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Big Nobody: The darkly funny new coming-of-age novel for fans of Bella Mackie and Derry Girls
Brought to you by Penguin.
For Constance ‘Connie’ Costa, life is just beginning. She dreams of leaving behind her dull, dreary life in ‘70s East London, shaking off her deeply embarrassing Greek-Cypriot community of interfering Aunties and pretend ‘cousins’, and running away with her best mate Vas (fellow misfit; NHS specs; soul of a poet). She is determined to take her rightful place alongside her hero, David Bowie, onstage at Wembley Stadium.
Only one thing stands in her her father, The Fat Murderer. No longer content with being an absolute imbecile and general abomination of nature, he has dialled up his campaign to ruin Connie’s life ever since the death of her mother.
If she ever wants to claim the destiny that is rightfully hers, Connie has only one option to kill him.
Fizzingly original, disarmingly tender and laugh-out-loud funny, BIG NOBODY is a coming-of-age story about first love, first grief, and the long, painful journey to feeling like a somebody.
© Alex Kadis 2026 (P) Penguin Audio 2026
For Constance ‘Connie’ Costa, life is just beginning. She dreams of leaving behind her dull, dreary life in ‘70s East London, shaking off her deeply embarrassing Greek-Cypriot community of interfering Aunties and pretend ‘cousins’, and running away with her best mate Vas (fellow misfit; NHS specs; soul of a poet). She is determined to take her rightful place alongside her hero, David Bowie, onstage at Wembley Stadium.
Only one thing stands in her her father, The Fat Murderer. No longer content with being an absolute imbecile and general abomination of nature, he has dialled up his campaign to ruin Connie’s life ever since the death of her mother.
If she ever wants to claim the destiny that is rightfully hers, Connie has only one option to kill him.
Fizzingly original, disarmingly tender and laugh-out-loud funny, BIG NOBODY is a coming-of-age story about first love, first grief, and the long, painful journey to feeling like a somebody.
© Alex Kadis 2026 (P) Penguin Audio 2026
Audible Audio
Published March 5, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 143 reviews
March 17, 2026
This isn’t a bad book, but I definitely feel catfished by the blurb and the marketing. This book is a messy family drama about identity and belonging and generational differences.
March 10, 2026
DNF @ p101
Pre-Read Notes:
I actually tried this one twice. First, I paused/DNFed after 70 pages and went and read reviews. A lot of people seem to like this book for reasons I usually enjoy books-- subversiveness, experimentation, M.I. rep.
I tend to be interested in stories about silences in families, so this book should be completely for me. But I'm not finding the main character that realistic or compelling. But she is unstable, inexplicably, if you don't count surviving trauma as a reliable precursor to mental illness and I don't. That trope is far more common in fiction than it is in real life.
Final Review
(thoughts & recs) Though I care about this character's pain, grief, and unstable mental condition, I don't believe the author does care about her. At least, the writing doesn't seem to suggest any empathy, only description and labeling. Lots of "unhinged" and "spastic", that whole flavor of ableism.
The idea here, it seems to me, is to explore the character's revenge fantasy against her terrible father, out of grief for her mother, whom her father killed in a car accident. The treatment of the first person stream of consciousness seems to suggest that Constance's trauma contributes to her violent fantasies. The text also subtley suggests that her violent fantasies are the same as violence acted out, both morally and emotionally. Both suggestions need more attention, while also remembering the restrictions required by the form.
Content Notes: death of a parent, grief, manslaughter, violence against children, child SA, trauma, untreated mental illness, attachment and trust issues,
Thank you to Alex Kadis, Random House, and NetGalley for an accessible digital arc of BIG NOBODY. All views are mine.
Pre-Read Notes:
I actually tried this one twice. First, I paused/DNFed after 70 pages and went and read reviews. A lot of people seem to like this book for reasons I usually enjoy books-- subversiveness, experimentation, M.I. rep.
I tend to be interested in stories about silences in families, so this book should be completely for me. But I'm not finding the main character that realistic or compelling. But she is unstable, inexplicably, if you don't count surviving trauma as a reliable precursor to mental illness and I don't. That trope is far more common in fiction than it is in real life.
Final Review
(thoughts & recs) Though I care about this character's pain, grief, and unstable mental condition, I don't believe the author does care about her. At least, the writing doesn't seem to suggest any empathy, only description and labeling. Lots of "unhinged" and "spastic", that whole flavor of ableism.
The idea here, it seems to me, is to explore the character's revenge fantasy against her terrible father, out of grief for her mother, whom her father killed in a car accident. The treatment of the first person stream of consciousness seems to suggest that Constance's trauma contributes to her violent fantasies. The text also subtley suggests that her violent fantasies are the same as violence acted out, both morally and emotionally. Both suggestions need more attention, while also remembering the restrictions required by the form.
Content Notes: death of a parent, grief, manslaughter, violence against children, child SA, trauma, untreated mental illness, attachment and trust issues,
Thank you to Alex Kadis, Random House, and NetGalley for an accessible digital arc of BIG NOBODY. All views are mine.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
4.5
Connie Costa will definitely be a character who is difficult to forget.
Connie is expected to be a good Greek girl. She is expected to do what her father commands and behave in a certain way both in and out of the home. But Connie isnt going to listen to the man she refers to as The Fat Murderer. She is grieving for her mother and little brothers who were killed in a car accident. And The Fat Murderer is the one she blames for all her problems.
She just wants to be like any other teenager - to have fun with friends, go to school discos, to fool around with Vasos and to be allowed to play her guitar and chat to Marc Bolan and David Bowie without the Fat Murderer trying to control her every move. Is that really asking too much?
Connie is a brilliant character. She is funny, smart, self-deprecating and, like a lot of wildly hormonal teens, desperate for love. Her view on life is black and white and with reason. You cannot help but sympathise with her situation. I promise you will be cheering her on no matter what she does.
It was easy to recognise a teenage girl's desires as she takes her woes to her idols - posters of Bolan and Gilmour even if she does find Mr Bowie "snitty, obscure" and "unable to resist sticking his nose in" where its not wanted.
This is a very funny, very human book and Connie is a favourite character right from the start. She explodes off the page and I could picture her very clearly.
Brilliant. Highly recommended.
Thankyou to Netgalley and Random House UK for the digital review copy.
Connie Costa will definitely be a character who is difficult to forget.
Connie is expected to be a good Greek girl. She is expected to do what her father commands and behave in a certain way both in and out of the home. But Connie isnt going to listen to the man she refers to as The Fat Murderer. She is grieving for her mother and little brothers who were killed in a car accident. And The Fat Murderer is the one she blames for all her problems.
She just wants to be like any other teenager - to have fun with friends, go to school discos, to fool around with Vasos and to be allowed to play her guitar and chat to Marc Bolan and David Bowie without the Fat Murderer trying to control her every move. Is that really asking too much?
Connie is a brilliant character. She is funny, smart, self-deprecating and, like a lot of wildly hormonal teens, desperate for love. Her view on life is black and white and with reason. You cannot help but sympathise with her situation. I promise you will be cheering her on no matter what she does.
It was easy to recognise a teenage girl's desires as she takes her woes to her idols - posters of Bolan and Gilmour even if she does find Mr Bowie "snitty, obscure" and "unable to resist sticking his nose in" where its not wanted.
This is a very funny, very human book and Connie is a favourite character right from the start. She explodes off the page and I could picture her very clearly.
Brilliant. Highly recommended.
Thankyou to Netgalley and Random House UK for the digital review copy.
January 27, 2026
Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. The book will be published on March 10th, 2026.
Big Nobody is an easy, engaging read driven by a strong, funny teenage voice. Especially for fans of the 70s, and people who used their teenage years to rebel against their parents. We follow Connie’s inner monologue as she rages against her father, a grieving man that handles that grief in all the wrong ways, simultaneously smothering his daughter and pushing her away. That rage helps her carry on.
The pacing is steady and quick enough that it never feels heavy, even when it’s dealing with grief and family dysfunction. Short chapters, sharp internal monologue, and dark humor keep things moving, so you’re rarely stuck wading through long introspection.
It’s the kind of book you can fly through in a few sittings because the writing is clear, lively, and emotionally honest without being exhausting. Overall, it’s readable, brisk, sad in places, funny in others, and very approachable.
Big Nobody is an easy, engaging read driven by a strong, funny teenage voice. Especially for fans of the 70s, and people who used their teenage years to rebel against their parents. We follow Connie’s inner monologue as she rages against her father, a grieving man that handles that grief in all the wrong ways, simultaneously smothering his daughter and pushing her away. That rage helps her carry on.
The pacing is steady and quick enough that it never feels heavy, even when it’s dealing with grief and family dysfunction. Short chapters, sharp internal monologue, and dark humor keep things moving, so you’re rarely stuck wading through long introspection.
It’s the kind of book you can fly through in a few sittings because the writing is clear, lively, and emotionally honest without being exhausting. Overall, it’s readable, brisk, sad in places, funny in others, and very approachable.
October 9, 2025
i love when a book makes it so easy to give it five stars
April 5, 2026
A good read in some ways, but unfortunately another book badly betrayed by its own publisher’s summary.
The first thing the summary for this book says is that it’s “a wickedly funny coming of age novel.” But this is a book about a girl severely traumatized by childhood sexual abuse.
It’s not that there isn’t plenty of humor in this (and the humor is good), but it’s actually a very sad story and most definitely not a comedy. So that’s some pretty significantly misleading text in terms of the tone. That’s always frustrating for the reader, and in this case perhaps a more serious error given that subject matter is potentially very upsetting for some.
That said, there’s plenty to like here. I loved Connie, and I really appreciated her perspective and her revenge plot line, well deserved for “the fat murderer” and deftly delivered in weighing her age and perspective regarding how she might carry this out.
Also excellent are Connie’s relationship and imagined dialogue with the rock stars in the posters on her bedroom walls, as well as the accurate portrayal of the Greek community to which her family belongs.
The jump to 2007 at the end had some structural and pacing issues, but I’m glad Connie got the ending she did, and I enjoyed spending time inside her head.
*I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.*
The first thing the summary for this book says is that it’s “a wickedly funny coming of age novel.” But this is a book about a girl severely traumatized by childhood sexual abuse.
It’s not that there isn’t plenty of humor in this (and the humor is good), but it’s actually a very sad story and most definitely not a comedy. So that’s some pretty significantly misleading text in terms of the tone. That’s always frustrating for the reader, and in this case perhaps a more serious error given that subject matter is potentially very upsetting for some.
That said, there’s plenty to like here. I loved Connie, and I really appreciated her perspective and her revenge plot line, well deserved for “the fat murderer” and deftly delivered in weighing her age and perspective regarding how she might carry this out.
Also excellent are Connie’s relationship and imagined dialogue with the rock stars in the posters on her bedroom walls, as well as the accurate portrayal of the Greek community to which her family belongs.
The jump to 2007 at the end had some structural and pacing issues, but I’m glad Connie got the ending she did, and I enjoyed spending time inside her head.
*I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.*
March 10, 2026
I am HERE for all the women/girl rage/revenge books and this one was a STANDOUT debut!! Set in 1970s England, this coming of age story follows a fat British/Greek teen girl stuck living with her abusive father after her mother and brothers die in a tragic car 'accident.'
Told in a singular, starkly humorous voice, this book tackles serious topics from domestic violence to child molestation as Connie plots ways to kill her father and find a way to live freely and safely. From the streets of London to the coast of Greece, this book will blow you away with its relevance and the emotional gut punch it will deliver.
Highly recommended, great on audio and perfect for fans of authors like How to commit a postcolonial murder by Nina McConigley. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy and @prhaudio for a complimentary ALC in exchange for my honest review.
Told in a singular, starkly humorous voice, this book tackles serious topics from domestic violence to child molestation as Connie plots ways to kill her father and find a way to live freely and safely. From the streets of London to the coast of Greece, this book will blow you away with its relevance and the emotional gut punch it will deliver.
Highly recommended, great on audio and perfect for fans of authors like How to commit a postcolonial murder by Nina McConigley. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy and @prhaudio for a complimentary ALC in exchange for my honest review.
March 31, 2026
4.5 🌟 Deeply, darkly funny, like a more fucked up Adrian Mole meets Derry Girls? Highly recommend!
March 24, 2026
4.5 ⭐️ a WHIRLWIND I’ll be thinking about Connie for a long time
April 5, 2026
This is a fantastic coming of age novel, with a heartbreaking story told through dark humour.
Connie Costas has lost her mum and her younger brothers and she believes her father is to blame.
She is determined to get rid of the father (the Fat Murderer so that she can live the life she wants to.
Some real LoL moments and genuinely lovely relationships. The Greek aunties were just brilliant and everything I remember them being from my time living over there.
This is simply brilliant 🤩
Connie Costas has lost her mum and her younger brothers and she believes her father is to blame.
She is determined to get rid of the father (the Fat Murderer so that she can live the life she wants to.
Some real LoL moments and genuinely lovely relationships. The Greek aunties were just brilliant and everything I remember them being from my time living over there.
This is simply brilliant 🤩
March 10, 2026
3.5 stars ✨
Packed with witty, dry humor, Greek culture, and a girl’s determination for vengeance; I really never knew at one point what direction Big Nobody was going to take and I LOVE that in a novel.
Big Nobody is, at its heart, a celebration of Greek culture & a coming-of-age story about overcoming your trauma and taking your life in your own hands.
Connie Costa is a teenage girl plotting the murder of her father (AKA “The Fat Murderer”) after the death of her mother and two brothers. She now lives alone as a teenager with just her dad, her music, and her famous rockstars she talks to in her room every night. She fantasizes often about “The Calling” where she will finally murder her abusive dad and be free to become a musician.
Connie’s internal monologue is absolutely unhinged and hilarious. Is she a reliable narrator? I’m not sure and that is my favorite type of narrator.
I did enjoy it for the most part, but ultimately this book lost me a little bit in points as sometimes I felt the humor vs serious topics were handled lackadaisical. I also felt sometimes, I would have liked more of the story happening for me to read in real time instead of the story already happening and then being told to me bc the FMC’s internal monologue. Otherwise though this is truly a one of a kind book.
TW: physical abuse, verbal abuse, SA of minors (off page), weird perverted men
Packed with witty, dry humor, Greek culture, and a girl’s determination for vengeance; I really never knew at one point what direction Big Nobody was going to take and I LOVE that in a novel.
Big Nobody is, at its heart, a celebration of Greek culture & a coming-of-age story about overcoming your trauma and taking your life in your own hands.
Connie Costa is a teenage girl plotting the murder of her father (AKA “The Fat Murderer”) after the death of her mother and two brothers. She now lives alone as a teenager with just her dad, her music, and her famous rockstars she talks to in her room every night. She fantasizes often about “The Calling” where she will finally murder her abusive dad and be free to become a musician.
Connie’s internal monologue is absolutely unhinged and hilarious. Is she a reliable narrator? I’m not sure and that is my favorite type of narrator.
I did enjoy it for the most part, but ultimately this book lost me a little bit in points as sometimes I felt the humor vs serious topics were handled lackadaisical. I also felt sometimes, I would have liked more of the story happening for me to read in real time instead of the story already happening and then being told to me bc the FMC’s internal monologue. Otherwise though this is truly a one of a kind book.
TW: physical abuse, verbal abuse, SA of minors (off page), weird perverted men
May 8, 2026
i hope the fat murderer rots in hell!!
March 18, 2026
Boy, this book wrecked me. It's so good. I was prepared to laugh, but not prepared for the WHAMs. Yes, that is an attempt at a reader joke btw, for a book ripe with musical pop culture rooted in England with Greek Cypriot swag. Ouch, the diasporic cultural realities hit on coming-of-age during the 1970s that you "aren't supposed to talk about" but are very much on display here. I couldn't put this book down as I started connecting the dots of Connie's fate. Your heart breaks for her, you might find your morals compromised, cheering as an accomplice to murder. You're planning your escape from adolescence with her. Are we there yet? Are we free? A great example of a book with a teen protagonist for a page-turning adult read. Bravo.
March 4, 2026
I don't even know where to begin with this book. It's just utterly brilliant. We know I am a thriller girl at heart but I can honestly say this is one of the easiest 5⭐️ books I've read.
Right from the start I was laughing and I couldn't stop throughout. Then I was angry, then laughing again and by the end of the book I was in tears.
I love everything about this book, Connie is an incredible character. We meet her as a grieving teenager following the death of her mother. She is left in the care of her dad who she refers to as "The Fat Murderer". He is a despicable man and Connie decides the only way to start her life as a musician is to kill him.
The next few years are filled with some trauma and upsetting moments, while Connie struggles with life as part of a Greek-Cypriot family, but there is some really funny parts along the way too. I don't think I can ever look at a Fray Bentos pie in the same way 🤣
Alex's writing is sharp and witty and she really pulled me in from the first page. It's such a cleverly written book and I really loved it and would highly recommend it. She also includes David Bowie and Marc Bolan in the novel and I couldn't help but read their parts in their accents, which just made the book even better.
Trust me on this one. It's brilliant!!
Right from the start I was laughing and I couldn't stop throughout. Then I was angry, then laughing again and by the end of the book I was in tears.
I love everything about this book, Connie is an incredible character. We meet her as a grieving teenager following the death of her mother. She is left in the care of her dad who she refers to as "The Fat Murderer". He is a despicable man and Connie decides the only way to start her life as a musician is to kill him.
The next few years are filled with some trauma and upsetting moments, while Connie struggles with life as part of a Greek-Cypriot family, but there is some really funny parts along the way too. I don't think I can ever look at a Fray Bentos pie in the same way 🤣
Alex's writing is sharp and witty and she really pulled me in from the first page. It's such a cleverly written book and I really loved it and would highly recommend it. She also includes David Bowie and Marc Bolan in the novel and I couldn't help but read their parts in their accents, which just made the book even better.
Trust me on this one. It's brilliant!!
March 28, 2026
Culturally compelling, both comedic and horrific.
I wasn't sure what to make of this - is it a comedy? A tragedy? I also kept expecting revelations to help me determine just how I feel about the Fat Murderer, to show definitively if Connie is a reliable narrator or not.
For goodness sake.. she's accusing her father of killing her mum and brothers! Connie is trying everything she can to kill her Greek father. It's just the two of them following a car crash a year ago. It's 1975, Connie is about to turn 15. She's part of a huge Greek family and community and enmired in traditions and social customs that constrain her. Connie wants to play her guitar, be friends with Vas, get through school and get out. After killing her father though.
This felt like a nostalgia trip, though I'm slightly too young to feel taken back to this time, having only been born in 1980.
I empathised most with Vas, the soulful Greek boy who loves reading, poetry and is clear about his aims for his degree and future. I enjoyed very much his fledgling and awkward relationship with Connie.
The story turns on a dime though, from teen comic romance to awful scenes of violence and humiliation then moves back again, it was hard as a reader to judge how to feel and just what I was reading. Scenes like those where Connie is struck in a public place could come out of a very different novel, but are hushed up, ignored or just dealt with out of sight and with underlying tension. It was disconcerting.
I yearned for something from the Dad's perspective, to see if my instincts were right or wrong about him, but we don't get anything of that. He becomes worse and worse in our eyes, and the narration does give us the missing details we need to decide where we stand.
It felt slightly uneven because of all this, the lack of surety and genre/tone, but that didn't make me any less invested in Connie's safety, happiness and hopefully getting what she wanted.
Enjoyable and a reminder of how times and cultures have changed.
With thanks to Netgalley for providing a sample reading copy.
I wasn't sure what to make of this - is it a comedy? A tragedy? I also kept expecting revelations to help me determine just how I feel about the Fat Murderer, to show definitively if Connie is a reliable narrator or not.
For goodness sake.. she's accusing her father of killing her mum and brothers! Connie is trying everything she can to kill her Greek father. It's just the two of them following a car crash a year ago. It's 1975, Connie is about to turn 15. She's part of a huge Greek family and community and enmired in traditions and social customs that constrain her. Connie wants to play her guitar, be friends with Vas, get through school and get out. After killing her father though.
This felt like a nostalgia trip, though I'm slightly too young to feel taken back to this time, having only been born in 1980.
I empathised most with Vas, the soulful Greek boy who loves reading, poetry and is clear about his aims for his degree and future. I enjoyed very much his fledgling and awkward relationship with Connie.
The story turns on a dime though, from teen comic romance to awful scenes of violence and humiliation then moves back again, it was hard as a reader to judge how to feel and just what I was reading. Scenes like those where Connie is struck in a public place could come out of a very different novel, but are hushed up, ignored or just dealt with out of sight and with underlying tension. It was disconcerting.
I yearned for something from the Dad's perspective, to see if my instincts were right or wrong about him, but we don't get anything of that. He becomes worse and worse in our eyes, and the narration does give us the missing details we need to decide where we stand.
It felt slightly uneven because of all this, the lack of surety and genre/tone, but that didn't make me any less invested in Connie's safety, happiness and hopefully getting what she wanted.
Enjoyable and a reminder of how times and cultures have changed.
With thanks to Netgalley for providing a sample reading copy.
April 12, 2026
Don’t let the pretty cover fool you, this is an intense book with some dark humor.
The novel takes place in the 70’s in London, Connie lives with her widowed dad after her mom and brothers die in a car accident (her dad’s fault). Her father is physical abusive, and Connie decides the only thing she can do is kill him to finally escape.
Not only does she suffer from her father’s, but her grandfather sexually assaulted her at a young age, and her father accused her of lying. Her grandfather does it to another young child in the family, her husband actually believes her, and the grandfather is sent away to a nursing home.
Connie plots the death of her father with the musicians on the walls of her room such as David Bowie. She falls in love with one of her best friends, and does her best to survive in a culture that would rather cover things up or ignore what’s going on than confront them and accept the shame.
I loved Connie in this novel, the author created so many villains around her, and while she dealt with so many adult situations, were reminded that she was a child in the way she talked to her posters, the way she tried to understand how bacteria worked on spoiled meat, and how all she wanted to do was go to the school dance.
I did think the jump in time after the car accident with her father near the end was a bit jarring. It’s like pacing had been pretty good and then suddenly we’re 30 years in the future learning about all this stuff that happened when she thought her father was dead and what everyone thought happened to her. I feel like if we were going to have that it should have happened sooner so we could have had some more time with it. Instead it felt a bit rushed.
Overall, I thought this was a great novel. Well written, at times a tough read, but you’re cheering Connie on the entire time.
Thank you @netgalley and @randomhouse for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.
The novel takes place in the 70’s in London, Connie lives with her widowed dad after her mom and brothers die in a car accident (her dad’s fault). Her father is physical abusive, and Connie decides the only thing she can do is kill him to finally escape.
Not only does she suffer from her father’s, but her grandfather sexually assaulted her at a young age, and her father accused her of lying. Her grandfather does it to another young child in the family, her husband actually believes her, and the grandfather is sent away to a nursing home.
Connie plots the death of her father with the musicians on the walls of her room such as David Bowie. She falls in love with one of her best friends, and does her best to survive in a culture that would rather cover things up or ignore what’s going on than confront them and accept the shame.
I loved Connie in this novel, the author created so many villains around her, and while she dealt with so many adult situations, were reminded that she was a child in the way she talked to her posters, the way she tried to understand how bacteria worked on spoiled meat, and how all she wanted to do was go to the school dance.
I did think the jump in time after the car accident with her father near the end was a bit jarring. It’s like pacing had been pretty good and then suddenly we’re 30 years in the future learning about all this stuff that happened when she thought her father was dead and what everyone thought happened to her. I feel like if we were going to have that it should have happened sooner so we could have had some more time with it. Instead it felt a bit rushed.
Overall, I thought this was a great novel. Well written, at times a tough read, but you’re cheering Connie on the entire time.
Thank you @netgalley and @randomhouse for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.
March 16, 2026
Book Report: Big Nobody by Alex Kadis
Set in 1970s London…the novel follows Connie Costa a teenager reeling from an unimaginable family tragedy and living under the shadow of her father. Isolated and grieving…Connie navigates her days with biting humor…late night conversations with the David Bowie poster on her wall and stolen moments with her friend Vas dreaming about what it might look like to finally escape.
What first caught my eye about Big Nobody was that cover…I absolutely love it. I went in knowing very little and a chapter or two in I actually had to stop and read the synopsis just to get a sense of where the story might be headed.
This one was a challenging read for me in a lot of ways. There’s a heavy theme running through the story that completely caught me off guard but Connie’s voice…her humor…observations and inner dialogue brought so many memorable moments. By the final stretch…I realized just how attached I’d become to some of these characters and how much I was going to miss them. It’s the kind of book that leaves you with a lot to think about and I can’t wait to see what others think once they’ve read it.
Thank you PRH Audio for the ALC
Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Lyon.brit.A...
Set in 1970s London…the novel follows Connie Costa a teenager reeling from an unimaginable family tragedy and living under the shadow of her father. Isolated and grieving…Connie navigates her days with biting humor…late night conversations with the David Bowie poster on her wall and stolen moments with her friend Vas dreaming about what it might look like to finally escape.
What first caught my eye about Big Nobody was that cover…I absolutely love it. I went in knowing very little and a chapter or two in I actually had to stop and read the synopsis just to get a sense of where the story might be headed.
This one was a challenging read for me in a lot of ways. There’s a heavy theme running through the story that completely caught me off guard but Connie’s voice…her humor…observations and inner dialogue brought so many memorable moments. By the final stretch…I realized just how attached I’d become to some of these characters and how much I was going to miss them. It’s the kind of book that leaves you with a lot to think about and I can’t wait to see what others think once they’ve read it.
Thank you PRH Audio for the ALC
Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Lyon.brit.A...
January 17, 2026
read a proof copy of this for the little bookshop
i really loved the first half. connie’s stream of consciousness was funny and felt authentically juvenile (in a good way). however towards the middle/end of the book the plot became a bit ridiculous to me and i felt it could have been a 100 pages shorter and more effective. having said that, the ending was satisfying to me
i really loved the first half. connie’s stream of consciousness was funny and felt authentically juvenile (in a good way). however towards the middle/end of the book the plot became a bit ridiculous to me and i felt it could have been a 100 pages shorter and more effective. having said that, the ending was satisfying to me
March 29, 2026
It's 1975 and teenaged Constance Costa is reading Stephen King's Carrie and talking to her posters of Marc Bolan and David Bowie. Yes, I was hooked.
Constance / Conno / Conniecon has a lot going on. She lives with her Greek dad, "AKA The Fat Murderer, an East End tailor by trade, and an idiot by all other counts." She's full of sass, and oozes disdain for dad George. We learn why over the course of the story.
This book balances laugh out loud funny with the conflict between Constance and her dad. He forces her to go to family Greek night (Freak night) with the relatives and friends in the community. Her observations skewer the men, while secretly admiring the tough aunties. She has crushes on boys, she goes to dances. Her dad, a looming and volatile presence, wants her to be a nice Greek girl and to say he's strict with her is an understatement. There's a dark undercurrent between them.
I loved this girl. Reading Big Nobody reminded me of Caitlin Moran's How to Build A Girl. Similar cheekiness, tougher than they appear, just trying to fit in, and soaked in the music of their times. Thank you, Alex Kadis for Constance.
My thanks to NetGalley and Random House for the advance reader copy. (pub. date 3/10/2026)
Constance / Conno / Conniecon has a lot going on. She lives with her Greek dad, "AKA The Fat Murderer, an East End tailor by trade, and an idiot by all other counts." She's full of sass, and oozes disdain for dad George. We learn why over the course of the story.
This book balances laugh out loud funny with the conflict between Constance and her dad. He forces her to go to family Greek night (Freak night) with the relatives and friends in the community. Her observations skewer the men, while secretly admiring the tough aunties. She has crushes on boys, she goes to dances. Her dad, a looming and volatile presence, wants her to be a nice Greek girl and to say he's strict with her is an understatement. There's a dark undercurrent between them.
I loved this girl. Reading Big Nobody reminded me of Caitlin Moran's How to Build A Girl. Similar cheekiness, tougher than they appear, just trying to fit in, and soaked in the music of their times. Thank you, Alex Kadis for Constance.
My thanks to NetGalley and Random House for the advance reader copy. (pub. date 3/10/2026)
April 17, 2026
Loved this! I laughed and cried reading it.
April 21, 2026
This was a fantastic audiobook! The narrator brought all of the characters to life. I found myself laughing out loud and a little teary eyed at the end. Charalambous was my favorite ❤️
May 4, 2026
This is so much more grim and sad than the tone indicated - which is befitting the coping mechanisms of Connie. I enjoyed it but Christ alive. Great ending though
April 7, 2026
reminded me so much of Ziggy, Stardust and Me by James Brandon, but in the dark british humor vein of My Mad Fat Diary, Skins, etc… so entertaining, i was literally itching for it when i wasn’t reading… LOVE when it’s an easy 5 stars!
April 14, 2026
A darkly funny book at first so I was surprised that it becomes a truly sad story. Its quirky and well written, a solid 4.2
December 19, 2025
Big Nobody is a stream of consciousness spewed out from our girl Connie, a teenager growing up in the Greek community in London during the 1970’s. Stuck in an abusive household with her father she deemed the ‘Fat Murderer,’ grappling with the loss of her mother and two twin brothers, Connie struggles to make through each day, let alone actually figure out who she actually is. Armed with the escapism of rock and roll, and her two imaginary friends, Marc Bolan and David Bowie, Connie devises a plan to murder her father, and rid the world of the one thing holding her back in life.
Sometimes the prose feels suffocating and never ending, but it makes you sit with it, kind of making you feel trapped in the same way that Connie does. Too young to leave an abusive father, made feel like nothing, a big nobody. I found myself feeling uncomfortable in a way that was felt reminiscent of being 15, not knowing who you are, but not knowing how to avoid becoming who you don’t want to be. Parents who are supposed to protect you from the world being the very ones that are crueler than the rest of the world.
While I enjoyed the glimpses into Greek culture, I don’t know if the writing quite worked for me. Too much detail into small things like the knick knacks in ones household, to the point that relationships felt like an afterthought to me. I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to feel that Connie was keeping me at arms length due to her trauma, or if I was missing a connection that was supposed to have formed. I will say, the last chapter or two out a little smile on my face.
Check out Big Nobody on March 10th, 2026.
Sometimes the prose feels suffocating and never ending, but it makes you sit with it, kind of making you feel trapped in the same way that Connie does. Too young to leave an abusive father, made feel like nothing, a big nobody. I found myself feeling uncomfortable in a way that was felt reminiscent of being 15, not knowing who you are, but not knowing how to avoid becoming who you don’t want to be. Parents who are supposed to protect you from the world being the very ones that are crueler than the rest of the world.
While I enjoyed the glimpses into Greek culture, I don’t know if the writing quite worked for me. Too much detail into small things like the knick knacks in ones household, to the point that relationships felt like an afterthought to me. I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to feel that Connie was keeping me at arms length due to her trauma, or if I was missing a connection that was supposed to have formed. I will say, the last chapter or two out a little smile on my face.
Check out Big Nobody on March 10th, 2026.
March 18, 2026
Big Nobody by Alex Kadis
This was such a beautiful book. A life fully lived, fully embraced, and filled with all of the hurt, anger, laughter, and hope you’d imagine.
I enjoyed this story. I loved the Greek elements and learning a bit about the familial constructs. I loved that Constantina was such a bold, brilliant character. You felt her emotions as she navigated her life.
And what a life. This journey was filled with grief, triumph, and second chances. The writing was beautiful, the story was engaging, and the ending was perfection.
Publication date: March 10, 2026
Published: Random House
This was such a beautiful book. A life fully lived, fully embraced, and filled with all of the hurt, anger, laughter, and hope you’d imagine.
I enjoyed this story. I loved the Greek elements and learning a bit about the familial constructs. I loved that Constantina was such a bold, brilliant character. You felt her emotions as she navigated her life.
And what a life. This journey was filled with grief, triumph, and second chances. The writing was beautiful, the story was engaging, and the ending was perfection.
Publication date: March 10, 2026
Published: Random House
March 13, 2026
This book is one of the few that is actually funny. Big Nobody is an easy 5 star book. I loved reading about Connie and her quest to take revenge against The Fat Murderer also known as her father!
Connie is a teen living in London in the 1970’s. Life for Connie isn’t great anymore. A tragedy has struck her family, and she is stuck living under her father’s intolerant rule. She tries to make the best of it, but she realizes there is only one way to try to have a great life again. Her father needs to be eliminated. This story is dark and tough at times but also has funny and joyful moments. The book is brilliant and always kept me wanting to know about Connie and the people in her life.
Connie is a teen living in London in the 1970’s. Life for Connie isn’t great anymore. A tragedy has struck her family, and she is stuck living under her father’s intolerant rule. She tries to make the best of it, but she realizes there is only one way to try to have a great life again. Her father needs to be eliminated. This story is dark and tough at times but also has funny and joyful moments. The book is brilliant and always kept me wanting to know about Connie and the people in her life.
March 15, 2026
Wait, I loved this book. Heavy and irreverent with a main character coming of age as an immigrant’s child in London in the 70s. I can’t quite put my finger on what I love so much - I think walking the fine line of humor and grief and the general malaise of being a teenager and then a person existing in the world is just too good. I think fans of The Road to Tender Hearts will love Big Nobody.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Poor Connie, she has it tough. She is the result of a holiday romance and burdened by her Greek-Cypriot heritage on her father's side. Who, by the way, she absolutely hates on account of her blaming him for the demise of her beautiful mother. She is 15 and she hates her life and needs to find the exit hatch and parachute out of there to save herself.
Connie has some methods of escape, her best friend Vas who loves poetry and is also struggling under the weight of being the son of an immigrant. She has her music and of course her posters to whisper her hopes and dreams to at night.
I was in a bit of a reading slump, with nothing really grabbing my attention. Connie has a really unique voice that made me fall in love with her and I was rooting for her from the outset.
There are dark themes here, Connie has experienced a lot for a young girl and the way they were exposed and handled impeccably and felt very real.
The burgeoning love between Connie and Vas is really lovely, it makes you go all soft in the feels remembering your own first love. Vas is a beautiful character woth loads of depth, I'm not sure too many of thede exist in real life.
For those who loved Miv and The List of Suspicious Things, this one will definitely be for you. I expect many will love this, it's light enough to appeal to many but has plenty of depth too.
Because it got me right in the heart I am going all in and giving it all the stars.
Connie has some methods of escape, her best friend Vas who loves poetry and is also struggling under the weight of being the son of an immigrant. She has her music and of course her posters to whisper her hopes and dreams to at night.
I was in a bit of a reading slump, with nothing really grabbing my attention. Connie has a really unique voice that made me fall in love with her and I was rooting for her from the outset.
There are dark themes here, Connie has experienced a lot for a young girl and the way they were exposed and handled impeccably and felt very real.
The burgeoning love between Connie and Vas is really lovely, it makes you go all soft in the feels remembering your own first love. Vas is a beautiful character woth loads of depth, I'm not sure too many of thede exist in real life.
For those who loved Miv and The List of Suspicious Things, this one will definitely be for you. I expect many will love this, it's light enough to appeal to many but has plenty of depth too.
Because it got me right in the heart I am going all in and giving it all the stars.
October 16, 2025
This was a welcome surprise, a well written coming of age novel from a debut novelist. The narrative voice of Connie is poignantly authentic and the reader shares in her hopes and the crushing humiliations imposed on her by her controlling father. ‘Big Nobody’ is also darkly funny in places, I particularly enjoyed the conversations Connie shared with the Bolan and Bowie posters on her bedroom wall and her feisty Greek Cypriot aunties. The 1970s are vividly evoked and, as a fellow teenager of the decade, I found Connie’s struggles to find her identity very relatable.
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