The Year of the Rat by Clare Furniss will be featured on the Radio 2 Book Club on Monday 19 May.
The book was selected with the help of a panel made up of Reading Agency and library staff from across the UK.
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The Year of the Rat
Pearl’s baby sister is The Rat. She’s the reason Pearl’s mum died, the reason everything has changed forever, and Pearl can’t forgive her for that. Because losing her mum is the hardest thing that Pearl has ever gone through and no one, not her dad, her interfering granny, her best friend – and especially not her new little sister – can break down the barriers she’s putting up. But what if Pearl’s mum isn’t completely gone? What if, somehow, she’s still here?
The world may tip at any moment, Pearl knows that now. The trick is finding something to hold on to…
Selection panel review
Our selection panel gave the book a glowing review: “Wow, what a debut – I laughed and cried (embarrassing in an open plan office, but there you are). This novel works on so many levels. As an adult and mother, I feared for Pearl as her life gets out of control, but I loved her for her resilience and anger. That’s a very difficult feat to pull off. What a page turner – I read it in 48 hours!”
About the author
Furniss grew up in London, and moved to Birmingham in her teens. After brief stints as a waitress, a shop assistant, and working at the Shakespeare Centre Library in Stratford-upon-Avon, she studied at Cambridge and Aberdeen. She went on to work in media relations for the homelessness charity Shelter and spent several years as a press officer for the then Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone. She now lives in Bath.
Get involved
Tune in to Simon Mayo’s Drivetime show on Monday 19 May at 6pm to hear Clare Furniss talk about The Year of the Rat.
Have you read The Year of the Rat? You can share your thoughts on Twitter using #thatratbook or post a comment in the space below.
Find out more about the Radio 2 Book Club. You can also now follow the Book Club on Twitter.
