Careless: Longlisted for the Women s Prize for Fiction 2022

Kirsty Capes

A COSMOPOLITAN, BBC, STYLIST, DAILY MAIL, GOOD HOUSEKEEPING and GUARDIAN BEST BOOK PICK FOR 2021!

'Astounding. Heart-breaking but hopeful, and a fresh new voice' PANDORA SYKES

'Moving and beautifully written' LIBBY PAGE

'A rare new talent' THE GUARDIAN

'A book that deserves to be a huge hit' STYLIST

'The literary equivalent of gold dust' BENJAMIN ZEPHANIAH

***

Sometimes it's easy to fall between the cracks...

At 3.04 p.m. on a hot, sticky day in June, Bess finds out she's pregnant.

She could tell her social worker Henry, but he's useless.

She should tell her foster mother, Lisa, but she won't understand.

She really ought to tell Boy, but she hasn't spoken to him in weeks.

Bess knows more than anyone that love doesn't come without conditions.

But this isn't a love story...

The literary equivalent of gold dust - BENJAMIN ZEPHANIAHI am so proud of my super-talented former student, Kirsty Capes. I'm so impressed with how her writing has flourished with the cracking characters and energetic prose of her fantastic debut novel - BERNARDINE EVARISTOVivid, bold and beautifully observed - ABBIE GREAVES, author of The Silent TreatmentMoving and beautifully-written - a voice and a story that needs to be heard - LIBBY PAGE, author of The LidoA story of every day, that is never told. Uplifting and simultaneously heart-breaking - ANSTEY HARRIS, author of The Truths and Triumphs of Grace AthertonReal, raw, heart-wrenching and so wonderfully written. A truly honest coming-of-age story. I laughed, cried, squirmed and couldn't stop reading - JESSICA RYN, author of The Extraordinary Hope of Dawn BrightsideHeroic and powerful, but also tender; this is such an important novel - CHARLOTTE MENDELSON, author of Daughters of JerusalemA thought-provoking and compelling coming-of-age story, with a fearless and funny protagonist in Bess - RICHARD ROPER, author of Something to Live For