Little Boxes

by Cecilia Knapp

A story of sacrifice, violence and growing up different – told against the heat and claustrophobia of a seaside city in summer.

After Matthew’s grandfather dies suddenly, four friends struggle to face the trauma of their pasts in the wake of this fresh tragedy. Leah and Jay, a couple since their school days, find their relationship tested, while Nathan deals with a vast and unrequited love, and Matthew grapples with his sexuality. In the days that follow, Matthew begins to unearth his grandfather’s past. He finds a different life, full of secrets, and discovers that he and his grandfather may have had more in common than he once thought.

Little Boxes is a coming-of-age story about friendship and love, loss and survival.

Genres: Fiction, Audiobook, LGBT, Contemporary

346 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 17, 2022

About the author

Cecilia Knapp is a poet, playwright and novelist and the Young People’s Laureate for London 2020/2021.

Abridged from author's website.

Reviews

[Louise Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

After Matthew's grandfather dies suddenly, four friends struggle to face the trauma of their pasts in the wake of this fresh tragedy. Leah and Jay, a couple since their schooldays, find their relationship tested, while Nathan deals with a vast unrequited love, and Matthew grapples with his sexuality. In the days that follow, Matthew begins to unearth his grandfather's past.

This is a story of sacrifice, violence and growing up different. It's also a story of friendship. It can be heart-breaking to read in places. A story of four friends who live on a council estate in Brighton. The characters are a mixed bunch who all have their own situations to deal with. It's also a well written debut novel. I will be looking out for more from the author Cecilia Knapp in future.

I would like to thank #NetGalley #HarperCollinsUK #HarperFiction and the author #CeciliaKnapp for my ARC of #LittleBoxes in exchange for an honest review.

[Ritu Bhathal · Rating 4 out of 5]

A heartwrenching debut novel about friendship.
Four friends with lives tied together in invisible knots, living in a block of flats on a run down old council estate, in the seaside town of Brighton.
Two in a damaging relationship, one with unrequited love and another with a secret he's unable to talk to anyone about.
The death of one man brings about a tsunami of feelings and change, mainly for the better.
Leah is a girl with the weight of the world on her shoulders, helping her mum cope with life, since her dad left them, and coping with the aftermath effects that had on her older brother. Her relationship with Jay is coloured by her own experience of men and how they treat women,
Jay is a damaged soul in his own right, but unable to do anything to help himself.
Nathan is the product of a successful partnership, but what he wants in life seems just out of reach.
Matthew has his own secrets. Living with his grandfather, he has never been able to be open and honest about who he really is.
When Ron, his grandfather dies, unexpectedly, feelings rise up and take over, and many other untold stories come to light,
A touching, sometimes uncomfortable, read.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

beautiful! that’s how you write characters with true depth

[meryem · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

[roo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely could’ve been better. It was nicely written and depressing/emotionally dark for the first half which i liked but then got a bit bored of, but then the ending was so randomly positive it contrasted the rest of the book so much which felt out of place. I loved Matthew and Leah but the other two ‘main’ characters were pretty bad and didn’t have an arc other than being the awful things the others get away from.

[Siobhan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Little Boxes is a coming of age novel about four friends in their early twenties. Leah, Matthew, Nathan, and Jay have grown up together in Brighton, seeing well beyond the tourist vision of the city. When Matthew's grandfather, a well-known figure in their block of flats, dies, their connections with each other and their current lives and dreams are put under strain, and Matthew starts to discover more about his grandfather's past and their similarities.

This is a quietly understated novel which is at times very sad, both in terms of loss and of how the characters see themselves and are trapped by their situations. Leah and Matthew in particular are given rich backstories and shown to start to understand more about themselves and the world, which is a satisfying trajectory, and though most of what Jay does is frustrating for the reader, especially in his treatment of Leah, his narrative shows that people change as they grow up, but sometimes need to keep changing. Nathan was more stable and less fleshed out than the others, but it was interesting to see the different group dynamics. The sadness of Matthew and his grandfather never talking properly to each other about their sexualities in particular left the book with a melancholy tone that wasn't quite dispelled by the progression that the ending gave some of the characters.

A look not only at growing up in your early twenties but also lesser considered aspects of living in a seaside town, Little Boxes is a book that simmers under the surface, slowly playing out the narrative of a summer and a death that changes everything.

[Fran · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well written. The story flows well while describing the main characters' lives and the intersections of their stories.
Overall a good book. The book cover shows comments like 'a work of craft', 'a rare talent'. Personally I'd put this book in the bucket of the ' good books': it's ok but it doesn't stand out.

[Susie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my cup of tea genre-wise, but I really liked the writing style. It was quite slow to start and took me about a third of the book to get into, but glad I finished it as I enjoyed it overall. I can imagine some people really loving this book.

[Laurence · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favourite books ever. Set in my favourite place on earth, and full of relatable, lovable characters learning about loss, love and grief. Stunning writing and beautiful visual imaginations, I adored that from start to finish.

[Ella Gamble · Rating 3 out of 5]

Matthew and Leah deserved their happy endings

[Ander · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes telling can also be showing and this book does it so well. A very good read, though heavy

[Rhys · Rating 5 out of 5]

really loved this

[Luke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cried :-)

[Esther Huntington-Whiteley · Rating 5 out of 5]

'She wants someone to show her exactly how to live, to take her decisions from her hands and sort everything out for her in a matter of fact kind of way. She wonders how people fit in all their living, how their lives seem so much more varied and exciting than her own.'

I couldn't believe it when I found out that this was a debut, and Cecilia Knapp more of a poet. Outstanding title, outstanding cover, outstanding writing- I honestly couldn't have enjoyed it more.

These four friends and the way that their stories intertwined were so compelling and realistic that I felt utterly transported to the time and place where these events unfolded.

Brighton is not a city I know particularly well; this novel made me feel both that I have a personal connection with it already, and that I want to find out more.

'Everywhere she looks, she has the feeling people are enjoying themselves more than her.'

Very rarely do I give five stars to a book that I have come across by chance, but Little Boxes deserves every one of them.

[Alison Bradbury · Rating 2 out of 5]

Little Boxes is the story of four young people growing up the flats of Brighton. Leah, Jay, Nathan and Matthew have been friends forever, supporting each other in times of trouble and helping each other when required. Leah and Jay have been in a relationship since school but lately he is distant, suggesting an open relationship, that Leah pretends she is on board with but secretly is appalled by. Meanwhile, Nathan is struggling with his growing feelings for Leah and Matthew is struggling to come to terms with the fact that he is gay.

Then Matthews Grandad, Ron, dies and this changes all of their lives in ways they could never imagine.

I wanted to like this book but the harsh fact is, I just didn't. I didn't care for the writing style, it was too slow and everything was described in excruciating detail, I was desperate to skip last parts just to get to the end. The first nearly 35% of the book is all the same day just different parts of it experienced by each of the different characters. I didn't care for the characters, they didn't strike me as interesting and I only had a bare surface interest in what happened to them. Leah was such a doormat I wanted to shout at her to 'grow up!'

All in all, to me it felt like a book that was trying to hard - and, honestly, I'm glad I've finished reading it so I don't have to face it again.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Marie (UK) · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had some struggles with this book about how the death of one man acts as a catalyst for changes in the lives of four others. My first problem is that the first 10 chapters or so (almost 30% of the book) are titled Sunday it really annoyed me that far from moving the narrative on we constantly rehash that Sunday through the eyes of one of those four people. I was far from captivated by the character depictions or their interactions and seriously considered giving up on the book.

It does improve over the latter parts of the book and there are some really well portrayed life choices being made but for me it does not really make up for the early turgidity. The author is new to me but this book does not tempt me to reading other works by her

[Romy Knesh · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a slow, glum and sadly hopeful coming of age story. Despite what the other reviewers or publishers try to convince you, this book isn't really about friendship. Sure, it is about four friends, but their relationships aren't really the focus. Much rather it is their internal struggles that are examined, sometimes a little too closely and a lot of the time not deeply enough.
By splitting the book into those four povs, each of them came out rather shallow, especially since their individual relationships really weren't examined that closely.
I did like the voice, the writing and the general story, if you can call it that. But i think the author tried to put too much into one book, which made it feel slow and a bit shallow at the same time. Also it is an extremely triste book.

[Michael Reffold · Rating 2 out of 5]

Somewhat disappointing. Got a bit better as it went on but the first few chapters in particular are a lot of telling the reader how to feel about the characters and their relationships (especially in the case of Leah and Jay). Nothing very interesting or distinctive here and I didn’t connect with anything that happened or any of the people it happened to. Quite a few typos and mistakes that should have been sorted out during proofreading.

[Alison · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is Cecilia Knapp’s debut novel. Having read it, without having heard of her, I wasn’t surprised to then find out that she was the Young People’s Laureate for London for 2020/21. Her talent shines through on every single page of this wonderful novel.

The four friends at the heart of this book are just ordinary, the ‘type’ of people I remember from my own similar childhood/young adulthood, although that was a while ago! The novel takes us through the few weeks after the death of Matthew’s grandfather, and details how the four deal with the unexpected repercussions of that death. Those repercussions aren’t particularly dramatic, although they certainly cause drama in the friends’ lives. But it is this ‘ordinariness’ that shows so well how everyday people can actually be extraordinary. 

In Leah, we have a young woman who is worth so much more than she thinks. She was the stand out character for me, but that’s probably because I identified with her so much, even though she could be my daughter. Because, of course, the insecurities of young women now are not so different to those of my generation. I wanted to tell her to stop, to see how wonderful she is, to do something just for herself. That the novel causes such emotion in the reader is, of course, testament to the power of the writing.

I also loved the setting, and the author really brings it to life. I have a soft spot for Brighton, particularly Swifts’ nightclub that had a Friday night called Sister Ray’s – it’s where my husband proposed to me on a night out thirty-three years ago!

The writing is beautiful, unsurprisingly it’s almost poetic, and even the most depressing and heartbreaking scenes are described in such wonderful language that they’re a pleasure to read.

I have since read some of Knapp’s poetry and it’s stunning. She’s definitely a writer to look out for in the future.

[Linda Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved this book. Set in Brighton, it is the story of 4 friends who have known each other for most of their lives and live in the same block of flats. Leah and Jay have been together since school, but he now wants them to have an open relationship. She doesn't want to lose him, so she agrees, even though it makes her unhappy. Nathan has secretly been in love with Leah for as long as he can remember, but knows she only thinks of him as a friend. Michael lives with his grandfather Ron, and struggles with openly acknowledging his sexuality. When Ron dies suddenly the friends are all devastated, and each in their own way start to re evaluate what they want from life. This is a great coming of age story which I thoroughly recommend. Thanks to NetGalley for a preview copy.

[Lucy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

This was a really interesting read, definitely nice to read something from the perspective of working class people in the UK that isn't completely centred around their struggles to survive. It did take a little while to get going but once it did I was gripped by the individual stories of the friends. The plot involving Matthew and his grandfather was a little predictable but very sensitively dealt with, but I particularly enjoyed Leah's subplot, especially the ending.

[Lucy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the story of a council estate, (the flats are the "little boxes") and the lives of four young people who live there - Matthew, Nathan, Leah and Jay.

We get to understand the issues that these four people are currently facing, and how they all have traumas to overcome. Told over the period of one summer, the death of an elderly relative is the catalyst that kicks the story off, and this leads to a variety of reactions and impacts.

Although I enjoyed this, it wasn't that fast paced, and it didn't grip me massively.

[Al Zaquan · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's a thin and generic air of nostalgia that runs through this book. The characters are white and bland with trauma, don't seem colored in or have any kind of important history the author would like to share. There are peripheral characters that come in that seem to come from easy stereotypes e.g. deadbeat dad, closeted older man and so on. I found it perplexing how surface-level and nothing the characters were, and then some of them end up in a highly romanticized ending that seems stolen from a Netflix romcom.

[Bronwen Heathfield · Rating 4 out of 5]

Four friends who live in public housing in Brighton England. They have grown up together and are starting out in their adult lives. They appear to be the only ones that stayed.

A beautiful and gentle book that traces the changes they each need to make triggered by the death of a grandfather. A great portrait of growing up and facing yourself and what really matters. The depiction of dysfunctional relationships, addiction, the claustrophobia yet safety of home and learning self care is wonderful.

[Caterina Fucecchi · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was an ok book, I didn’t feel like it dragged and I was able to read it quickly enough for my standards, but it didn’t really stand out to me.

It took me about 30% of the book to get into this, but overall I found the dialogues quite forced and not authentic and I had the feeling that there was a generic layer of nostalgia all over the book that just didn’t feel realistic.

I still had a nice time reading it and it’s an ok book, so I can see why some people would enjoy it more but I don’t think it was for me.

[Sophie Harrison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Privileged to have read this in advance of publication. What I felt initially as missing momentum was its strength; the feeling of complete investment in characters, Leah especially and a slow look at how relationships bend and break. There were deft observations in self perception, some quite heart-breaking. I enjoyed the microcosm within Brighton Knapp creates and often paused at the beauty and simplicity of her imagery.

[Aoife · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is written so beautifully. The characters each have their own intricate personalities, and the growth of (most of) the characters is lovely to read. I really enjoyed how each character got time in the book, no one was ever rushed, and had their own unique story, even while being linked so closely. It’s a very realistic story I think, showing that while some people can change, others simply won’t, and we need to accept that, and more importantly, move on. Also, I love Nathan.

[Sophie Fennelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I met Cecilia Knapp at a Ted Talk when I was 15 and completely fell in love with her poetry so I cannot express my excitement when I found out, 6 years later, that she was going to release a novel. Despite my concerns that I might have be let down after all this time, Knapp didn’t disappoint. I will never get over her ability to make people and places come alive and I can’t wait to read more

[Anna Baynes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Would rate this 4.5
At first struggled with the writing style but soon got into it. Feels very normal people vibes and just writes about feeling young and trapped so well.
I did find jay completely unbearable but loved the other three.
This book solidified my hatred of blurbs this one gave away too much and just did not sell the book at all.

[Annarella · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a well written and riveting comeing of age story set in an unusual Brighton.
I loved the characters and their arc, the storytelling is very good and the plot well developed.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine