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A review by sslovesbooks_1
The Young Team by Graeme Armstrong
5.0
This coming of age story is a debut from the author and gives voice to some of the boys and young men in central Scotland. Seeking security and friendship with the Young Team we witness Azzy Williams find his feet and start to understand the norms of gang culture in his local community. However, this is so much more, it's a multi-layered story and Azzy’s journey takes the reader through an energetic, at times frenetic read with both tension and humour and wit flung in there for good measure.
This book, written in local dialect allowed me to immerse myself in the lives of the characters, I read at the same time listening to the author narrating his own work which I think was such a great experience for me. I was watching these characters navigate the community they were brought up in and as a resident of North Lanarkshire I recognised so many of the boys on the pages and the setting was so familiar. “the Campsies” seen from my bedroom window are always there and Armstrong is bang on when he describes them as a sense of navigation in and out of Glasgow from this side of the city.
Azzy and his Young Team provide a sense of belonging for each other as they share experiences in drink, drugs, raves, and violence. Within are some of the best descriptions I have read about the impact of drugs on a person's body and mind and made from some devastating reading. However, there was such humour in the writing, the patter, the clothes, the “sheepy sheep”, the “jaggies” are amongst some of the bits that made me laugh out loud.
There are so many social themes in this book. Poverty, drugs, alcohol. violence, mental health, family, community, territory, working-class experiences, west of Scotland masculinity – such a backdrop to Azzy Williams’ personal journey. I am still thinking about Azzy’s inner thoughts and emotions and his understanding of himself and those around him, they are not what many people assume boys like Azzy are like. As a teacher in this area, I have seen the potential in many real life Azzys, I have believed in their potential and told them I believed, in the hope that they would listen. There is hope in this book, there are good people who only want the best for their friends and families, they understand to love them is to let them go.
I feel quite sad to be leaving Azzy Williams, he has left an imprint on my heart. I hope he is living his best life wherever that may be.
This book, written in local dialect allowed me to immerse myself in the lives of the characters, I read at the same time listening to the author narrating his own work which I think was such a great experience for me. I was watching these characters navigate the community they were brought up in and as a resident of North Lanarkshire I recognised so many of the boys on the pages and the setting was so familiar. “the Campsies” seen from my bedroom window are always there and Armstrong is bang on when he describes them as a sense of navigation in and out of Glasgow from this side of the city.
Azzy and his Young Team provide a sense of belonging for each other as they share experiences in drink, drugs, raves, and violence. Within are some of the best descriptions I have read about the impact of drugs on a person's body and mind and made from some devastating reading. However, there was such humour in the writing, the patter, the clothes, the “sheepy sheep”, the “jaggies” are amongst some of the bits that made me laugh out loud.
There are so many social themes in this book. Poverty, drugs, alcohol. violence, mental health, family, community, territory, working-class experiences, west of Scotland masculinity – such a backdrop to Azzy Williams’ personal journey. I am still thinking about Azzy’s inner thoughts and emotions and his understanding of himself and those around him, they are not what many people assume boys like Azzy are like. As a teacher in this area, I have seen the potential in many real life Azzys, I have believed in their potential and told them I believed, in the hope that they would listen. There is hope in this book, there are good people who only want the best for their friends and families, they understand to love them is to let them go.
I feel quite sad to be leaving Azzy Williams, he has left an imprint on my heart. I hope he is living his best life wherever that may be.