What do you think?
Rate this book
Duck Feet
'Duck Feet' is a coming-of-age novel, set in the mid-noughties in Renfrew and Paisley, Scotland. Dive in and follow the lives of 12-year-old Kirsty Campbell and her friends as they navigate life from first to sixth year at Renfrew Grammar school.
This book is a celebration of working-class life and youth in an ever-changing world. It uses humour to tackle hard-hitting subjects such as drugs, bullying, sexuality, and teenage pregnancy. But moreover, it is a relatable and accessible portrait of figuring out who you are, plunging into the currents of life, and most of all, finding hope.
'Relatable, quirky, and sometimes heart-wrenching, this story paints an authentic portrait of growing up working class in Scotland.'
This book is a celebration of working-class life and youth in an ever-changing world. It uses humour to tackle hard-hitting subjects such as drugs, bullying, sexuality, and teenage pregnancy. But moreover, it is a relatable and accessible portrait of figuring out who you are, plunging into the currents of life, and most of all, finding hope.
'Relatable, quirky, and sometimes heart-wrenching, this story paints an authentic portrait of growing up working class in Scotland.'
391 pages, Paperback
First published February 5, 2021
173 people are currently reading
7813 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 275 reviews
June 17, 2022
A wee bit overlong in parts, and there were a LOT of typos (outside of Percy's clever use of Scots dialect), but this was such a fun, sad, clever, charming, silly, poignant book that I couldn't possibly give it less than full marks.
August 29, 2024
Wow man
Writing this review as I sob myself to sleep after finishing this lmao, so so soooo worth every piece of praise and hype.
I wasn’t sure what to expect at all and I feel like I’ve just finished watching 6 series of a tv show and now I don’t know what to do with myself ?? Also, how are these people not real ??
Truly beautiful, mundane and happy and sad and raw and nostalgic and made me feel so lucky to be Scottish so I can understand and appreciate the spellings and references.
2024 book of the year !!! 🏆🏆🏆 I call it now
A 6 star read if you will
Writing this review as I sob myself to sleep after finishing this lmao, so so soooo worth every piece of praise and hype.
I wasn’t sure what to expect at all and I feel like I’ve just finished watching 6 series of a tv show and now I don’t know what to do with myself ?? Also, how are these people not real ??
Truly beautiful, mundane and happy and sad and raw and nostalgic and made me feel so lucky to be Scottish so I can understand and appreciate the spellings and references.
2024 book of the year !!! 🏆🏆🏆 I call it now
A 6 star read if you will
May 10, 2021
I loved Duck Feet right from the first chapter. It reminded me a lot of 'The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole', a book I really enjoyed in my teens; it gives you a window into the life of a young, naïve schoolkid, and quickly you become super invested - even protective - almost like they're your best friend. The book is of course written in Scots which was a joy to read. It really felt like something fresh and new, and I quickly got into its rhythm (I loved learning some new words and phrases along the way!). The language and setting could have cornered the book into something "local", but Ely's terrific writing and characters give it a huge universal appeal. A similar story from a different author just wouldn't have the same charm; this novel is a one of a kind, and I really feel like all audiences will connect with it better as a result.
June 12, 2022
I’m so fucking emotional I might actually vomit 100000/10
January 2, 2022
5 ⭐️ big ones for Duck Feet! Literally on the edge of my seat for what Ely Percy will do next.
Coming-of-age, high school-set novels are one of my favourite niches and it turns out this is the one I’ve been waiting for because it reflects my own high school years and the experiences of my classmates. Always weird to read a book where the character has the same name as you and especially uncanny when she says and does the same daft shit I did at 16… This combined with the effortless and evocative Scots language, there was no way I wasn’t going to love this book and I think fear of not for any reason is why I bought it months ago and was only brave enough to start it a week ago.
It is hysterical, cringe-inducing, angsty and then, suddenly, heart-breakingly cruel but above all it is honest and true. In other, less-worthy, hands Kirsty, Charlene and co’s stories would have been working class poverty porn for Scottish Literature students to fawn over in coming years; instead this is for the people it is about.
Coming-of-age, high school-set novels are one of my favourite niches and it turns out this is the one I’ve been waiting for because it reflects my own high school years and the experiences of my classmates. Always weird to read a book where the character has the same name as you and especially uncanny when she says and does the same daft shit I did at 16… This combined with the effortless and evocative Scots language, there was no way I wasn’t going to love this book and I think fear of not for any reason is why I bought it months ago and was only brave enough to start it a week ago.
It is hysterical, cringe-inducing, angsty and then, suddenly, heart-breakingly cruel but above all it is honest and true. In other, less-worthy, hands Kirsty, Charlene and co’s stories would have been working class poverty porn for Scottish Literature students to fawn over in coming years; instead this is for the people it is about.
April 4, 2021
Oooft man. This book is amazing. Kirstin Inne's quote on the front sums it up best - it's got all the best and worst bits of being a teenager, and I think it's pretty impossible not to see yourself or your pals in it. First time I've cried reading a book in a loooong time.
February 8, 2022
amazing i’ve literally never fallen in love w a book so fast - i barely could put it down 🙈
November 2, 2021
enjoyed this coming of age novel based in Renfrew and Paisley in the mid noughties as we follow a group of friends through their school years, liked it as used the scots dialect so you get the feel of the characters too.
June 3, 2021
This book!!!!!!! It's so JOYOUS and was an absolute delight to read. Everything about it made perfect sense and it made me laugh throughout, even when it was making me cry. Kirsty is such a well-written, full and realistic character and I loved her as a narrator - all of her thoughts were so interesting and entertaining and I really enjoyed the logic she applied to things.
Ely Percy made her feel like a real person (an ah wantet tae be her pal!!!!) and no element of her character felt laboured or overdone. I particularly loved how Percy didn't fill in every single space that she wrote in, so that Kirsty's thoughts left me reflecting on stuff independently of her narration. Just an absolutely perfect novel about working class adolescence done in a moving, heartfelt, hilarious way. Ahhhh!!
Ely Percy made her feel like a real person (an ah wantet tae be her pal!!!!) and no element of her character felt laboured or overdone. I particularly loved how Percy didn't fill in every single space that she wrote in, so that Kirsty's thoughts left me reflecting on stuff independently of her narration. Just an absolutely perfect novel about working class adolescence done in a moving, heartfelt, hilarious way. Ahhhh!!
October 18, 2021
I don't think any words I write about this book are going to do it justice. Wow, just wow.
Over the last few days I have laughed a lot, been shocked, been saddened and been remembering wonderful memories all thanks to this book.
I don't think there are many people who went to their local high school in Scotland who won't recognise parts of their school experience in this book. The words regi, puni, double period maths, the slightly strange French teacher, MD twenty-twenty and bicardi breezers all brought memories back (some better than others!) I recognised characters in the story as people I was at school with. Ely Percy has perfectly captured the 6 years of high school in Scotland.
Over the last few days I have laughed a lot, been shocked, been saddened and been remembering wonderful memories all thanks to this book.
I don't think there are many people who went to their local high school in Scotland who won't recognise parts of their school experience in this book. The words regi, puni, double period maths, the slightly strange French teacher, MD twenty-twenty and bicardi breezers all brought memories back (some better than others!) I recognised characters in the story as people I was at school with. Ely Percy has perfectly captured the 6 years of high school in Scotland.
January 23, 2021
Duck Feet is an episodic novel that follows the life of Kirsty Campbell as she goes from first to sixth year at school at Renfrew Grammar. From what it's like moving up to 'big' school and adjusting to making new friends and seeing how old ones might have changed to dealing with relationships, pregnancy, and more, the book covers a whole range of things that happen in the lives of teenagers, all from the distinctive perspective of Kirsty, a pretty regular girl who likes swimming and gets annoyed at her younger sister.
Reading this book feels like a throwback not just to being at secondary school, but also to reading books about secondary school that put actual experiences at the forefront, which you don't tend to get in many books, especially not ones that aren't aimed at people currently at school. The cast of characters felt realistic, especially the way in which Kirsty's friendships and who she spent most time with changed, sometimes without a real reason, and the way each chapter was a distinct episode helped this, feeling almost anecdotal but also showing how quickly things can change focus when you're a teenager. Details like the fact that the band they all loved when they were young breaks up and then isn't really mentioned again worked well to really get across that feeling of growing up and working out who you are, and having to cast off some things in that process.
Duck Feet also looks quite a bit at privilege, class, and perspective, showing how teenagers can be small-minded and pick up things from their environment, but also grow and be more complicated than it might seem. Kirsty is at times innocent or unaware, which felt quite relatable to anyone who spent time at school feeling like people were always referencing stuff they didn't know about. It was good to see her grow up (the novel is split into three periods of time, up until she leaves school) and her friends deal with things like teenage pregnancy and sexuality, she has to adapt. I completely didn't expect the ending of the novel, which, without wanting to give any spoilers, works as that is Kirsty's reaction too. The book is quite long and I didn't realise something so plot heavy was going to happen near the end!
Being so distinctively set in Scotland in the 2000s (it received a Scots Language publication grant), this is a book that has a real sense of place and realism, and that will draw a lot of people into Kirsty's world. The use of dialect throughout is such an important feature and I found it easy to get into, though for some people it might take a moment to get used to. Being not too many years younger that the main characters, a lot of the references were relatable to me (those Scooby Doo bands! people caring about Myspace top friends!), which I think was a real highlight of reading it. I wouldn't want to go back to secondary school, but Duck Feet was a chance to see another experience of it.
Reading this book feels like a throwback not just to being at secondary school, but also to reading books about secondary school that put actual experiences at the forefront, which you don't tend to get in many books, especially not ones that aren't aimed at people currently at school. The cast of characters felt realistic, especially the way in which Kirsty's friendships and who she spent most time with changed, sometimes without a real reason, and the way each chapter was a distinct episode helped this, feeling almost anecdotal but also showing how quickly things can change focus when you're a teenager. Details like the fact that the band they all loved when they were young breaks up and then isn't really mentioned again worked well to really get across that feeling of growing up and working out who you are, and having to cast off some things in that process.
Duck Feet also looks quite a bit at privilege, class, and perspective, showing how teenagers can be small-minded and pick up things from their environment, but also grow and be more complicated than it might seem. Kirsty is at times innocent or unaware, which felt quite relatable to anyone who spent time at school feeling like people were always referencing stuff they didn't know about. It was good to see her grow up (the novel is split into three periods of time, up until she leaves school) and her friends deal with things like teenage pregnancy and sexuality, she has to adapt. I completely didn't expect the ending of the novel, which, without wanting to give any spoilers, works as that is Kirsty's reaction too. The book is quite long and I didn't realise something so plot heavy was going to happen near the end!
Being so distinctively set in Scotland in the 2000s (it received a Scots Language publication grant), this is a book that has a real sense of place and realism, and that will draw a lot of people into Kirsty's world. The use of dialect throughout is such an important feature and I found it easy to get into, though for some people it might take a moment to get used to. Being not too many years younger that the main characters, a lot of the references were relatable to me (those Scooby Doo bands! people caring about Myspace top friends!), which I think was a real highlight of reading it. I wouldn't want to go back to secondary school, but Duck Feet was a chance to see another experience of it.
October 6, 2024
issa funnae wan
May 29, 2022
*Borrowed from Kirsty, thank you!
After spending about 5 minutes squinting at the first page, trying to train my brain to read in Scots, I'm quite amazed at how quickly I ended up finishing. It really didn't take that long to get used to it, and it was honestly refreshing to read a book where the characters are undoubtedly where you're from, not only in the language, but all the details about their school lives. The time period of the early 2000's also added to this. While I was at school a little later, hearing about crazes such as Bebo certainly took me back, which was very humbling.
There's a lot to love about this book. I found myself laughing and gasping and wanting to reach inside the pages to scream in characters' faces. But at the heart of it, it's so very honest. And then there's the end, which really blindsided me, and even had me on the edge of tears, which I would absolutely not have expected once first being introduced to the characters.
My only issue with this book is a personal one. It's less of an issue, and just disappointment, as I was expecting more lgbt characters, in a bigger role. It's not a spoiler to say the main character is very much straight, and it's absolutely on me for thinking she might not be all the way up to maybe the last few chapters - although I will say I thought the promotion and blurb saying it was about sexuality is misleading, as it really isn't.
Still, a fantastic book, and I'm very excited to read what Percy does next!
(also I think my accent has gotten stronger after having to read so much of it out loud, so that's fun)
After spending about 5 minutes squinting at the first page, trying to train my brain to read in Scots, I'm quite amazed at how quickly I ended up finishing. It really didn't take that long to get used to it, and it was honestly refreshing to read a book where the characters are undoubtedly where you're from, not only in the language, but all the details about their school lives. The time period of the early 2000's also added to this. While I was at school a little later, hearing about crazes such as Bebo certainly took me back, which was very humbling.
There's a lot to love about this book. I found myself laughing and gasping and wanting to reach inside the pages to scream in characters' faces. But at the heart of it, it's so very honest. And then there's the end, which really blindsided me, and even had me on the edge of tears, which I would absolutely not have expected once first being introduced to the characters.
My only issue with this book is a personal one. It's less of an issue, and just disappointment, as I was expecting more lgbt characters, in a bigger role. It's not a spoiler to say the main character is very much straight, and it's absolutely on me for thinking she might not be all the way up to maybe the last few chapters - although I will say I thought the promotion and blurb saying it was about sexuality is misleading, as it really isn't.
Still, a fantastic book, and I'm very excited to read what Percy does next!
(also I think my accent has gotten stronger after having to read so much of it out loud, so that's fun)
March 27, 2023
I rly wanted to like this I’d heard such good things, it started off really well and then the last 80 pages or so rly grabbed my attention
For me though it just lulled too much in the middle with not much happening?
I wouldn’t be opposed to reading Percy again as the writing wasn’t the downfall more so the content
Fav quote of the book
“An ah wish to God ah’d tolt Wully a loved him. Noo ah’m too late… ah wis worried we’d huv tae aw wur money on borin things lik electricity bills an rent an mibby even weans- cause that’s whit evrubdy expects yi tae dae”
For me though it just lulled too much in the middle with not much happening?
I wouldn’t be opposed to reading Percy again as the writing wasn’t the downfall more so the content
Fav quote of the book
“An ah wish to God ah’d tolt Wully a loved him. Noo ah’m too late… ah wis worried we’d huv tae aw wur money on borin things lik electricity bills an rent an mibby even weans- cause that’s whit evrubdy expects yi tae dae”
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 19, 2025
I think my vocabulary has changed, but a pure good Scottish book.
June 19, 2025
4.5 stars
Loved this! Felt v invested in Kirsty's life and where she'd end up - doesn't make me miss secondary school lol. Great writing too
Loved this! Felt v invested in Kirsty's life and where she'd end up - doesn't make me miss secondary school lol. Great writing too
June 28, 2021
“His name wis Giles an ma da had said hello tae him wan time when we walked past him sittin on the bench outside the Fire Station wi aw the other alkies. Can yi believe he’s six months younger than me, ma da had said, He wis in ma class at Renfra Grammar. Jeezo, ah said. Aye, said ma da, He wis a clever boy at school but he wastet hissel. A couldnae stop thinkin about Giles after that, wonderin whit had gone so badly wrang in his life that he’d got hissel in such a state, an worryin about how one day soon it could be sumbdy ah went tae school wi sittin ootside on that bench”
Duckfeet takes us on a journey back in time to our schooldays in early 2000’s reminding us just what it was like to grow up in a Scottish high school. At some points it was a moment of reflection, looking back at pivotal moments in you and your friends lives and how the decisions made impacted you for the rest of your life.
The protagonist, Kirsty Campbell is written so so well, going from a naive immature wee lassie to a young woman trying to work out where she fits in in life and what she wants to do with the rest of it. But this story isn’t just about Kirsty, it’s about all the people surrounding her who the author has clearly shown are just as important to the overall story being told.
These young people are battling through the most challenging years of their lives, with the added complication of hormones. Duckfeet deals with issues that we all faced at some point through our own lives or that of our friends; sexuality, bullying, sex, peer pressure, puberty, grief, casual racism, sectarianism, mental health, broken homes, drugs, drink and just trying our best to fit in.
I think there is a character for everyone in this book. I absolutely loved Wully McCoy and Chris Rice, aswell as Kirsty herself. Some I didn’t like; but that’s just it- ye didn’t get on with everyone when ye were at school! Ely should be commended for making it clear that not everyone from troubled backgrounds are destined to be bad boys and girls; and also making it clear to the reader that you don’t need a big fancy job or a degree at the end of it all to be successful. Simply surviving and being happy is just as great.
Be ready for loads of laughs and some tears in this amazing nostalgic read! 🏴
Duckfeet takes us on a journey back in time to our schooldays in early 2000’s reminding us just what it was like to grow up in a Scottish high school. At some points it was a moment of reflection, looking back at pivotal moments in you and your friends lives and how the decisions made impacted you for the rest of your life.
The protagonist, Kirsty Campbell is written so so well, going from a naive immature wee lassie to a young woman trying to work out where she fits in in life and what she wants to do with the rest of it. But this story isn’t just about Kirsty, it’s about all the people surrounding her who the author has clearly shown are just as important to the overall story being told.
These young people are battling through the most challenging years of their lives, with the added complication of hormones. Duckfeet deals with issues that we all faced at some point through our own lives or that of our friends; sexuality, bullying, sex, peer pressure, puberty, grief, casual racism, sectarianism, mental health, broken homes, drugs, drink and just trying our best to fit in.
I think there is a character for everyone in this book. I absolutely loved Wully McCoy and Chris Rice, aswell as Kirsty herself. Some I didn’t like; but that’s just it- ye didn’t get on with everyone when ye were at school! Ely should be commended for making it clear that not everyone from troubled backgrounds are destined to be bad boys and girls; and also making it clear to the reader that you don’t need a big fancy job or a degree at the end of it all to be successful. Simply surviving and being happy is just as great.
Be ready for loads of laughs and some tears in this amazing nostalgic read! 🏴
April 20, 2021
Duck Feet made me feel as though I were reading about my own young life in the early 2000s. Never before have I read anything so close to the mark, so utterly and perfectly nostalgic in its descriptions of growing up as a girl in a Central belt Scottish high school.
Percy takes all of the small things and rolls them up with the big things, to depict a flawless tale of Kirsty’s coming of age, her triumphs and defeats, her small realisations, her relationships and communications. All of this is done in my dialect, in the way we all spoke when I was in Kirsty’s place at school, the way we still all speak now. This style, and the way Kirsty experiences life, felt both wonderfully and horribly personal, creating an irrevocable connection between me and Kirsty, bringing me from laughter to tears, and back again.
Kirsty is such a sincere and genuine character. She’s flawed, she can be irritating and headstrong, and yet you will continue to support her. Her voice is raw and endearing, hilarious and open, and she is someone you’ll feel lucky to have known.
It was impossible for me not to relate to all the characters, and to align them with people I know, or knew, in life. These are characters everyone in and around my area will recognise, and either love or loathe.
The structure Percy has chosen here is also a wonderful thing. The chapters are set out almost as vignettes, each of them focussing on a recent situation, problem, obsession, or event happening in Kirsty’s life. They ebb as flow as my memories of back then do. Some of these are things which feel so important or huge as a teenager, but don’t seem as huge to the adults in our lives. Percy takes care to reinforce their importance to Kirsty, and makes them important to us - after all, your favourite boy band splitting up is no small thing. I felt that pain again, I saw my pals getting pregnant again, I listened to shitey remarks from smart-arse wee boys again, and the whole time, I was back there in that hole of a high school which shaped me into who I am now.
This is a brilliant, funny, and hard-hitting picture of the type of life literature has left behind until now.
Percy takes all of the small things and rolls them up with the big things, to depict a flawless tale of Kirsty’s coming of age, her triumphs and defeats, her small realisations, her relationships and communications. All of this is done in my dialect, in the way we all spoke when I was in Kirsty’s place at school, the way we still all speak now. This style, and the way Kirsty experiences life, felt both wonderfully and horribly personal, creating an irrevocable connection between me and Kirsty, bringing me from laughter to tears, and back again.
Kirsty is such a sincere and genuine character. She’s flawed, she can be irritating and headstrong, and yet you will continue to support her. Her voice is raw and endearing, hilarious and open, and she is someone you’ll feel lucky to have known.
It was impossible for me not to relate to all the characters, and to align them with people I know, or knew, in life. These are characters everyone in and around my area will recognise, and either love or loathe.
The structure Percy has chosen here is also a wonderful thing. The chapters are set out almost as vignettes, each of them focussing on a recent situation, problem, obsession, or event happening in Kirsty’s life. They ebb as flow as my memories of back then do. Some of these are things which feel so important or huge as a teenager, but don’t seem as huge to the adults in our lives. Percy takes care to reinforce their importance to Kirsty, and makes them important to us - after all, your favourite boy band splitting up is no small thing. I felt that pain again, I saw my pals getting pregnant again, I listened to shitey remarks from smart-arse wee boys again, and the whole time, I was back there in that hole of a high school which shaped me into who I am now.
This is a brilliant, funny, and hard-hitting picture of the type of life literature has left behind until now.
June 13, 2023
I went to school and grew up with half of the characters in this book. For clarity they are fictional, however this felt like my childhood and I recognised people I knew in these characters.
The book isn’t perfect by any means, but Percy tackles all sorts of issues such as eating disorders, teen pregnancy, alcoholism, drug use, suicide and violence in such a real and honest way and I loved reading it from Kirsty’s point of view. It was funny, sad and poignant and made me laugh out loud at times.
It kind of felt like a Scottish version of Adrian Moles diary.
The book isn’t perfect by any means, but Percy tackles all sorts of issues such as eating disorders, teen pregnancy, alcoholism, drug use, suicide and violence in such a real and honest way and I loved reading it from Kirsty’s point of view. It was funny, sad and poignant and made me laugh out loud at times.
It kind of felt like a Scottish version of Adrian Moles diary.
May 2, 2025
FUCK i did not expect this book to be so devastating. i knew before i even started that i’d love it, but didn’t realise how much. so well written, so funny, so perfectly realistic, heartwarming and tragic. i miss kirsty already, i felt like we were friends.
September 22, 2023
I read this book 3 months ago and cannot and will not stop telling anyone who will listen how good it is.
January 23, 2021
Duck Feet by Ely Percy
(Monstrous Regiment Publishing, 2020)
This beautiful Young Adult novel tells the story of Kirsty Campbell in a series of vignettes during the crucial six year period of growth from child to adult. The story is set in a working-class area of Renfrewshire, Scotland. Kristy comes from a close and loving family consisting of both her parents and her younger sister, Karen. Her family are important to her and they are central to her life as she grows. The unusual title of the book is a childish name for swim fins but it also becomes an extended metaphor for lasting love and friendship.
Kirsty attends Renfrew Grammar and it is school that is crucial to her development. Education is important to Kirsty but she keeps that low key as not all of her contemporaries see the point in education. Those she attends school with are a cast of characters straight from the best kind of gritty drama; saints and sinners all. As Kirsty navigates the problems of growing-up in her society, we follow her choosing who to be and defining her own moral code. We see her be best friends with Harpreet and Charlene one minute, best enemies the next. All of it creates enough real drama and tension to keep any avid soap fan delighted for years.
The story has powerful elements of funny and identifiable realism for most Scots, including that rite of passage known as ‘Social Dancing’ – something either enjoyed or hated at school but an experience people become thankful for later in life when attending wedding ceilidhs. Other events the reader can relate to include the first serious falling outs with friends and the experiences of first loves; every one realistically written with humour and masterful linguistic flair. Kirsty too encounters them all and the reader is left on tenterhooks, wishing the character well.
The themes in the story are the powerful themes one would expect to find in such a novel: growing-up, transition, friendships, love, choices, teenage pregnancy, drugs, alcohol and relationships. However, there is one powerful – and shocking – theme in the novel that is unexpected: violent death. It is a death portrayed in all its messy, unnecessary, painful and too realistic violence. Whilst there are many YA novels that deal with death as a main theme, they tend to do so in a syrupy manner that almost sanitises the grim and final reality. Percy pulls no punches and tells it like it is. To write anymore about this aspect of the novel would be an absolute spoiler, but it is an episode that is crucial to understanding the person Kirsty has become and who she will finally metamorphose into as an adult. The pain of grief is not hidden. Indeed, Kirsty experiences a personal ‘Clarence the Angel’ moment which shows her that her life is worth living no matter how hard and bleak the present moment. Kirsty’s pain is all too real and it would be a very stone-hearted reader indeed who did not feel sympathy for the character.
Whilst Percy’s novel does not shy away from difficult subjects, there is much humour in the tale. The dialogue is very realistic, reflecting the speech patterns of the Renfrew / Paisley area. The book is written in Scots and the beautiful uses of metaphors and imagery reflect the vibrant and lively cadences of the Scots Leid. It was an absolute pleasure to read a novel where the language used is that of the characters and the country and where any occasional English used felt very intrusive indeed.
This is an excellent Young Adult novel which ought to be on the school syllabus in Scotland.
Fiona Tinker
Duck Feet Ely Percy (Edinburgh: Monstrous Regiment: August 2020)
ISBN: 9781916117921
(Monstrous Regiment Publishing, 2020)
This beautiful Young Adult novel tells the story of Kirsty Campbell in a series of vignettes during the crucial six year period of growth from child to adult. The story is set in a working-class area of Renfrewshire, Scotland. Kristy comes from a close and loving family consisting of both her parents and her younger sister, Karen. Her family are important to her and they are central to her life as she grows. The unusual title of the book is a childish name for swim fins but it also becomes an extended metaphor for lasting love and friendship.
Kirsty attends Renfrew Grammar and it is school that is crucial to her development. Education is important to Kirsty but she keeps that low key as not all of her contemporaries see the point in education. Those she attends school with are a cast of characters straight from the best kind of gritty drama; saints and sinners all. As Kirsty navigates the problems of growing-up in her society, we follow her choosing who to be and defining her own moral code. We see her be best friends with Harpreet and Charlene one minute, best enemies the next. All of it creates enough real drama and tension to keep any avid soap fan delighted for years.
The story has powerful elements of funny and identifiable realism for most Scots, including that rite of passage known as ‘Social Dancing’ – something either enjoyed or hated at school but an experience people become thankful for later in life when attending wedding ceilidhs. Other events the reader can relate to include the first serious falling outs with friends and the experiences of first loves; every one realistically written with humour and masterful linguistic flair. Kirsty too encounters them all and the reader is left on tenterhooks, wishing the character well.
The themes in the story are the powerful themes one would expect to find in such a novel: growing-up, transition, friendships, love, choices, teenage pregnancy, drugs, alcohol and relationships. However, there is one powerful – and shocking – theme in the novel that is unexpected: violent death. It is a death portrayed in all its messy, unnecessary, painful and too realistic violence. Whilst there are many YA novels that deal with death as a main theme, they tend to do so in a syrupy manner that almost sanitises the grim and final reality. Percy pulls no punches and tells it like it is. To write anymore about this aspect of the novel would be an absolute spoiler, but it is an episode that is crucial to understanding the person Kirsty has become and who she will finally metamorphose into as an adult. The pain of grief is not hidden. Indeed, Kirsty experiences a personal ‘Clarence the Angel’ moment which shows her that her life is worth living no matter how hard and bleak the present moment. Kirsty’s pain is all too real and it would be a very stone-hearted reader indeed who did not feel sympathy for the character.
Whilst Percy’s novel does not shy away from difficult subjects, there is much humour in the tale. The dialogue is very realistic, reflecting the speech patterns of the Renfrew / Paisley area. The book is written in Scots and the beautiful uses of metaphors and imagery reflect the vibrant and lively cadences of the Scots Leid. It was an absolute pleasure to read a novel where the language used is that of the characters and the country and where any occasional English used felt very intrusive indeed.
This is an excellent Young Adult novel which ought to be on the school syllabus in Scotland.
Fiona Tinker
Duck Feet Ely Percy (Edinburgh: Monstrous Regiment: August 2020)
ISBN: 9781916117921
July 15, 2021
This is a great read if you either went to school in Scotland during the 2000s or wondered what it was like. I was a bit annoyed that the time period was so confusing, mentions of bands and bebo and myspace and scoobys and SYS means it's difficult to put an exact time stamp on it, but this also means it is relatable to more people in the age range rather than it being a specific year.
August 14, 2021
Loved this for so many different reasons. It felt so familiar, the language brought back memories of growing up in the west of Scotland. The structure of the book is clever, taking us through the secondary school years. Highly recommended!
October 5, 2024
I wanted to really love this book, and don’t get me wrong I enjoyed it. But I didn’t find myself desperate to read the next chapter and so it took me a while to finish. But a very happy, sad, silly, mundane look into West Scotland childhood
October 7, 2024
I enjoyed this one, even though it took a minute to get into scots every time I picked it up, and not too much happened until the end. A nostalgic throwback for scottish millennials provided some great chat at book club
December 31, 2021
To follow.
January 7, 2022
heartfelt and funny <3
May 22, 2023
Wonderfully nostalgic and hilarious take on working class Scottish life in the mid 00s from the perspective of teenage Kirsty Campbell, a character I’m so fond of and sad to leave behind. 🥺
Displaying 1 - 30 of 275 reviews