Cuts Both Ways

Product Information

With the youthful tone and flare in how this is written, you can really feel Cynthia's personality and attitude coming through. The multiple microaggressions and snide comments thrown towards Cynthia highlight the way this is so normalised within society.

CUT BOTH WAYS | English meaning - Cambridge Dictionary CUT BOTH WAYS | English meaning - Cambridge Dictionary

But when it turns out both boys have been keeping secrets from her, secrets that link back to the life Cynthia thought she had left behind in London, she realises that not everything is as it seems.

It was so evident that this book was written by someone much, much older with not much sense of modern youthfulness and their interaction. At times the plot is a little too neat, but the twist is clever and exposes again the truth that we are all individuals with past and present baggage and futures yet to be written, affected by both our own assumptions and choices beyond our control. I’m a full on CB fan girl but that aside; the plot, the characters and the south London feel dragged me in, hooked after one chapter. At her new school, Cynthia immediately finds herself caught between two brothers—head boy Thomas, who is white, and his adopted Black brother, Isaac. There is something about Isaac she cannot quite get enough of … but her father wants her to partner up with someone like Thomas, someone who will be ‘better for her future prospects’.

Cuts Both Ways by Candice Brathwaite | Hachette UK Cuts Both Ways by Candice Brathwaite | Hachette UK

The twists aren't exactly twists, but that's not the point; the point is how the characters react to them, not we humble readers. This book brings alive the journey, heartache, trauma and pain that is inevitable for those left behind. Along the way, Cynthia must learn to grapple with her grief whilst navigating parental expectations and her desire to be a normal teenager.There were some parts of the book that really made me cringe although this was a good thing as that is exactly what the author was going for in my opinion. Candice started utilizing the internet in 2015 to tell her own motherhood story, keen to show that young black families weren't just surviving but thriving, and her straight-talking, original content really struck a chord with fans and brands alike. Closer to home, I can count on one hand the number of girls I knew who fell pregnant in year 10 or year 11 (and younger girls in fact).