“…witty, tender, heartbreaking, and luminous. Daisy Radcliffe is so honestly rendered, so absolutely present, so full of life, she is unforgettable. This is the truest depiction of what it feels like to grow up that I’ve read in a very long time.” – Lisa Moore
even weirder than before is available now from Breakwater Books and All Lit Up… or ask for it at your local independent book seller!
.
THE EARLY 1990s: there’s no internet, phones have cords, VHS is still a thing, and Daisy Radcliffe’s family is disintegrating. As the stability of Daisy’s old life disappears, she is set adrift into the odd territory between adolescence and adulthood. Susie Taylor’s sharp, quick-witted prose carries Daisy through a maze of awkward parties, drugs, and rec rooms — new friends, social adversaries, and sexual awakenings. A strikingly perceptive and honest debut, Even Weirder Than Before is a coming-of-age story exploring the weirdness of growing up Gen X, and the freedom found outside the norm.
.
“It’s a queer coming-of-age novel, but its politics is a trick up its sleeve, the very best move saved until the novel’s final sentence… With a subtle hand, Taylor has written a political book that’s also at home in its bright and appealing pink cover—and it’s absolutely a joy to behold.” – Kerry Clare, Pickle Me This
“My second reading revealed me to be a bit of an idiot, and a victim of Taylor’s deft sleight-of-narrative hand: Taylor gives generous yet subtle clues about the real narrative arc of Even Weirder Than Before throughout the book. My inability to see this plot twist coming likely said more about my own Generation X investment in movies like The Breakfast Club and Sixteen Candles… I very much look forward to seeing more from Taylor and I find myself hoping that the first-time novelist gives us a sequel to this quite Canadian, yet also oddly cosmopolitan, coming-of-age story.” – Nathan R. Elliot, Newfoundland and Labrador Studies
“Susie Taylor has provided her readers with a fresh take on navigating through the awkwardness of the coming of age period. I laughed out loud and cried with real feeling. Susie Taylor has crafted a modern character so bursting with life she is absolutely unforgettable.” – Atlantic Book Reviews
“…authentic and satisfying and a really enjoyable read… The steady propulsion of time is deftly handled. Sometimes a page can move through a full hour or even a whole season, but it’s not confusing. Same with the way plotlines are taken up, set aside and returned to. All characters have their own arcs, often unexpected but always spot-on.” – Joan Sullivan, The Telegram
susietaylor.ca 