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Dropping Beats
A hilarious and heartfelt young YA contemporary debut about the misadventures of an aspiring young rapper as he navigates school, family, and friendship.
Thirteen-year-old Growls (aka Shaun) is an aspiring (awful) rapper who hopes to enter this year’s Raptology competition with his best friend, Shanks (aka Zachariah). After all, what better way to land his crush (Tanisha) and get the respect he finally deserves than winning the contest and going viral?
But when a livestream practice goes epically wrong, the two friends do go viral– and not in the way they’d hoped.
Now the laughingstock of the school, Growls is sure he’ll never have another chance to date Tanisha. Even worse, Shanks has gone MIA, leaving him terribly alone.
But when Growls meets the new girl on the block (Siobhan), things don’t seem so terrible after all. And with some patience, a little luck, and a whole lot of practice, he just might win the Raptology competition and be a hero to both Siobhan and Shanks.
Either way, he’s ready for this. He’s steady for this. It’s comeback season and they call him comeback king for a reason.
Thirteen-year-old Growls (aka Shaun) is an aspiring (awful) rapper who hopes to enter this year’s Raptology competition with his best friend, Shanks (aka Zachariah). After all, what better way to land his crush (Tanisha) and get the respect he finally deserves than winning the contest and going viral?
But when a livestream practice goes epically wrong, the two friends do go viral– and not in the way they’d hoped.
Now the laughingstock of the school, Growls is sure he’ll never have another chance to date Tanisha. Even worse, Shanks has gone MIA, leaving him terribly alone.
But when Growls meets the new girl on the block (Siobhan), things don’t seem so terrible after all. And with some patience, a little luck, and a whole lot of practice, he just might win the Raptology competition and be a hero to both Siobhan and Shanks.
Either way, he’s ready for this. He’s steady for this. It’s comeback season and they call him comeback king for a reason.
288 pages, Paperback
Published February 11, 2025
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2009 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 129 reviews
May 7, 2024
Wow, I certainly judged this by its cover. I wasn’t excited to read this, but I loved it. Hilariously funny (can’t remember the last time I laughed so much reading) and it has made me think about how messages can be presented in a lighthearted way. Definitely my favourite Carnegie book this year, and I hope it wins!
July 18, 2023
I loved this SO much. Laugh out loud funny, but also with such heart and emotional depth. The audio, read by Kuda Dutiro Robinson, was absolutely perfect. I haven't enjoyed a book so purely in a long time. Just brilliant.
April 14, 2024
This is brilliant! Genuinely really funny (I lost count of how many times I laughed out loud) and also really sweet and heart-warming, I loved it.
June 18, 2025
Lol wrote a review for the wrong book and can’t delete it, THIS is the book that’s fun. Adore jadore.
April 24, 2023
‘Steady For This’ is a modern book written for young teens using youth language and slang. I’m obviously not its intended audience, being as ancient as I am, but it was still really amusing and gave me serious ‘Adrian Mole’ vibes at times.
The story follows Shaun ‘Growls’ Thompson after a seriously embarrassing incident involving him and his best friend Shanks. Now the girl he fancies won’t have anything to do with him and Shanks is ill in hospital. On top of this, his family is about to get evicted from their council estate flat and his ‘evil’ mum is always out of food and busy working.
Luckily Growls meets a new friend who helps him navigate his problems and gradually he discovers what’s really important to him until a plan is hatched to help save his family from being evicted.
Overall this is a really good book that covers many important social issues that kids face these days. It’s funny, light and entertaining but it’s message is strong. Life isn’t about the insta bling bling lifestyle, it’s about surrounding yourself with love and support and nurturing those who provide that for you; because all relationships are a two way street and everyone has their own problems that they need help with. Ignore the haters and concentrate on those around you who really care.
I would definitely recommend this book for pre-teens and early teens and maybe even adults that want a fun read. It promotes healthy friendships, talking about your problems and realising that toxic peers shouldn’t have any impact on the things that matter.
Unfortunately I had a kindle ARC version of this to read and the formatting was terrible. It made it extremely hard to follow at times. I assume this has been/will be fixed but I mention it just in case.
The story follows Shaun ‘Growls’ Thompson after a seriously embarrassing incident involving him and his best friend Shanks. Now the girl he fancies won’t have anything to do with him and Shanks is ill in hospital. On top of this, his family is about to get evicted from their council estate flat and his ‘evil’ mum is always out of food and busy working.
Luckily Growls meets a new friend who helps him navigate his problems and gradually he discovers what’s really important to him until a plan is hatched to help save his family from being evicted.
Overall this is a really good book that covers many important social issues that kids face these days. It’s funny, light and entertaining but it’s message is strong. Life isn’t about the insta bling bling lifestyle, it’s about surrounding yourself with love and support and nurturing those who provide that for you; because all relationships are a two way street and everyone has their own problems that they need help with. Ignore the haters and concentrate on those around you who really care.
I would definitely recommend this book for pre-teens and early teens and maybe even adults that want a fun read. It promotes healthy friendships, talking about your problems and realising that toxic peers shouldn’t have any impact on the things that matter.
Unfortunately I had a kindle ARC version of this to read and the formatting was terrible. It made it extremely hard to follow at times. I assume this has been/will be fixed but I mention it just in case.
May 11, 2023
I got sent an advanced copy of this by Readers First to read and review. This is a very interesting book with a very modern feel to it. I should mention that the majority of it is written in modern slang dialect and I initially found this quite hard to follow until I’d got a bit further into it and then it became much easier to read. Obviously younger readers that it is aimed at wont experience such issues. In the end I found it really funny and enjoyable – there were several scenes were I actually found myself laughing out loud. It just felt like it was written quite naturally and worked really well – it’s a great first book from Nathanael Lessore. Once I’d warmed to the main protagonist I found him really likeable and refreshing and the message behind it all makes him quite a good role model too. I think I would recommend it to a lot of young teens, especially any with a keen interest in rap music. I really liked the vibes from the cover artwork as well.
January 23, 2025
I cannot overstate how much the YA market needs this book. A funny, male MC that certainly addresses real life issues without being a problem novel. Super highly recommend.
March 19, 2024
Man, I loved this book! Shaun aka Growls is a genius main character who is unintentionally hilarious and wholeheartedly loyal, caring and goofingly lovable.
This YA debut novel deals with really big issues such as poverty, anxiety and young carers with heart and grit at the same time. A truly contemporary novel that sees today’s young people and tell their stories in their words.
I laughed out loud so much at Shaun’s misunderstandings and misinterpretations.
Well done Mr Lessore!
This YA debut novel deals with really big issues such as poverty, anxiety and young carers with heart and grit at the same time. A truly contemporary novel that sees today’s young people and tell their stories in their words.
I laughed out loud so much at Shaun’s misunderstandings and misinterpretations.
Well done Mr Lessore!
March 27, 2024
I hate this. It uses slang too much to the point of cringe worthy. I don't feel it was true to the current rap culture today. Its like 8 Mile for toddlers.
March 26, 2024
Firstly. I had to read this for Carnegie shadowing. Not my first choice at all. Would never pick this up. Cringe is the only word to describe this book. Sorry. Awful.
April 28, 2024
Not my sort of thing but it got better towards the end and finished well
April 27, 2023
Steady For This is written from the perspective of teenage schoolboy Shaun, aka aspiring rapper MC Growls. The central character has a habit of mangling the English language and putting his foot in it, which serves as sources of humour, but this doesn't deter him from pursuing his rap dream or trying to woo classmate Tanisha as his girlfriend. However, those twin ambitions seem further away than ever when an audition for the Raptology contest in the form of an online video turns into a bit of a stinker.
Aimed very much at young adults, who might be more familiar with some of the street talk terminology, there's a lot of punning/word play (as you might expect from a Rap-based story) as well as some topical themes such as the cost of living struggles endured by Shaun's family. Equally, whilst there is humourous intent behind some of Shaun/MC Growls' lack of intellect, readers may empathise with the social awkwardness arising out of the pursuit of Tanisha and might hope for some sort of redemption by the novel's conclusion...
Aimed very much at young adults, who might be more familiar with some of the street talk terminology, there's a lot of punning/word play (as you might expect from a Rap-based story) as well as some topical themes such as the cost of living struggles endured by Shaun's family. Equally, whilst there is humourous intent behind some of Shaun/MC Growls' lack of intellect, readers may empathise with the social awkwardness arising out of the pursuit of Tanisha and might hope for some sort of redemption by the novel's conclusion...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 4, 2023
I was really excited to see this book. I have been struggling to find books for KS3 boys who are stuck on Wimpy Kid. This looked as though it would fit the bill and would go down particularly well at my school after our recent author visit from rapper poet Karl Nova.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. I have to admit, at first I was thinking there were some errors in the book, like missing words, before I realised it was Growls way of speaking. Growls is a great character - likeable, with a rather naive view of things. The book has plenty of humour ( shout out date with Tanisha and that livestream).but some serious topics are covered too as Growls faces the loss of his home and his friends face problems too. For me, it also ties in well with our recent author visit- what is it with rappers and Mufasa? There's malapropisms galore too.
I highly recommend this book. I can't wait to get it into our library.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. I have to admit, at first I was thinking there were some errors in the book, like missing words, before I realised it was Growls way of speaking. Growls is a great character - likeable, with a rather naive view of things. The book has plenty of humour ( shout out date with Tanisha and that livestream).but some serious topics are covered too as Growls faces the loss of his home and his friends face problems too. For me, it also ties in well with our recent author visit- what is it with rappers and Mufasa? There's malapropisms galore too.
I highly recommend this book. I can't wait to get it into our library.
May 1, 2023
Steady For This follows the story of Shaun "MC Growls" an aspiring rapper who is dying to impress Tanisha, the girl of his dreams. When a practice session goes wrong on livestream for a competition, Tanisha won't even look at Growls. How can he remedy the situation to make Tanisha look at him again?
This is a really funny, comedic debut from Nathanael Lessore. Something that immediately grabs my attention as a reader is the writing style. It's a dialectic Gen Z slang of today's youth, it's fast paced and natural, adds so well to the humour of Growls's infamy after the hiccup of the livestream practice. He's a larger than life character with big dreams who is a glass half full kinda guy.
It's refreshing to read a story written in this way, using the modern language. While it may be harder to understand for older readers, for those who struggle to get into reading, I'd recommend this to any teen.
This is a really funny, comedic debut from Nathanael Lessore. Something that immediately grabs my attention as a reader is the writing style. It's a dialectic Gen Z slang of today's youth, it's fast paced and natural, adds so well to the humour of Growls's infamy after the hiccup of the livestream practice. He's a larger than life character with big dreams who is a glass half full kinda guy.
It's refreshing to read a story written in this way, using the modern language. While it may be harder to understand for older readers, for those who struggle to get into reading, I'd recommend this to any teen.
September 3, 2023
I wasn’t sure when I started this whether I would like it but decided to read it anyway and have to admit it did have me laughing in places. Shaun is 13 and he plans to become the next big Rapper calling himself MC Growls alongside his friend Shanks. They want to enter the Rap competition coming up and in order to impress a girl Shaun stream their training session live on YouTube, unfortunately this does not quite go to plan when an embarrassing event gets streamed instead and now everybody is laughing at them.
The story is told by Shaun, his genuine lack of knowledge and mistakes in history, language (mistaking words for similar ones), and comical errors (getting stuck in a pushchair and taking a yoghurt as a snack to the cinema are favourites), leads to a lovely light easy read.
The story does look at some serious issues, debt, threat of eviction, stress, redundancy, health problems, homeschooling, but it is a fun story with a happy ending.
The story is told by Shaun, his genuine lack of knowledge and mistakes in history, language (mistaking words for similar ones), and comical errors (getting stuck in a pushchair and taking a yoghurt as a snack to the cinema are favourites), leads to a lovely light easy read.
The story does look at some serious issues, debt, threat of eviction, stress, redundancy, health problems, homeschooling, but it is a fun story with a happy ending.
November 28, 2024
Thank you to Little Brown for the ARC
I liked the plot and I liked the characters, but the narration got on my nerves. Yes, this is very much middle grade and not at all YA, too. The book is in first person, and the main character gets so many words either spelled wrong or written as the wrong word (as in it is done intentionally by the author) that it got annoying after a while. And it would be really inconsistent; he fully understood gentrification but thought that ice cream sundaes were called sundaes because you eat them on Sundays. Also, the book is full of slang that a British 13 year old would probably understand but in reality is just plain confusing for an American who is not at all the target audience for this book. It’s a good read, but it would be better if the narration style was changed.
I liked the plot and I liked the characters, but the narration got on my nerves. Yes, this is very much middle grade and not at all YA, too. The book is in first person, and the main character gets so many words either spelled wrong or written as the wrong word (as in it is done intentionally by the author) that it got annoying after a while. And it would be really inconsistent; he fully understood gentrification but thought that ice cream sundaes were called sundaes because you eat them on Sundays. Also, the book is full of slang that a British 13 year old would probably understand but in reality is just plain confusing for an American who is not at all the target audience for this book. It’s a good read, but it would be better if the narration style was changed.
May 1, 2024
I read this because it is on the short list for the Yoto Carnegie Medal for Writing 2024 and I help run a group in our school... I really liked it, it wasnt as 'preachy' as some shortlisted books .. it had a message, yes but not one that was forced on you... I admit, I laughed (poo pants!) and got a little tearful during the reading of this, the main character, Growls, was so funny in the way he talked and I loved some of the ways he mixed his words but seeing the issues and troubles the characters had, eviction threats, money issues, depression and young carers, felt it was very relevant in these days.
May 8, 2024
i made a a goodreads account just to say that this is poop from a butt, tf is this?? most cringiest thing i ever read, i had to forcefully shove my fist into my mouth out of pure second-hand embarrassment. you call this worthy to be in the carnegies shortlist? brotha, what a joke. i had to read this for a project and was told it "would make me laugh outloud" when every single thing just makes your main character look like a real breathing idiot. maybe its just me who dont find this ha-ha but DAMN i would rather krill myself than ever read ts again and whoever says this book is good is probably wrapped up in a mass delusion scheme
but it a little better at the end i guess
but it a little better at the end i guess
February 9, 2024
Fabulous debut! Can’t wait for the next book. It’s real, heart warming, hilarious, complex and will appeal to so many young adults. Many themes are covered such as anxiety, identity, loneliness, caring responsibilities, poverty and how creativity in whatever form it be - rap, art etc can still reign supreme.
“You get rid of darkness by introducing the light
The two both exist, the artist chooses the fight.”
Shaun and Nathanael - you are both legends ❤️📚
“You get rid of darkness by introducing the light
The two both exist, the artist chooses the fight.”
Shaun and Nathanael - you are both legends ❤️📚
July 19, 2023
I need to shout about how amazing this book is! So much heart & soul, and funny & sweet too..... didn't expect to love it so much. All the ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Steady for This by Nathanael Lessore
@HotKeyBooks @NateLessore
#booktwt #YAreads #BooksWorthReading
Steady for This by Nathanael Lessore
@HotKeyBooks @NateLessore
#booktwt #YAreads #BooksWorthReading
April 16, 2024
Tragicomic look at a wannabe teen rap artist in London. The malapropisms a liberally sprinkled throughout, but don’t detract from the harshness of life in contemporary Inner cities. The protagonist is smarter than he makes out … surely?
May 12, 2023
Had a lot of fun, loved the characters and the plot. A coming of age story full of humour and well plotted.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine
December 18, 2023
Hilarious, an absolute banger.
February 19, 2024
#teacherread
May 9, 2024
Breath of fresh air. Can’t wait to recommend to all my students!
January 24, 2025
A funny middle grade tale of a young rapper who will do anything in his power to save his family's home.
Thirteen-year-old Shaun (aka Growls) is known for dropping a beat and rapping his heart out on the fly. Unfortunately, this doesn't seem to be the way to his crush's heart. Tanisha may not like his bars, but at least he has his best friend Shanks on his side. That is, until Growls goes live while he and Shanks are practicing their raps and they become the laughingstock of the school. Now, Shanks is missing in action, and Growls finds himself utterly alone until he meets the new girl on the block, Siobhan. Life feels a little less lonely, but how is Growls supposed to win the rap contest without his best friend by his side?
If I would have only read the first twenty percent of this book, I would have hated it immensely. Growls didn't really make that great of an impression in the first part of this book and his wordplay was a bit hard to palate. Luckily, I got used to this as the book progressed and I ended up finding his cringe wordplay to be quite endearing. This book also reminded me how much slang changes in such a short period of time. I've always been bad at keeping up with trends, but so much of these words meant absolutely nothing to me. The author did me a great service by including a glossary in the back that gave a thorough explanation of what everything meant and examples of how the words would be used in a sentence. This will be especially useful as this book ages.
I thought that this book was going to be shallow due to its lighthearted nature and the small brain power of the main character. However, this book actually has quite a bit of depth. Growls, Shanks, and Siobhan are all going through some things mentally, physically, and financially that most children are blessed to not have to ever think about in their youth. This doesn't mean that they aren't happy kids with dreams and aspirations of their own, but they certainly have more stressors than the average kid.
Not all aspects of this book one hundred percent check out, but I'm not going to be overly critical of it because this book provided me with a great time. I often found myself laughing uncontrollably at the weird things that Growls says and the not so bright decisions that he thinks are works of art. I'm not sure how he is aware of who Guy Fawkes is but doesn't understand who Queen Elizabeth is, but hey, kids pick up on obscure facts and are completely oblivious to other things. The figurative writing in this book is totally out there, which I found to be quite fun. Seriously, this book has one of my favorite similes of all time contained within it that compares things to Pokémon in a very creative way that also perfectly portrayed the situation.
Overall, I ended up really enjoying "Dropping Beats." It took a bit of time for the writing style, the wordplay, and the characters to grow on me, but I ended up finding it really enjoyable in the end. This book is quite comical while also highlighting on issues that many kids may be experiencing themselves. I appreciate how it portrays people who live "on the block" in such a positive light; kids are really just kids no matter the situation or the living conditions. The figurative language was quite expressive in such a unique way that I've never seen anything close to. I can see why many people would give up on this book in the first few chapters, but I found that sticking with it was quite rewarding.
Thirteen-year-old Shaun (aka Growls) is known for dropping a beat and rapping his heart out on the fly. Unfortunately, this doesn't seem to be the way to his crush's heart. Tanisha may not like his bars, but at least he has his best friend Shanks on his side. That is, until Growls goes live while he and Shanks are practicing their raps and they become the laughingstock of the school. Now, Shanks is missing in action, and Growls finds himself utterly alone until he meets the new girl on the block, Siobhan. Life feels a little less lonely, but how is Growls supposed to win the rap contest without his best friend by his side?
If I would have only read the first twenty percent of this book, I would have hated it immensely. Growls didn't really make that great of an impression in the first part of this book and his wordplay was a bit hard to palate. Luckily, I got used to this as the book progressed and I ended up finding his cringe wordplay to be quite endearing. This book also reminded me how much slang changes in such a short period of time. I've always been bad at keeping up with trends, but so much of these words meant absolutely nothing to me. The author did me a great service by including a glossary in the back that gave a thorough explanation of what everything meant and examples of how the words would be used in a sentence. This will be especially useful as this book ages.
I thought that this book was going to be shallow due to its lighthearted nature and the small brain power of the main character. However, this book actually has quite a bit of depth. Growls, Shanks, and Siobhan are all going through some things mentally, physically, and financially that most children are blessed to not have to ever think about in their youth. This doesn't mean that they aren't happy kids with dreams and aspirations of their own, but they certainly have more stressors than the average kid.
Not all aspects of this book one hundred percent check out, but I'm not going to be overly critical of it because this book provided me with a great time. I often found myself laughing uncontrollably at the weird things that Growls says and the not so bright decisions that he thinks are works of art. I'm not sure how he is aware of who Guy Fawkes is but doesn't understand who Queen Elizabeth is, but hey, kids pick up on obscure facts and are completely oblivious to other things. The figurative writing in this book is totally out there, which I found to be quite fun. Seriously, this book has one of my favorite similes of all time contained within it that compares things to Pokémon in a very creative way that also perfectly portrayed the situation.
Overall, I ended up really enjoying "Dropping Beats." It took a bit of time for the writing style, the wordplay, and the characters to grow on me, but I ended up finding it really enjoyable in the end. This book is quite comical while also highlighting on issues that many kids may be experiencing themselves. I appreciate how it portrays people who live "on the block" in such a positive light; kids are really just kids no matter the situation or the living conditions. The figurative language was quite expressive in such a unique way that I've never seen anything close to. I can see why many people would give up on this book in the first few chapters, but I found that sticking with it was quite rewarding.
December 30, 2024
This is such a fantastic story that made me smile and laugh so much! Shaun, aka MC Growls, loves to wrap and is excited about entering Raptology with his friend Shanks. Wanting to also impress a girl he likes from school, Shaun decides to film while he and Shanks practice their rapping together live. But something embarrassing soon happens and Shaun and Shanks struggle to deal with everyone now laughing at them.
This is such a fun and interesting story told from Shaun’s point of view. From the first pages this book had me laughing due to how funny and silly Shaun can be. The humour is really good and I couldn’t help but enjoy the funny way Shaun talks and makes mistakes with the things he says or does. At the start of the story Shaun, aka Growls, desperately wants to be a rapper because of the cool lifestyle associated with it. He also desperately wants to impress the girl he likes at school called Tanisha too. When Shaun and Shanks start practicing their rapping in Shaun’s bedroom, his mum soon comes in and spoils not only their fun, but ends up embarassing Shaun, airing his dirty laundry (literally) to everyone watching the live feed. And soon Shaun is the laughing stock of the school and finds he’s being noticed, for the wrong reasons, everywhere he goes.
From the start Shaun is such a brilliant character to narrate this story. I love some of the silly things that happen to him, like the mention of the eyelash Vaseline incident, what happens at the cinema including the snack Shaun brings, and that pushchair scene really made me laugh out loud at how funny and silly they are. In fact this book just kept on being funny, even though it has some more serious moments, there’s so much good humour throughout you can’t hep but keep laughing. Shaun is a character I instantly liked and I know lots of teens could relate to him.
As the story continues it does tackle some more serious topics. Even though the humour does continue, some more serious things happen especially after the live feed goes wrong for both Shaun and Shanks and later Shaun’s family face being evicted from their home, as well as another character facing their own difficult problems too. I like how these issues were tackled in this book and how even though Shaun has a moment here and there where he struggles with what’s happening, he’s ultimately a good character with a good heart. I especially like what happens when Shaun meets Siobhan and how their relationship develops in the story, with us finding out more about her life, showing some more difficult issues but in a good way.
Throughout the story there are raps that Shaun does, which I enjoyed reading, and I love the silly things he keeps saying, mixing up phrases or words making them sound so silly you can’t help but laugh. The story has so much humour that it makes the harder moments in the book easier to deal with and I found myself laughing so many times despite all the difficult stuff Shaun and some other characters face. The story has a good build up to the ending and what happens at the end is so brilliant that it made this book not only one that made me smile but it felt like a brilliant and heart-warming one too! I love what happens to Shaun at Raptology, and afterwards that triple epilogue, it was all such a perfect ending to Shaun’s story and one I have loved every minute of reading! Even the author’s acknowledgements made me laugh (you should read them too!).
Overall this is such a good book which will make any teens reading it laugh and smile. It tackles some difficult subjects, which honestly, some teens reading may not be familiar with like facing eviction or money problems, but for other teens this may well be a book they will relate to more because of these difficult issues mentioned in the book. For me this book feels all the better because it tackles these difficult subjects, like impending homelessness, mental health and money problems, and does this in good a way. It’s definitely a good book at showing the good side to people from a working class background too. So many stories I know set in places where Shaun lives are often seen as gritty or dark, and I love how this book give a different side and vibe to what it’s like to grow up in a poorer neighbourhood (which for some of my childhood I could relate to), andshowing how these characters are still good and good things can happen to them.
I do feel I should mention one thing about this book considering it’s been the reason for some negative reviews I’ve seen. The book’s narrator does speak a lot in slang and in the type of language or way which some do use from South East London. It doesn’t make the book too difficult to read, but for older readers or those not used to the slang language or way that Shaun speaks could find it a little harder at first to get used to the book’s narration. However, even though I didn’t know all of the slang words used today, I did pick them up very quickly and I did really enjoy reading this and found it such a fun and brilliant read (although I am also from London so this might have influenced some of my enjoyment too considering it’s set there! 😀 ). A great book that I’d recommend for how much it will put you in a good mood after reading it. This has become a favourite of the year and I’ll definnitely be re-reading this whenever I need something to make me smile. I can’t wait to read more books from this author in the future too! 🙂
-Thanks to Hot Key Books for a free coipy.
This is such a fun and interesting story told from Shaun’s point of view. From the first pages this book had me laughing due to how funny and silly Shaun can be. The humour is really good and I couldn’t help but enjoy the funny way Shaun talks and makes mistakes with the things he says or does. At the start of the story Shaun, aka Growls, desperately wants to be a rapper because of the cool lifestyle associated with it. He also desperately wants to impress the girl he likes at school called Tanisha too. When Shaun and Shanks start practicing their rapping in Shaun’s bedroom, his mum soon comes in and spoils not only their fun, but ends up embarassing Shaun, airing his dirty laundry (literally) to everyone watching the live feed. And soon Shaun is the laughing stock of the school and finds he’s being noticed, for the wrong reasons, everywhere he goes.
From the start Shaun is such a brilliant character to narrate this story. I love some of the silly things that happen to him, like the mention of the eyelash Vaseline incident, what happens at the cinema including the snack Shaun brings, and that pushchair scene really made me laugh out loud at how funny and silly they are. In fact this book just kept on being funny, even though it has some more serious moments, there’s so much good humour throughout you can’t hep but keep laughing. Shaun is a character I instantly liked and I know lots of teens could relate to him.
As the story continues it does tackle some more serious topics. Even though the humour does continue, some more serious things happen especially after the live feed goes wrong for both Shaun and Shanks and later Shaun’s family face being evicted from their home, as well as another character facing their own difficult problems too. I like how these issues were tackled in this book and how even though Shaun has a moment here and there where he struggles with what’s happening, he’s ultimately a good character with a good heart. I especially like what happens when Shaun meets Siobhan and how their relationship develops in the story, with us finding out more about her life, showing some more difficult issues but in a good way.
Throughout the story there are raps that Shaun does, which I enjoyed reading, and I love the silly things he keeps saying, mixing up phrases or words making them sound so silly you can’t help but laugh. The story has so much humour that it makes the harder moments in the book easier to deal with and I found myself laughing so many times despite all the difficult stuff Shaun and some other characters face. The story has a good build up to the ending and what happens at the end is so brilliant that it made this book not only one that made me smile but it felt like a brilliant and heart-warming one too! I love what happens to Shaun at Raptology, and afterwards that triple epilogue, it was all such a perfect ending to Shaun’s story and one I have loved every minute of reading! Even the author’s acknowledgements made me laugh (you should read them too!).
Overall this is such a good book which will make any teens reading it laugh and smile. It tackles some difficult subjects, which honestly, some teens reading may not be familiar with like facing eviction or money problems, but for other teens this may well be a book they will relate to more because of these difficult issues mentioned in the book. For me this book feels all the better because it tackles these difficult subjects, like impending homelessness, mental health and money problems, and does this in good a way. It’s definitely a good book at showing the good side to people from a working class background too. So many stories I know set in places where Shaun lives are often seen as gritty or dark, and I love how this book give a different side and vibe to what it’s like to grow up in a poorer neighbourhood (which for some of my childhood I could relate to), andshowing how these characters are still good and good things can happen to them.
I do feel I should mention one thing about this book considering it’s been the reason for some negative reviews I’ve seen. The book’s narrator does speak a lot in slang and in the type of language or way which some do use from South East London. It doesn’t make the book too difficult to read, but for older readers or those not used to the slang language or way that Shaun speaks could find it a little harder at first to get used to the book’s narration. However, even though I didn’t know all of the slang words used today, I did pick them up very quickly and I did really enjoy reading this and found it such a fun and brilliant read (although I am also from London so this might have influenced some of my enjoyment too considering it’s set there! 😀 ). A great book that I’d recommend for how much it will put you in a good mood after reading it. This has become a favourite of the year and I’ll definnitely be re-reading this whenever I need something to make me smile. I can’t wait to read more books from this author in the future too! 🙂
-Thanks to Hot Key Books for a free coipy.
March 1, 2025
Meet Growls, the thickest 13 year-old in all of Britain. He’s a hybrid of Greg Heffley (Wimpy Kid) and Amelia Bedelia-speaks entirely in malapropisms, slang that isn’t tough to decipher (I’m not sure what the other reviewers are on about, but maybe they don’t work with tweens/teens), exclamations my grandmother uses, and longs to be a rapper. To no one’s surprise, his inability to understand homonyms turns out to be his rap superpower.
In-narrative, it seems a little unclear whether Growls has substantial special needs or is mostly ostracized for being disruptive and outlandishly impulsive, but to a reader, he’s got significant developmental delays and learning gaps, so I can’t tell if this is a compassionate take on a disabled teen or just wimpy kid taken a step too far. I’d never recommend this to an actually middle schooler, the cringe and social sabotage would make their skin crawl, and I think the brain rot-adjacent slang level would make it unpalatable to older elementary/primary school.
In-narrative, it seems a little unclear whether Growls has substantial special needs or is mostly ostracized for being disruptive and outlandishly impulsive, but to a reader, he’s got significant developmental delays and learning gaps, so I can’t tell if this is a compassionate take on a disabled teen or just wimpy kid taken a step too far. I’d never recommend this to an actually middle schooler, the cringe and social sabotage would make their skin crawl, and I think the brain rot-adjacent slang level would make it unpalatable to older elementary/primary school.
July 27, 2025
I suspect this book will be polarising... actually, reading all the Good Reads reviews... it already is!!
Shaun (MC Growls) is a wannabe rapper with his best mate Shanks. But when a livestream goes drastically wrong, his dreams seemingly crash and burn - and Shanks disappears from his life.
His home life is in turmoil as his mum struggles to meet rent and his big brother gives him no respect. But when he meets home-schooled Siobhan he finds someone who he can confide him now that Shanks seems to be gone. Siobhan has problems of her own and this helps to pull Growls back to a semblance of reality.
Growls is an exceptionally likeable character... he is naive almost beyond belief, but that adds to his appeal. His understanding of the English language is somewhat flawed (and often hilarious) but this turns out to potentially be his rapping super power.
The slang throughout the book does take a bit to get your head around, but I enjoyed it and I enjoyed getting to know Growls and seeing him navigate everything that the world was throwing at him.
Shaun (MC Growls) is a wannabe rapper with his best mate Shanks. But when a livestream goes drastically wrong, his dreams seemingly crash and burn - and Shanks disappears from his life.
His home life is in turmoil as his mum struggles to meet rent and his big brother gives him no respect. But when he meets home-schooled Siobhan he finds someone who he can confide him now that Shanks seems to be gone. Siobhan has problems of her own and this helps to pull Growls back to a semblance of reality.
Growls is an exceptionally likeable character... he is naive almost beyond belief, but that adds to his appeal. His understanding of the English language is somewhat flawed (and often hilarious) but this turns out to potentially be his rapping super power.
The slang throughout the book does take a bit to get your head around, but I enjoyed it and I enjoyed getting to know Growls and seeing him navigate everything that the world was throwing at him.
dnf
February 20, 2025Ok. Two DNFs in one day. But this one was very much not the book's fault at all.
I am 5000% not this book's intended audience, and I didn't realize when I requested an ARC that it definitely leans more lower YA than upper, so the voice feels almost middle grade to me, and I don't really enjoy reading middle grade books these days.
It also is absolutely filled to the brim with slang and even includes a glossary of terms at the end, and I am apparently at the age where I had to check the glossary every other word. Jesus, I'm old.
However, I can absolutely see how a middle grade/young teen boy would absolutely eat this shit up. It is goofy and funny and has such a distinct voice and heart. (And I only read the first 10 pages and can confidently say all of that.)
So if you have a middle grade/teen boy who needs a book to read, offer him this one. I truly think it'll be loved. My copy will go in a nearby little free library so hopefully someone can enjoy it.
I am 5000% not this book's intended audience, and I didn't realize when I requested an ARC that it definitely leans more lower YA than upper, so the voice feels almost middle grade to me, and I don't really enjoy reading middle grade books these days.
It also is absolutely filled to the brim with slang and even includes a glossary of terms at the end, and I am apparently at the age where I had to check the glossary every other word. Jesus, I'm old.
However, I can absolutely see how a middle grade/young teen boy would absolutely eat this shit up. It is goofy and funny and has such a distinct voice and heart. (And I only read the first 10 pages and can confidently say all of that.)
So if you have a middle grade/teen boy who needs a book to read, offer him this one. I truly think it'll be loved. My copy will go in a nearby little free library so hopefully someone can enjoy it.
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