The Drowners is a wonderful novel – a gay Dublin “Derry Girls” – with the same coming-of-age heartbreak, happiness and humour in a 1990s setting.

Aaron is an interesting and sympathetic hero, you’re carried on his journey with him, share his pain and struggles and want him to succeed and get his HEA with love interest Robbie. Coming out is hard enough for many teens in the 2020s – one can only imagine how much more difficult it was to be a gay teenager in Ireland several decades ago. Many of the themes in the book, from bullying and bereavement to mental health are moving and also still highly relevant today.

For anyone who grew up in the UK or Ireland in the 1990s there will also be a huge amount of familiar cultural references and nostalgia, from music to celebrities. It’s a richly remembered time. I particularly enjoyed the dialogue between some of the young Irish girls in the book, which was very funny and very realistic – we had slightly different slang in England but very much the same conversations.

I would highly recommend this book, in particular to anyone who loved the humour and nostalgia of Derry Girls, and perhaps shows like The Inbetweeners.