So Pigeon I believe is a debut, I did however read dignity by Alys Conran first and absolutely adored it! So I had to check out any other books, Pigeon is a very good read, which I will happily recommend on to others. I am now very keen to see what Alys Conran writes next!

The book follows Pigeon, a young boy from Wales living through quite a traumatic childhood, the writing is terrific and as a survivor of such trauma, I often found myself relating to and understanding the character. But within the praise of why the book is brilliant in many ways, one of the said ways rears its ugly head. This book is a brilliant example of exactly why books need to start with trigger warnings. However, in spite of the sometimes quite hard read, I couldn't stop reading, I had to find out what happened next, a captivating pageturner I had encountered. This book touches on the subject of how Welsh-speaking, especially in North Wales, children in disadvantaged upbringings can often find themselves outside of their language, be it in a care home in England or to a foster family which speaks only English. This book is both quintessentially Welsh but without ever being a tartaned shortbread tin mockup of quite a unique culture. A fantastic read and well-deserving of Wales book of the year award. Da iawn chi, Alys. (I must also note that I received this book free of charge, not for review or by any publisher, but by the Aber Reads project at Aberystwyth University. No-one has read or even been aware of this review prior to its publication.)