Fade Into You

by Catriona Child

It's 1994, Kurt Cobain has just died, and teenager Alex is spending the summer working in her Aunt's Bed and Breakfast in rural Argyll. The village pace of life is slow compared to home in Edinburgh and Alex resigns herself to a quiet summer spent serving breakfasts and making beds. Everything changes however once she meets the twin brothers who live next door. Spanning the next fifteen years of Alex's life, Fade Into You is a love letter to growing up in Scotland in the 90s and 2000s. Set against a backdrop of T in the Park and the war in Iraq, soundtracked by Britpop and Grunge mixtapes, with the sweet taste of tablet, it is a novel about growing up and growing apart. It explores the intensity of childhood friendships, how they change as we get older but how they never really leave us.

307 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 6, 2023

About the author

Catriona Child was born in Dundee in 1980 and now lives in Edinburgh. She studied English at the University of Aberdeen and completed an MA with Distinction in Creative Writing from Lancaster University.

She has worked as a postie, in a cinema, in a music shop and even had a very short-lived spell selling knickers on a market stall. She also spent a great deal of her youth ploughing up and down swimming pools.

Her first novel, Trackman, was published in 2012. Swim Until You Can’t See Land is her second novel which has just been published by Luath Press.

Reviews

[Sarah Faichney · Rating 4 out of 5]

So close to some of my own experiences it freaked me out a bit! 'Fade Into You' is a smashing nostalgia trip. I enjoyed it immensely and look forward to checking out more of Catriona Child's work. Delighted to discover that there is also an accompanying playlist on Spotify, so definitely check that out too!

[Ceri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Picked this book up last week in a local bookshop so probably the quickest turnaround for a book I’ve bought in years! I was taken in by the premise - A Scottish novel set in the 90’s, my favourite things!

I absolutely loved this. The author got the 90’s and 00’s vibes completely spot on. I was a child in the 90’s so too young for the teenage Nirvana love but I totally got it. I never went to T in the Park but a lot of my peers did and reading this, I felt like I did too.
The characters in this were so fleshed out and the author aged them subtly as time went on so I felt like I was growing with them.
Alex, Gavin & Banny are all brilliant and I was rooting for them - my one criticism of the novel is that I would have liked to have seen more from Banny. What a diamond.
Fantastic novel that will live in my head for a while! Would love to read more from the author.

[Julia · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I don’t have hard rules for what I want to read in a novel, I have to say that for a book written by a woman in 2023 to barely pass the Bechdel Test is a bit of a shock, and I was disappointed. This book read like YA, where essentially the main character’s entire existence for much of her teens and twenties revolves solely around her romantic interest even though we’re told of - not shown - her cleverness. Alex seems to have no inner life besides her thoughts about a boy, making it all the more baffling why every fella she comes across is smitten with her. I wish an editor had pushed the author to answer, “Who exactly IS Alex when she’s not obsessed with Gavin?” While Alex herself only appears to be figuring this out in the final pages of the book, it’s a lot to ask your reader to come along all the way without providing a bit of a richer sense of self for the main character. Pop culture references, much too thick on the ground, substituted for real scene-setting and exposition. Yes, this was the music I loved, too, but you have to do something more than pack in bands, songs, festivals, and TV shows to create literature that truly captures a specific place and time. If someone from a different generation or region of the world read this book and had no idea who these bands were, then they’d be lost, because the book is so heavily dependent on them. The reliance on nostalgia rather than on real character development or deftness of language made this a miss for me.

[Lynsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a blast to the past! This book was pure nostalgia, about first love and growing up in the back of beyond in Scotland! I fell for this book hard and fast. I even started to comply a Spotify playlist and then realised all the songs were already on my throw back playlist. It reminds me of nights in the Cathouse and hungover morning at university.

Kurt Cobain has just died and Alex is having to spend her summer working on her aunts bnb in a tiny village in the Scottish highlands. Alex is used to the fast pace of life in Edinburgh and finds life quite slow in the village. When she meets the twin boys next door everything changes for her. This is a love letter to growing in Scotland and is set against the music of the times along with the Iraq war. 's a tale about friendships, their intensity and how they can fade away...

I loved Alex and her tale of negotiating life hurdles and how she handles her relationships with the twins. There was so much about this book that resonated with me and I devoured it in a few sittings. There is so much about this book to like! The writing was brilliant and I really felt as if I was surrounded by Alex’a world.

Let me know if you pick this one up!

[Emma book blogger Fitzgerald · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you @CatrionaChild @LuathPress @KellyALacey @lovebookstours for letting me be part of this tour and reviewing this book. Fade into you wow what a great read took me right back to my youth with the so-called life that I loved to watch and the music in the 90s. Fade into You is about Alex growing up and being in love with your childhood sweetheart and then growing apart. There are no chapters just dates of events that happened in Alex's life which liked the layout a lot. I loved Alex as a character and she went through such a lot to support Gavin who was her childhood sweetheart. I also liked Banny's character who's Gavin's twin who seemed to have a crush on her. I did hope this relationship between Alex and Banny would develop. The ending was sad and I felt for Alex it was not the ending I thought it would be but I am glad it ended like that I think it needed to. The story was heartwarming and was written well. Catriona Child will be on my favourite author list and will be looking out for more of her books in the future. 5 stars absolutely banging read.

[Nick Davies · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmm. I started off enjoying this - the indie music asides and characters growing up in the nineties and noughties, a similar age to me. This was a readable tale focussing on a girl, Alex, her holiday stays with her aunt in Oban, her falling for a local lad, then the troubles of their university years and young adulthood.

In truth it quickly became a little too 'chick lit' for me - once you remove the (increasingly laid on with a trowel) pop culture references, and two or three shoe horned in SERIOUS THEMES there wasn't a lot to it. I didn't massively connect with the central character, and most of the lads with whom she got involved were a little uninteresting or unlikeable. Some of the dialogue and behaviour didn't ring true, and I also had a problem with a novel trying to be epic and spanning ten or fifteen years, presented in a kinda diary format, but with huge gaps of many months between sections. What was happening between these widely spaced dates? Did this girl's life consist only of her thoughts for some boy she met but hadn't seen for a year or more?

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. I was loving this (apart from very different music tastes!) until that ending. The ending just fell flat for me, and I was left trying to work out why certain threads of the story weren’t resolved.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one was a bit of a nostalgic trip! If, like myself, you grew up in the 90s then this is a must read! These days those childhood memories from the 90s seem like another life but this book brought some of them back and that made me smile.

We follow a girl called Alex who has a love for music, she meets twins Gavin and Banny who also share a love for great tunes. The bond between the three of them seems unbreakable but of course that would be too easy!

The story is about growing up, changing relationships, love, loss and isolation plus much more! I think the question most will be left with is this - Throughout our adult lives have we ever had any friends like the ones we had when we were kids? Is it even possible? I'll let you guys answer that!

[Gem · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was so nostalgic for me - all the songs and the experiences that Alex, Gavin and Banny go through are such strong memories for anyone growing up in the 90’s UK. Just when I thought this was going to be a light hearted trip down memory lane I am reading all about Gavin’s experiences in the Iraq war and his difficult return to life at home. His journey and the effect it has on his friendship with Alex and Banny is truly heartbreaking.

Fade Into You is a surprisingly moving story about growing up and, mixed in with all my own memories of T in the Park and Britpop I really enjoyed it.

I received a gifted copy of this novel. This review is my honest opinion and written voluntarily.

[Katie Hawkes · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ish? This book depressed the shit outta me, a la Normal People. I like the concept of it centering so much on music, though, and having an accompanying spotify playlist to match

[Connie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was kindly sent a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review as part of a book tour on Instagram, with thanks to the publisher and LoveBooksTours

This story is told between 1994 and 2010, starting when Alex meets the twins who live beside her aunt’s b and b in rural Scotland, Gavin and Banny. They immediately connect over their taste in music and over the years, relationships grow, develop, falling apart and together time and time again 🎶 set to the backdrops of rural Scotland, major Scottish cities and concerts, this story is fast paced but also pretty heartbreaking

If you’ve ever had a conversation with me about books for more than five minutes, I’ve probably told you about my favourite trope ✨right person, wrong time✨ and this book provides that and more. We see Alex and Gavin and their decade long “thing”, we see Banny and his adoration for Alex, we see Alex and the boys with others. It’s all just so good and the ending was so bittersweet it made my heart hurt a bit 😂

I overall really enjoyed this book and would rate it four stars, if you’re going to read it please make sure to check the trigger warnings for PTSD from military service, suicide, underage drinking and so on 👀

[Charlotte Mylifeinbooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

I jumped at the chance to review this book, it celebrates everything that made up my favourite decade, the 90’s.

Oh my, the nostalgia, honestly I got so excited reading this book and reminiscing of a simpler, grungier time. To say this book gave me all the feels is an understatement, music is a huge part of my life and admittedly my tastes are still stuck in the 90’s & 00’s. Spanning across fifteen years this book delivered on all of it’s promises and reintroduced me to an era that made me who I am.

Fade Into You is a coming of age story about growing up and growing apart. Grunge girl Alex loves spending her summers at her Aunt’s B&B in picturesque Argyle. Although she loves spending time with her Aunt, it’s the twin boys next door that Alex keeps coming back for. It’s one of the best tributes to the 90’s I’ve come across and to be quite frank, I couldn’t put it down. If you’re a fan of Nirvana and the grunge scene, I’d recommend checking this out.

I absolutely adored this book, it was everything I wanted and more.

[Daisy Bee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fade Into You was a wonderfully nostalgic trip back to the 90's and early 00's. So many memories were sparked in my imagination. The bands, the festivals, the world before mobile phones and access to the internet.

At sixteen, Alex heads to the small village in Scotland where her Aunt Ruby runs a B&B to help out during the busy summer weeks. Next to the B&B live Gavin and Banny, twin brothers who become firm friends with Alex.

As we move from 1994 onwards to 2005, we watch these three characters fall in love, fall out of love, go through mental ill health, but sadly, not all will make it through.

Fade Into You really captured the vibe of the 90's and early 00's when life just seemed freer and a lot more fun.

This book had joy, and sadness and depth as it explored difficult subjects.

A real coming of age tale that I really enjoyed.

[Lisen · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was on the "books set in Edinburgh" shelf in Blackwells so I bought it and I won't say that I wish I hadn't, but I'm... confused.

I don't know what this book was trying to be, because with the age of the characters at the start and the writing style it feels like it should be a YA, but as it goes on it isn't. It's also weirdly paced and skips over key scenes - 'tell don't show' seems to be the motto.

I really shouldn't have been surprised by the love-triangle situation given the 'girl meets two brothers while on summer vacation' but I had some faith it wouldn't.

I will say the ending is what saved it for me, but that's because I'm weak for meloncholy about the passing of time and how people we knew become strangers, not because it was particularly strong.

[Bookishdays · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book about friendship during teenage years till adulthood. I loved the way the story is told, describing one day in each year since Alex met the boys, with a powerful soundtrack of the 90's and 00's of grunge and British pop music.

As a teenager myself during that period of time, I remember almost every band mentioned and it was very fun to acknowledge how Alex's taste in music changes with time.

I loved this book because it's more than a story about romantic love, it's about friendship and the growing pains. I highly recommended it.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[David Hirons · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well I should probably have realised that a novel named after the title of a song that often has me blubbing would have me in tears towards the end. Child has a deceptively light style of writing and it works especially well here dealing with teenage first love and its aftermath. it is a few hours after finishing the novel and I'm still thinking about the characters, and how seemingly simple decisions can affect the rest of your life and the lives of those around you. Oh, and the soundtrack running through the novel is pretty ace too.

[Ian Hutchinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is definitely the best book I have read this year. I am going to read more from this author. I loved the stories of growing up and finding your feet in the world. The music references really resonated with me. I was so caught up in the characters I couldn’t wait to find out what going to happen to them. This is certainly a book that keeps you thinking about it even when you have finished it.

[Sam Symonds · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m going to start off with that I loved this book! Alex felt like a really well written teenager turned adult. The setting of 90’s Scotland is a perfect backdrop to the story. I enjoyed the development of the various characters and the realistic way they were portrayed. It was a great, well written, well paced story!

[Caley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Utterly spectacular
I loved the nostalgia, the friendship, the dialogue, just everything!
The last 50 pages had me sobbing
I watched an interview where the author described this (jokingly) as a cross between Little Women meets Dawson's Creek but with a Scottish setting. Add in an excellent 90s/00s soundtrack and I think that's the best description

[Claire McDonnell · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book is like if normal people and the summer I turned pretty series had a baby but deeper than SITP LOL. really really loved it

[calliope · Rating 5 out of 5]

so surprisingly good!! its like normal people but not as bland

[Joanne Patience · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved everything about this book. The music, the locations, how real it feels to grow up and get your heart broken.

[Leslie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the 90s nostalgia of all the music but so sad! So melancholy!

[J · Rating 3 out of 5]

banny you were the only likeable character

[Lynsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved that this was set in Connel ❤️ immediately hooked on the location and then grew fond of the main characters. Didn’t want the story to end

[Georgina Power · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fade into You follows Alex through her adolescence and into adulthood through the format of date stamped chapters, which I really enoyed this formst, it really helps the reader keeping track of where the characters are in their life/development.

The story centres around Alex and her first crush Gavin, from their first meeting, to each time they hung out and just watching them grow and experience life together. As main characters both Gavin and Alex are written well and are easily realistic characters: Alex was great, well developed and likeable, but personally for me I felt like there was too much alcohol in her life, everytime she went out she seemed to end up drunk and making "bad" decisions and unfortunately that part of her character and personality just didn't sit well with me. However Gavin as a character was very different and well explored, I love that he was finally able to admit he needed help, and i was very scared that the writing of his personal storyline was going to turn him into an abusive character, but I was happy to see him realise that he was suffering with some kind of trauma with his experience in the Army. The letters to Alex really showed his vulnerability and his progress with his mental health, and I am grateful the author received some insight into army life as its a very delicate subject

I really liked the world building throughout the book, and could really sense the local feel throughout, I could really see myself sitting around the pond hanging out with crew and swimming, this really help bring the book and characters alive. Plus I love how much influence music has throughout this book with the constant mentions of different artists, the scenes that played out at T in the Park and the inclusion of all the different playlists scattered throughout the book, I really enjoyed looking up some of the songs and artists mentioned.

My biggest personal flaw in this book was the ending, I really wished for a better ending, as I feel like I spent an entire book shipping a couple that were incompatible and I absolutely disliked the fact that Alex and Gavid didn't end up together, especially after all they had been through together

TW: Suicide, PTSD

[☠Arianne Reads Horror ☠ · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an extremely easy read to go through. I finished it in less than two days, and found myself unable to put it down, wondering what may come next for Alex. From the start, you can feel the nostalgia, VCR, and CDs still being the main forms of media in the earlier part of the book. Books that concentrate on this aspect of growing up and realising what adulthood is, help it to be a comforting read for me.

There are times when subjects that often pop up in someone's teenage years, are written very well, and in a realistic manner, as well as being sensitive at the same time. Things like body image issues popping up in a magazine for instance, or navigating relationships and friendships are all done well.

When all of the main characters are now old enough to drink and socialise wherever they want, you notice their realisation that growing up and moving on is an inevitable part of life, and in the latter part of the book this comes up a few times. It's a real and bittersweet thing to read, and I think it's because it's so true and honest, the mindset that 'We will talk every day and be friends forever and ever' isn't always able to be a part of adult life.

Because of how this story is split up into chapters, there is a subtle transition between 'childhood' issues and 'adulthood' ones, and once I noticed it I realised how heavy it felt on my emotions. A few pages back I was reading about a teenager who was swapping t-shirts with her boyfriend, this then reached a point where Alex was dealing with very heavy and serious issues surrounding her partner at that time. Everything flows well and these shifts are very realistic and familiar.

I honestly adored this book. Books with this kind of idea, I have a huge soft spot for. The ending was so bittersweet and even quite sad, but it kind of reminds the reader that 'happy endings' or 'the perfect ending' just doesn't always happen. I find you always know when a book is fantastic when you find yourself feeling hungover and sad you're not in their world anymore. This is definitely how 'Fade Into You' made me feel.

[Emma Johnston · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an absolutely brilliant read - the book
is set at a time when I myself was a teen so revisiting the 90’s with Alex our main character brought me so much nostalgia from that time - graffitiing on pencil cases in tippex, reading Mizz and More magazine, covering myself in impulse spray and going to T in the park - all set against the soundtrack of Nirvana and BritPop!

It’s not just the nostalgia that scooped me along though, Alex’s story was so readable - and so easy to connect with. We meet Alex when she is spending time helping her aunt at her B&B during the school holidays, and it’s here where her initial friendship is made with Gavin & Banny, the twins next door. What follows brings about a journey that includes first loves, teen angst and heartbreak. Set across a 16 year time period, Alex shares with us the impact of social connections, first loves, growth and heartbreak.

The book was well paced and the chapters were short enough to feel like you could read one more….the story and the characters felt so well fleshed out that at times I thought I was reading a memoir.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Alex meets twins Gavin and Banny lifelong friendships are formed. The books follows how their friendships, as this develops into first loves, relationships and heartbreak. It follows them over 16 years, showing how friendships can grow apart due to university, army, and band life before they end up back in each other lives again in one way or another.

It covers ptsd and trauma through Gavins life in the army and the impact in his relationship with Alex, so be aware of trigger warnings here.

Each chapter was split up into different dates as we followed their lives during these years. They were short in structure so the book moved along at a really good pace.

The ending just about had me in tears, no spoilers but i was not expecting that to happen. It wasnt how i expected everyones life to turn out but there was closure.

If you are looking for a book show casing how friendship and first loves impact on lives through the years this is one for you. At certain points of reading this it felt like I was reading a memoir.

[Bianca Duthie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, I absolutely loved the nostalgia this book brings. It starts in 1994 and ends in 2010, while the main characters were a couple of years older than I would have been, a lot of the pop culture references and events mentioned are ingrained in my upbringing just as much.
I adored the music references throughout. You will want to bring out your noughties emo loving youth reading this.
I absolutely raced through, finishing the book in 3 sessions. It was so easy to fly through 100 pages at a time.
The characters were so well written and had such relatable issues from teenage angst, young love, growing up, moving on, and mental health.
Quite honestly, I sobbed a lot. I was not expecting what happened.
While the ending is left very open and you don't really feel any closure for the characters, I feel it's inkeeping with the theme of growing up. We keep evolving and trying to find our way in the world.
It's written so well that I'd definitely pick up more by this author.