Boys Don't Cry: 'I can't remember ever reading something so moving.' Marian Keyes

Written by Fíona Scarlett

Narrated by Ronan Raftery

Joe is 17, a gifted artist and a brilliant older brother to 12-year-old Finn. They live with their Ma and Da in a Dublin tower block called Bojaxhiu or 'the Jax'. It's not an easy place to be a kid, especially when your father, Frank, is the muscle for the notorious gang leader Dessie 'The Badger' Murphy. But whether it's daytrips to the beach or drawing secret sketches, Joe works hard to show Finn life beyond the battered concrete yard below their flat.

Joe is determined not to become like his Da. But when Finn falls ill, Joe finds his convictions harder to cling to. With his father now in prison, his mother submerged in her grief, and his relationships with friends and classmates crumbling, Joe has to figure out how to survive without becoming what the world around him expects him to be.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Faber & Faber
• Release date: Apr 20, 2021
• ISBN: 9780571365234

Reviews for Boys Don't Cry

[Books with Rebecca · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book made me sob the author did a great job with all of the characters and their stories. I absolutely Loved the bond that the brothers shared in this book.

[Amelia Parker · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Lovely book very emotional loved the narrative would highly recommend

[Tianna Haffenden · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

so beautiful and heart wrenching. the narration truly brought the story alive.

[Caroline O’Doherty · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Simply amazing. What an incredible debut novel. This book will stay with me

[Corinne Cowman · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Sometimes it takes me a chapter or 5 to get me into a new read but not this one. This is such a short enough listen but a powerful one. Loved it from the first word and I’m so glad I chose to listen to it then to read it. Loved the narration and to hear the Dublin accents with the different slang words that are so familiar really added to the listen. This is a truly beautiful story and I became so invested in it. I started it to get some jobs done and finished it in one sitting as I couldn’t put it down. I loved the characters and the strong female characters who wanted better for the men in there lives and how they tried to keep them on the straight and narrow. The bond between Joe and Finn definitely captured my heart and broke it all at the same time. It’s a relationship that you would hope all siblings would have. I was sitting listening (which I don’t do as I need to be busy for audiobooks but that’s how eager I was to see how it played out) and the tears streamed down my face and I felt like I was feeling every emotion. It’s definitely a must read. So well written. Would absolutely recommend.

[Caroline O'Sullivan · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Boys don’t cry but I most certainly did! Brilliant read.