Conflicting messages in a wildly unrealistic YA drama on homelessness.
Phyllida Shrimpton’s ambitious second young adult novel is a snapshot into the life of materialistic and hot-headed seventeen-year-old, Saffron Hayes, stumbling upon a hitherto unknown secret from her past and descending into turmoil. When an A-Level project leads Saffron to learn that her birth mother is not in actual fact dead as her father, Edward, has always led her to believe, it challenges every significant memory of her family life. She is launched into a world of anger and hurt as it shakes up the stable family life in the Hayes household with a generous father, a much denigrated stepmother, Melanie, two brothers and a younger stepsister all caught in the crossfire. The knowledge that her father has manipulated her whole world for what she believes are entirely selfish reasons and a chance to replace her mother with a younger and prettier second version in Melanie leaves Saffron seething. Too impetuous and stubborn to even give her father an opportunity to explain the circumstances and further incensed by her thirteen-year-old brother’s indifferent reaction, she storms off in a fit of pique.
Expecting salvation in the shape of her best friend, nineteen-year-old Tom, it also brings to a head the chemistry that they share. Two years her senior, Tom, entered Saffron’s life when she was just a stroppy seven-year-old in the local park and his diametrically opposed background and life on a council estate have left him achingly aware of Saffron’s advantageous life and her easy come, easy go attitude towards everything from possessions to her generous allowance and a home full of convenience. But when Tom refuses to allow Saffron to sofa surf at his flat it leads her to discover her inability to book accommodation in a hotel room, night shelter or youth hostel as an unaccompanied seventeen-year-old. After ending up sleeping rough under a covered bridge she is given an insight into everything from soup kitchens to nightclub turning out time as a homeless person. From the inability to register for benefits without an fixed address and other practical issues, Phyllida Shrimpton’s story goes on to pose more significant questions (does adversity have to make you ammoral?, does a roof over head make you a better person?) and also attempts to shed a light on the challenges that the homeless face re-entering mainstream society.
The narrative is split between Saffron and nineteen-year-old, Tom, with both speaking directly to the reader in the first-person and alongside Tom’s emotional maturity and understanding, naive Saffron makes for an unedifying contrast with her attitude and hideously affected rants. I doubt there can be many seventeen-year-olds with such an unrealistic idea of what homelessness entails and as a consequence, Saffron’s narrative borders on talking down to its target audience. From thinking she is open-minded and aware of the realities of life the use of derogatory terms and casual slights (such as “looney tunes”, “apple destined for the fruit pot”) throughout Saffron’s narrative proves disappointing. Added to this is Saffron’s own reason for fleeing her home and putting her story on a par with the vulnerable, abused and hideously unlucky legions that take to a life on the street does not sit well. The story is largely seen through rose-tinted spectacles which highlight the generosity of fellow homeless people and incidents including a lucky escape from a potential paedophile are given a naively positive spin.
Whilst the plot is fast-moving, covers an admirably ambitious scope and will certainly give much food for thought, the meaningful life lessons are writ large and far from subtle. The punchy narrative with moments of humour does make for easy reading, however Saffron’s point of view dominates the plot and the pity is that the mature and memorable characters of Tom and teenage brother, Daniel, are not given more airtime. Very little insight is given into the attempts by her father to present his own case and illuminate spiky Saffron to the other side of the story and the battle to keep his family together. Sadly I was not entirely convinced that much character development of protagonist Saffron actually took place and I doubted whether the experience taught her a meaningful lesson in just how fortunate she is. With a slightly more winsome protagonist and a more understated tone Phyllida Shrimpton’s novel would have had all the ingredients to be a must read education lesson for many teens, but as it is it stands it feels like a missed opportunity and left me with decidedly mixed feelings.
With thanks to Readers First who provided me with a free copy of this novel in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.
Expecting salvation in the shape of her best friend, nineteen-year-old Tom, it also brings to a head the chemistry that they share. Two years her senior, Tom, entered Saffron’s life when she was just a stroppy seven-year-old in the local park and his diametrically opposed background and life on a council estate have left him achingly aware of Saffron’s advantageous life and her easy come, easy go attitude towards everything from possessions to her generous allowance and a home full of convenience. But when Tom refuses to allow Saffron to sofa surf at his flat it leads her to discover her inability to book accommodation in a hotel room, night shelter or youth hostel as an unaccompanied seventeen-year-old. After ending up sleeping rough under a covered bridge she is given an insight into everything from soup kitchens to nightclub turning out time as a homeless person. From the inability to register for benefits without an fixed address and other practical issues, Phyllida Shrimpton’s story goes on to pose more significant questions (does adversity have to make you ammoral?, does a roof over head make you a better person?) and also attempts to shed a light on the challenges that the homeless face re-entering mainstream society.
The narrative is split between Saffron and nineteen-year-old, Tom, with both speaking directly to the reader in the first-person and alongside Tom’s emotional maturity and understanding, naive Saffron makes for an unedifying contrast with her attitude and hideously affected rants. I doubt there can be many seventeen-year-olds with such an unrealistic idea of what homelessness entails and as a consequence, Saffron’s narrative borders on talking down to its target audience. From thinking she is open-minded and aware of the realities of life the use of derogatory terms and casual slights (such as “looney tunes”, “apple destined for the fruit pot”) throughout Saffron’s narrative proves disappointing. Added to this is Saffron’s own reason for fleeing her home and putting her story on a par with the vulnerable, abused and hideously unlucky legions that take to a life on the street does not sit well. The story is largely seen through rose-tinted spectacles which highlight the generosity of fellow homeless people and incidents including a lucky escape from a potential paedophile are given a naively positive spin.
Whilst the plot is fast-moving, covers an admirably ambitious scope and will certainly give much food for thought, the meaningful life lessons are writ large and far from subtle. The punchy narrative with moments of humour does make for easy reading, however Saffron’s point of view dominates the plot and the pity is that the mature and memorable characters of Tom and teenage brother, Daniel, are not given more airtime. Very little insight is given into the attempts by her father to present his own case and illuminate spiky Saffron to the other side of the story and the battle to keep his family together. Sadly I was not entirely convinced that much character development of protagonist Saffron actually took place and I doubted whether the experience taught her a meaningful lesson in just how fortunate she is. With a slightly more winsome protagonist and a more understated tone Phyllida Shrimpton’s novel would have had all the ingredients to be a must read education lesson for many teens, but as it is it stands it feels like a missed opportunity and left me with decidedly mixed feelings.
With thanks to Readers First who provided me with a free copy of this novel in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.