Neon Roses
On sale
25th May 2023
Price: £9.99
Betty Trask Award, 2024
SHORTLISTED FOR THE POLARI PRIZE
SHORTLISTED FOR THE BETTY TRASK PRIZE
SHORTLISTED FOR WALES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2024
‘A BIG-HEARTED STORY ABOUT FINDING YOUR FEET AND FOLLOWING YOUR HEART’ SARAH WATERS
‘JOYFULLY QUEER, FILTHY AND FUN’ CHLOE TIMMS
‘A HUG AND A SNOG OF A BOOK’ SO MAYER
Eluned Hughes is stuck. It’s 1984 in a valley in south Wales: the miners’ strike is ravaging her community; her sister’s swanned off with a Thatcherite policeman; and her boyfriend Lloyd keeps bringing up marriage. And if they play ’99 Red Balloons’ on the radio one more time, she might just lose her mind.
Then the fundraising group Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners comes down from London, and she meets June, a snaggle-toothed blonde in a too-big leather jacket. Suddenly, Eluned isn’t stuck any more – she’s in freefall.
June’s an artist and an activist. With June, Eluned can imagine a completely different life for herself. But as her family struggles with the strike, and her relationship with her sister deteriorates, should she really leave it all behind?
From the Valleys to the nightclubs of Cardiff, London and Manchester, NEON ROSES is a heartwarming, funny and a little bit filthy queer coming-of-age story with a cracking ’80s soundtrack.
SHORTLISTED FOR THE BETTY TRASK PRIZE
SHORTLISTED FOR WALES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2024
‘A BIG-HEARTED STORY ABOUT FINDING YOUR FEET AND FOLLOWING YOUR HEART’ SARAH WATERS
‘JOYFULLY QUEER, FILTHY AND FUN’ CHLOE TIMMS
‘A HUG AND A SNOG OF A BOOK’ SO MAYER
Eluned Hughes is stuck. It’s 1984 in a valley in south Wales: the miners’ strike is ravaging her community; her sister’s swanned off with a Thatcherite policeman; and her boyfriend Lloyd keeps bringing up marriage. And if they play ’99 Red Balloons’ on the radio one more time, she might just lose her mind.
Then the fundraising group Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners comes down from London, and she meets June, a snaggle-toothed blonde in a too-big leather jacket. Suddenly, Eluned isn’t stuck any more – she’s in freefall.
June’s an artist and an activist. With June, Eluned can imagine a completely different life for herself. But as her family struggles with the strike, and her relationship with her sister deteriorates, should she really leave it all behind?
From the Valleys to the nightclubs of Cardiff, London and Manchester, NEON ROSES is a heartwarming, funny and a little bit filthy queer coming-of-age story with a cracking ’80s soundtrack.
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Reviews
Neon Roses is a big-hearted story about finding your feet and following your heart, set against a beautifully-realised backdrop of 1980s British life. Tender, sexy, uplifting and fun.
A bold coming of age story that's joyfully queer, filthy and fun! Neon Roses transports the reader back to the passion and the protests of 1980s, in a voice that is fresh and proudly Welsh
Pitch-perfect in its vivid immersion in an Elnett-scented, fuck-Thatcher-yelling 80s sensorium, Neon Roses is bursting with the pride and DIY fashion genius with which small-town fierce femme Eluned stitches together her queer community. A hug and a snog of a book, stick it in your pocket to flag that you're here for queer love
Tender, sexy, hilarious . . . this book is a jewel in the crown of Welsh fiction