Set against the backdrop of Dublin in the 1980s, a place of political, social and religious change, the friends yearn for an unbound life and together they begin to fight to take up the space of who they truly are. As their defiance reverberates through their lives, the children are further alienated from their surrounding society through acts of bravery and cowardice, both their own and others’. Finding themselves as outsiders, they are feared, coveted and watched, but rarely truly seen.
Told through the eyes of Juno, we see the pair begin to navigate the political and oftentimes confusing adult world with honesty and intuition. A country emerging from a dark Catholicism into the wider world of possibilities. Who is invited into modernity and gentrification and who is left behind?
Caught between the rich depth of her intellect and the harsh reality of her life, we follow Juno as she begins to understand how divergent a life lived and a life thought can be.
Me and my pal Kath read this as a buddy read, and I loved it so so much, it gave me feels of Shuggie Bain and Young Mungo (by Douglas Stuart, which if you haven’t read yet you must now, or forever unfriend me!). The poverty Juno and Legs endure, is well seen within the story, and I couldn’t help but feel so sorry for them both. I loved Juno’s imagination though, I liked the parts where she was talking to the librarian. The love between Legs and Juno was immense, regardless of his sexuality, and there not ebing romance between them, the love they had for each other was so real, you could feel it jump at you from the pages.
There were times when I cried, so many sad things happen, and as they grow older we dive deeper into a life they don’t want to live but get pulled into. The ending was both happy and sad, and yet Mr Geary… I think it was just perfect.
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