3.6 but rounding it off to 3.

Careless by Kirsty Capes is a debut novel about two coming-of-age girls living in Shepperton. Bess who gets pregnant at 15 and is a foster child has never known a day that she was truly ever happy. Her best friend Eshal finds it her duty to give her parents everything that they ask for to honor their struggles of having to live as Bangladeshi immigrants. After having read the book, it surprises me that this was actually longlisted for Women's Prize for Fiction. It's not that it's a bad book but it does appear to have its fair share of flaws starting from how Eshal's character has been portrayed.

But let's focus on Bess for a moment. I truly liked how transparent and importantly Kirsty has portrayed the care system and everything that comes with it. Bess is living with a family in which she doesn't feel loved, in which hugging isn't allowed and there is no mention of love. Her toxic love life does little to help her already sad situation. The book opens with her finding out about her pregnancy and lasts till the very end of the book. There's a lot of thinking, bad decisions, and stupidity but which 15 year old kid doesn't make mistakes.

But the problem I had was with Eshal and the relationship she shares with her parents. It often felt like Kirsty hasn't tried enough to give her character a good shaping. There were certain aspects that left me baffled. The dynamics between her family didn't make any sense especially the way it ended for them.

But Careless was all in all a decent book that focuses on a lot of issues. It's a certified YA novel that is not only informative but also engaging. To me, this book had tiny flaws but it may very well work for you.