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

'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

'Effervescently paced and outrageously funny . . . jaw-dropping'
Luke Kennard, author of The Transition

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

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: The Bastards. Friends since they were children, they consider themselves 'forgettable girls' - distracted, disillusioned, and desperate to escape the fates of their mothers.

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?