I bloody love Hollie McNish! I was going to try and be all grown up and scholarly and serious in this review. I had decided I was going to style it out and not gush and fangirl my way through the whole review.

But then I thought, ‘Sod it, what’s the point?’ So be prepared for unbridled enthusiasm!

I will start by saying that I honestly couldn’t believe my luck when Clara Diaz at Little Brown emailed me and asked if I would be interested in receiving and reviewing a finished copy of Slug and other things I have been told to hate. I don’t think I have every replied so quickly to an email.

And the magic Google Lens Thing that happens when you hover your phone over the book is bloody amazing!!

But what is inside just this book genuinely blew me away.

Firstly let me say that I read this book cover to cover, word to a word in 3 days. A rainy bank holiday weekend was my friend as I lost myself in the wisdom and hilarity that is Hollie McNish’s trademark.

You see Hollie writes about life. About the things we all know but no one likes to talk about. About the things that keep you awake at night and the things that keep you sane. She will write about something that is closer to your heart than you ever knew. It will be her words that will make things suddenly click into place. This collection is a celebration of the things in life that have always been considered taboo, not for polite conversation. But they are actually the things that make the world go around.

This book is bursting, literally bursting at the seams with poetry, prose and stories that are run through with honesty and naked truth. Sometimes it will make you shout out loud in recognition and sometimes it will make you uncomfortable. But you will recognise it as the truth just the same.

This is one of the most human collections of work I have had the joy and pleasure of reading in a very long time. It is this kind of brave humanity and humility that I want to gift to my children every single day.

Thank you Hollie for sharing these words. Roll on the tour. Seat already booked x

Rachel x