Apples by Richard Milward

Apples

Richard Milward

Drugs, booze and sex dominate the lives of a group of girls from a Middlesborough estate. At first glance this seems a shallow book but read on for a much deeper message. Real life issues like cancer and child abuse jostle for position with worries about who's shagging your boyfriend and which shoes to wear. I read it quickly, hoping for a good outcome and I think I found one. I still need to decide if it's funny or tragic but it's probably both.

Extract
We got a McDonalds the night my mum got lung cancer... I slumped back in the plastic seat watching Rachel squirt sauce on her chips while she messed around with her mobile. She was probably getting harassed by one of the boys she was screwing, but no wonder - Rachel had Hollywood hair and her skin was gold and rainbowed, but she reckoned she didn't want a boyfriend or any of that massive commitment right now. When I broke up with Fairhurst I was glad to see the back of all boys, but when you're out of a relationship you want to be in one and when you're in a relationship you want to be out. Actually I broke with Fairhurst after he felt Rachel's tit at a party, and I doubted she'd last a week without getting up to something naughty. But you're only young the once.
Parallels
  • Hellfire by Mia Gallagher
  • The Bedroom Secrets of the Master Chefs by Irvine Welsh
  • Vernon God Little by DBC Pierre
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Violence
Explicit sexual content