The Bastards aren''t afraid of anything. It''s the mid-nineties, and in the small, shitty coastal town of Vincent, four girls - each hailing from single-mother, multi-sibling families, form a band. Friends since they were children, they consider themselves ''forgettable girls'' - poor, not particularly clever, distracted at school, disengaged and disillusioned from the other kids, and desperate to escape the fates of their mothers, who seem locked into a life of minimum-wage jobs and domestic drudgery. Winning the Battle of the Bands is their ticket out - they might not have talent, but they can play three chords and scream until their vocal folds burst out of their throats - and nobody wants it more than them. But when lead singer Lily Lucid quits, and accuses their idolized music teacher of sexual assault, the three remaining girls are left with nothing. They''ll do anything to keep their dream alive, even if it means sacrificing school, Lily and their mothers. But how far out of control can they spin before there''s no turning back? Brash and bold, grunge-inflected and straight-forwardly compelling, In Bloom is a novel about class and coming-of-age, young womanhood in precarious circumstances, and how to build a sense of self when the foundations of tight female friendship fail.

Autorentext
Liz Allan is an Australian writer and teacher living and working in the UK. Her short story, 'Our Voices, Fierce' was awarded the Rachel Funari Prize for fiction in 2018 and her stories have been shortlisted and longlisted for numerous other awards.

Klappentext

An Observer Best Debut Novelist 2026 **

****** Shortlisted for the 2026 Ned Kelly Award for Best Debut Crime Fiction
**
'An electric portrait of teenage friendship and fandom, bubbling with rage and yearning . . . empathetic, addictive and feverish as a Nirvana gig'**
Guardian

'A powerful and evocative debut from a writer of great skill and deeply felt emotion'
Observer

'Effervescently paced and outrageously funny . . . jaw-dropping'
Luke Kennard, author of Black Bag

'I loved this book . . . raw, grungy and frenetic'
Alice Slater, author of Let the Bad Times Roll

'Part Virgin Suicides, part Veronica Mars'
Louise Hegarty, author of Fair Play

'I was totally absorbed . . . amazing and unlike anything else'
Saraid de Silva, author of Amma

In the town of St Vincent, everyone knows everyone else's business. So when Lily Lucid accuses the beloved high school music teacher Mr P of sexual assault, rumours swirl and lines are drawn. On one side: Lily's former friends - the fiercely loyal girls who immediately set out to prove their teacher's innocence. On the other: all the adults who have already written them off as a lost cause.

The girls will stop at nothing to hold onto their dream of escaping their small, run-down town, their desperate mothers and absent fathers - and Lily's accusation threatens it all.

But how far out of control can they spin before there's no turning back?