Want to know what books Emma Jane Unsworth recommends on their reading list? We've researched interviews, social media posts, podcasts, and articles to build a comprehensive list of Emma Jane Unsworth's favorite book recommendations of all time.
1
If you’ve ever thanked your lucky stars for your best friends or experienced the heartache of losing a best friend, this is the book for you. Amy Key has collected poems about firm friendships forged in childhood, fierce loyalties and even fiercer falling-outs, shining a light on this bond that defines the social and emotional lives of many young girls and continues to have an impact into adulthood.
Best Friends Forever is the perfect gift for the BFFs in your life. The colourful cover evokes gel pens, highlighters and friendship bracelets, and the cream paper inside is set... more If you’ve ever thanked your lucky stars for your best friends or experienced the heartache of losing a best friend, this is the book for you. Amy Key has collected poems about firm friendships forged in childhood, fierce loyalties and even fiercer falling-outs, shining a light on this bond that defines the social and emotional lives of many young girls and continues to have an impact into adulthood.
Best Friends Forever is the perfect gift for the BFFs in your life. The colourful cover evokes gel pens, highlighters and friendship bracelets, and the cream paper inside is set off by the deep purple endpapers.
With poems by Rachael Allen, Emily Berry, Liz Berry, Julia Bird, Sophia Blackwell, Sophie Collins, Nia Davies, Francine Elena, Annie Freud, Sophie Herxheimer, Holly Hopkins, Emma Jeremy, Suzanne Joinson, Angela Kirby, Fran Lock, Amy Mackelden, Sharanya Manivannan, Kathryn Maris, Karen McCarthy Woolf, Rebecca Perry, Rachel Piercey, Kathy Pimlott, Andrea Quinlan, Jacqueline Saphra, Brenda Shaughnessy, Catherine Smith, Martha Sprackland, Camellia Stafford, Claire Trévien, Megan Watkins, Laura Webb and Alison Winch. less 
Emma Jane UnsworthA selection of contemporary female poets writing about the complexities of female friendship, everything from enchantment to destruction. (Source)
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2
The confession of Dominic Francis Hood - Roman Catholic, sadist, conspirator to murder, witness to a miracle. His childhood had the usual benefits, but after watching a miracle performed by Father Malone, Dominic realises a part of him is skewed, and that mere fantasy will never be enough. more The confession of Dominic Francis Hood - Roman Catholic, sadist, conspirator to murder, witness to a miracle. His childhood had the usual benefits, but after watching a miracle performed by Father Malone, Dominic realises a part of him is skewed, and that mere fantasy will never be enough. less Emma Jane UnsworthHe writes a lot about sex, and a lot about the darker aspects of human nature. He goes where few other writers—and thinkers—will go. (Source)
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3
In this moving, poignant novel by the bestselling author of Birds of America we share a grown woman’s bittersweet nostalgia for the wildness of her youth.
The summer Berie was fifteen, she and her best friend Sils had jobs at Storyland in upstate New York where Berie sold tickets to see the beautiful Sils portray Cinderella in a strapless evening gown. They spent their breaks smoking, joking, and gossiping. After work they followed their own reckless rules, teasing the fun out of small town life, sleeping in the family station wagon, and drinking borrowed liquor from old... more In this moving, poignant novel by the bestselling author of Birds of America we share a grown woman’s bittersweet nostalgia for the wildness of her youth.
The summer Berie was fifteen, she and her best friend Sils had jobs at Storyland in upstate New York where Berie sold tickets to see the beautiful Sils portray Cinderella in a strapless evening gown. They spent their breaks smoking, joking, and gossiping. After work they followed their own reckless rules, teasing the fun out of small town life, sleeping in the family station wagon, and drinking borrowed liquor from old mayonnaise jars. But no matter how wild, they always managed to escape any real danger—until the adoring Berie sees that Sils really does need her help—and then everything changes. less Emma Jane UnsworthIt’s about this sense of tragedy and intensity that comes from having a very close adolescent friendship. (Source)
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4
A story of friendship, art, sex, and curly hair: an audaciously witty debut tracing the pas de deux of lust and love between two young, uncertain, conflicted art students.
At their New England art school, Paulina and Fran both stand apart from the crowd. Paulina is striking and sexually adventurous—a self-proclaimed queen bee with a devastating mean-girl streak. With her gorgeous untamed head of curly hair, Fran is quirky, sweet, and sexually innocent. An aspiring painter whose potential outstrips her confidence, she floats dreamily through criticisms and dance floors... more A story of friendship, art, sex, and curly hair: an audaciously witty debut tracing the pas de deux of lust and love between two young, uncertain, conflicted art students.
At their New England art school, Paulina and Fran both stand apart from the crowd. Paulina is striking and sexually adventurous—a self-proclaimed queen bee with a devastating mean-girl streak. With her gorgeous untamed head of curly hair, Fran is quirky, sweet, and sexually innocent. An aspiring painter whose potential outstrips her confidence, she floats dreamily through criticisms and dance floors alike. On a school trip to Norway, the girls are drawn together, each disarmed by the other’s charisma.
Though their bond is instant and powerful, it’s also wracked by complications. When Fran winds up dating one of Paulina’s ex-boyfriends, an incensed Paulina becomes determined to destroy the couple, creating a rift that will shape their lives well past the halcyon days of art school.
Crackling with bon mots and knowing snapshots of that moment when the carefree cocoon of adolescence opens into the permanent, unknowable future, Paulina & Fran is both a sparkling dance party of a novel, and the debut novel of a writer with rare insight into the complexities of obsession, friendship, and prickly, ever-elusive love. less See more recommendations for this book...
5
Cat's Eye is the story of Elaine Risley, a controversial painter who returns to Toronto, the city of her youth, for a retrospective of her art. Engulfed by vivid images of the past, she reminisces about a trio of girls who initiated her into the fierce politics of childhood and its secret world of friendship, longing, and betrayal. Elaine must come to terms with her own identity as a daughter, a lover, and artist, and woman—but above all she must seek release from her haunting memories. Disturbing, hilarious, and compassionate, Cat's Eye is a breathtaking novel of a woman... more Cat's Eye is the story of Elaine Risley, a controversial painter who returns to Toronto, the city of her youth, for a retrospective of her art. Engulfed by vivid images of the past, she reminisces about a trio of girls who initiated her into the fierce politics of childhood and its secret world of friendship, longing, and betrayal. Elaine must come to terms with her own identity as a daughter, a lover, and artist, and woman—but above all she must seek release from her haunting memories. Disturbing, hilarious, and compassionate, Cat's Eye is a breathtaking novel of a woman grappling with the tangled knots of her life. less See more recommendations for this book...
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