Youth by Kevin Curran (2023), published by Lilliput Press
What it's about: Youth explores the lives of four teenage protagonists in Balbriggan. Princess (17), Angel (18), Dean (17) and Tanya (16) narrate their own chapters revealing their intricate relationships with each other and the town. Princess strives to escape the confines of the apartment she shares with her mother, sister and her sister’s baby. She wants to bag a good education and become a pharmacist. Angel wants to crack the music game via Drill music and his nascent YouTube fame. Dean, the son of a famous boxer, longs to carve an identity for himself but is consumed by online porn. Tanya experiences the gulf between her online and real-life existence whilst coping with the infamy of a sex tape.
Why you should read it? Youth weaves and reflects the diversity of the town, the power of social media and the anxiety-laden times we live in. Fresh and insightful, multi-cultural experiences are gleaned from Curran’s personal observations as a teacher in Balbriggan Community College. This sensitive, transitional, phase of life is acutely and evocatively portrayed.
What the critics say: "Reading Youth filled me with relief. It is an exceptional novel, joyous and hopeful. For all the divisive, anxiety-plagued reality of social media saturation, Youth champions solidarity and compassion." - Henrietta McKervey, Irish Times.
Curran on the youth of today…"You cannot teach where I teach, and deal with what I deal with daily, and be in my classroom and not feel uplifted, or have hope for the future. The kids are all right. They really are."
For readers of… Roddy Doyle’s Barrytown Trilogy, Zadie Smith’s NW, Karl Parkinson’s The Grind.
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