Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for granting access to this book in exchange for my review.


I can't quite put my finger on what it was about this book, but I tried reading it and it didn't hold my attention like some books do. I don't think it was a bad book, I just don't think it was for me.

In 1994, Cora is 14 years old and lives in a rundown town in Scotland. Her mom uses a wheelchair, and their lives are pretty bleak. This is a book about Cora navigating her teenage years with an odd group of people who might be there to help her—or are they? Heroin use is in its heyday, and Cora witnesses some people around her making terrible choices. Although a dark book, I couldn't help but root for Cora.

Only Here, Only Now is a well-written character study of a young woman growing up in less than ideal circumstances in Scotland. She's a bit of a lost soul, neglected by her parents and left to fend for herself in an often perilous world. The central character, plucky Cora Mowat, is thoroughly developed, with plenty of idiosyncratic behaviors and a strong point of view. However, I found the style of the book, like the environment in which young Cora inhabits, to be rather bleak as it plods along, so I can't say it was a particularly enjoyable read. Much of its charm lies in its authenticity and the specificity of its time and place, so I think this will resonate more with readers from the UK.

14 year old Cora lives in a post-industrial Scotland with her disabled mother. They live in council housing, and struggle with toeing the poverty line.

When her mother's new boyfriend moves in, Cora's life is turned upside-down. Her mother hopes this move is going to help improve everything for them, but Cora is still disrupted.

All the while, Cora's been having trouble with her brain being "fizzy". Her teachers are pushing for testing or therapy. Tragedy strikes and Cora is more determined than ever to leave her small town, to a greater world and to grow.

This is a powerful coming-of-age story that is a perfect slice of life at a particular time, in a particular place.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Absolutely fantastic plot! Could not put the book down once I began reading it. Cannot wait for it to be released. I will recommend it to everyone I know!

Oh gosh, yes. "Only Here, Only Now" takes us to Muircross, a grotty wee town on the Firth of Forth. It's the 90s, and Cora and her mother are getting by—sure, their council house isn't properly accessible, and sure, opportunities are more or less limited to what trouble Cora can get up to, and sure, Cora dreams of bigger and better things; the lights of Abbotscraig are calling to her. But it's at least a life she knows.

Then Cora's mother brings Gunner into the picture, and Gunner moves in with them, and things are no longer so predictable—in small ways and in big.

This makes for such a beautifully classic, gritty coming-of-age story. Cora is...she's a teenager. She's stubborn and angsty and occasionally petulant; she loves her mother fiercely and hurts her mother and can't imagine life without her mother. The rest of the characters are similarly grey: Cora's mother loves her fiercely back, but she's not always sensitive; Gunner is not exactly the most law-abiding of folks, but he's also determined to try to do right by Cora; the other people who come in and out of Cora's orbit throughout the book take it in turns to support and to stumble.

It's clear from early on that this is a world Newland *knows*. Muircross is fictional, but the book is steeped in local 90s slang (you don't need to understand every word to get the gist), and the low-key trouble that Cora and her cohort get up to feels very in line with, well, a post-industrial town where the jobs have dried up and new opportunities haven't taken hold yet. There's a thread of ADHD running through the story, but what interested me more was the way Cora understood places throughout the book: in Muircross, she dreams of Abbotscraig; in Abbotscraig, she dreams of Glasgow; in Glasgow, she starts to understand that no matter where you go, there you are.

I don't read all that many male authors these days, but whoever runs acquisitions at HarperVia has excellent taste, so...exceptions. If you read any interviews with Newlands, too, he has some interesting things to say about why he chose to write "Only Here, Only Now" from the perspective of a girl growing up in this environment. This is a debut novel, but it doesn't read like one, and I can't wait to see what's next.

Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a review copy through NetGalley.

Shuggie Bain this isn’t. Yes, it’s tough times in poverty in Scotland, but whereas that novel had an authenticity about its voice, this one doesn’t achieve the same conviction. And it’s much too long. The upside is that the writing crackles with energy and the vision of blighted nowhere towns and the people who live in them is done without affectation. As for Cora, when she’s not being monotonous, she’s a mouthy young thing with brio and a kind of vision. But for long stretches she’s going round and round, complaining, whinging, being a pain.
So, something of a curate’s egg (good in parts).

A brilliant debut loved the characters the setting kept me involved from beginning to end.A story that will stay with me a new author to follow. #netgalley#harpervia

The way I laughed, wanted to cry, was irritated, and had so many emotions during this book was crazy. This is an amazing coming of age story I will not forget!! Thank you!!!

What a debut! When a place is a main character…. When the main characters lives. break your heart because everything is so hard, and it feels like there is no way out.

Fantastic! So much life in this book that it could be a memoir, but with a perfect consistent absurdity that makes it very readable.

I loved the portrayal of ADHD here, it feels so genuine and not sugarcoated. The way the world views ADHD has changed so drastically in just the past few years, with record numbers of diagnosis and prescriptions and more open conversation. Yet the monkey's paw curls, and you have a huge demographic of people who pretend to be supportive of neurodivergent people, so long as they are neurodivergent in a neat and understandable way. You have another huge demographic of neurotypicals blaming any momentary boredom or ignorance on "ADHD" and yet have no sympathy for people who face serious financial/social/mental struggles caused by ADHD.

It showed how when someone is blamed over and over, every day, for their disability or mental disorder, the psychological toll of that leads to unpredictable self-destructive behaviors. If you're told to change every day, to stop being who you are, because everyone hates it and would like you better if you were different, can you imagine how pointless that makes life, and all in it, seem?

I went in knowing ADHD was a prominent topic in this book & I was so happy and relieved when it wasn't just high-energy fidgeting and motor-mouth dialogue. So refreshing, wonderful to see, truly done with a immense amount of care.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperVia for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

A raw and honest story of a young girl trying hard to find herself and a way out of the poverty stricken small-town she was born in. I really enjoyed this debut novel, the characters are feel real and earthy without becoming stereotypes or caraictures.

The setting and cultural references may be harder for my American friends to relate to but for UK friends there are echoes of our childhood and teenage years from Tammy girl to 20/20!

Thanks @netgalley @harperviabooks for the ARC. Due for publication in November

Engaging and immersive with an utterly original voice. A recommended first purchase for most adult fiction collections.

This book is truly brilliant. It will be studied in literature courses for years to come. I can’t believe it’s a debut novel. The emotion, the humor, the honesty are all pitch perfect and by the end, Cora feels like a family member that you don’t want to say goodbye to at all.