the bond those two boys so visibly had in the past.

Be aware this is not a romance. Yeah, there are love interests, but falling in love is not the main theme. Glasgow Boys is about love though. It’s about finding your place in the world, finding your people, and, most of all, finding yourself and loving yourself for who you are.

The writing and the story are quite unique and it’s difficult to compare this beautiful story to any other YA book. But if I had to, I’d choose When You Call my Name. A completely different story but somehow those two books both brought up the same feelings in me.

The last page of Glasgow Boys gave me goosebumps. Of happiness. And a part of me now longs for a sequel to follow those two boys into adulthood and see their dreams come true.