THE PLOT: ‘Neon Roses’ by Rachel Dawson is a queer coming-of-age novel set in the 1980’s. In South Wales the miners’ strike is ravaging Eluned’s village. Both her father and boyfriend are on the picket lines and struggling to make ends meet. Worse still, her sister has betrayed the family and shacked up with a Thatcherite policeman. When a fundraising group ‘Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners’ come from London, Eluned meets June – an artist living in a Camden squat. Eluned gets swept away with the idea of June and a new, exciting life but can she leave her family and the struggle behind?

RATING: This is a heart-warming novel with a main character to root for. The book follows Eluned’s arc from repressed and living in South Wales, destined to follow the same path as her parents, to breaking the mould and coming out as a lesbian. Very much a character-driven novel, her outspokenness and strength are endearing and readers will be charmed by how she makes a life for herself. Although the plot meandered towards the end, I’d highly recommend grabbing a copy of this debut novel for Pride month.

GOOD BITS:  Although it pains me to think the 1980’s are classed as historical fiction, I love how the time-period and setting is infused in the novel. In addition to music and popular culture references, the atmosphere of the miners’ strike is intense and I could really feel the hunger, desperation and solidarity coming off the page. In particular, Eluned’s relationship with her sister was so engaging as it mirrored the political tensions and wider themes of the novel. I felt like Eluned was a great main character as she refuses to fall into stereotypes. Aspects like her weight and accent are stated but not dwelt on, and those characteristics don’t make her the butt of tired jokes. 

NOT SO GOOD BITS: I felt like the plot lost its way towards the end. Although I admired the choice to have many characters accept Eluned’s coming out, it meant possible avenues for tension in the novel were diffused so there wasn’t much story-forward curiosity for the reader. Although Eluned’s unequal relationship with Lola and her continuing estrangement with her sister maintained some intrigue, I would have preferred the novel to have a tighter timeline. If the majority of the novel could have been condensed into the three months of the strike, I think it would maintain the tense atmosphere and have events toppling like dominos.

OVERALL: I’d recommend this book to lovers of ‘Rosewater’ by Liv Little, ‘Rainbow Milk’ by Paul Mendes and ‘Rubyfruit Jungle’ by Rita Mae Brown. If you like character-driven novels about self-discovery, this is a book for you.

Thank you to John Murray for my #gifted copy ahead of my interview with Rachel Dawson for the London Independent Short Story Prize. This book was released in May 2023 and is available to order on my bookshop.org profile.