Thank you @pushkin_press for sending me a free copy of Bearmouth, a debut YA novel by Liz Hyder! This book made me remember how dark young adult fiction can get actually, I liked that she didn’t shy away from tackling difficult topics!
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It’s an interesting world Hyder’s set up, and a unique style she’s written it in. Bearmouth is a mine, where men and boys are forced to live, work and sleep in exchange for measly wages that barely cover their living costs. I come from an area with a very strong mining heritage, so it was interesting to see that used as a YA premise!
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Told from the POV of Newt, the language takes some getting used to. Newt is only just learning their letters, and it’s written out with sort of phonetic spellings - it’s confusing for the first three pages but then your brain does adjust and it’s no harder to read than a regular book - and it’s fun to see Newt’s learning progress throughout.
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I thought it stalled a bit around the middle section, but the ending picked up. I also would have liked a bit more exploration of the mine setting - what was the world above like? Why are they all down there? Is it the same all over the world or just this one town/village?
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But Hyder does a great job with the relationships, there’s no sickly insta love, or even love at all that isn’t friendship or like that between parents and children. I think if young adult me had read this one, I would have loved it, and as it is I did enjoy it despite some questions!