In Bloom
On sale
17th February 2026
Price: £16.99
‘An electric portrait of teenage friendship and fandom, bubbling with rage and yearning . . . empathetic, addictive’
Guardian
‘Full of heart, anger and grunge’
Reader review, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
‘Powerful and propulsive’
Reader review, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
‘A book for everyone’
Reader review, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
An Observer Best Debut Novelist 2026
The Bastards aren’t afraid of anything.
It’s the mid-nineties, and in the small, shitty coastal town of Vincent, four girls – each hailing from single-mother, multi-sibling families, form a band: The Bastards. Friends since they were children, they consider themselves ‘forgettable girls’ – distracted, disillusioned, and desperate to escape the fates of their mothers.
Winning the Battle of the Bands is their ticket out – they might not have talent, but they can play three chords and scream until their vocal folds burst out of their throats – and nobody wants it more than them.
But when lead singer Lily Lucid quits, and accuses their idolized music teacher of sexual assault, the three remaining girls are left with nothing. They’ll do anything to keep their dream alive, even if it means sacrificing school, Lily and their mothers. But how far out of control can they spin before there’s no turning back?
Guardian
‘Full of heart, anger and grunge’
Reader review, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
‘Powerful and propulsive’
Reader review, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
‘A book for everyone’
Reader review, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
An Observer Best Debut Novelist 2026
The Bastards aren’t afraid of anything.
It’s the mid-nineties, and in the small, shitty coastal town of Vincent, four girls – each hailing from single-mother, multi-sibling families, form a band: The Bastards. Friends since they were children, they consider themselves ‘forgettable girls’ – distracted, disillusioned, and desperate to escape the fates of their mothers.
Winning the Battle of the Bands is their ticket out – they might not have talent, but they can play three chords and scream until their vocal folds burst out of their throats – and nobody wants it more than them.
But when lead singer Lily Lucid quits, and accuses their idolized music teacher of sexual assault, the three remaining girls are left with nothing. They’ll do anything to keep their dream alive, even if it means sacrificing school, Lily and their mothers. But how far out of control can they spin before there’s no turning back?
Reviews
I loved this book: as raw, grungy and frenetic as Nirvana's Nevermind, In Bloom smells like disillusioned teen spirit
What a novel! In Bloom is effervescently paced and outrageously funny, but as deep as the hope and angst that drives its protagonists. A perfectly detailed encapsulation of an era we've collectively not quite gotten over. It's also a jaw-dropping exercise in perspective with one of the most brilliantly conceived denouements I've encountered.
Liz Allan's powerful debut novel smells unmistakably like teen spirit . . . Allan evokes Vincent in all its tawdry menace: shark-infested waters, creaking carnival rides, violent men lurking at home. Her chapters are distilled, her prose raw and vital, repetitions imbuing an incantatory rhythm . . . this is an electric portrait of teenage friendship and fandom, bubbling with rage and yearning: an Australian answer to Eliza Clark's Penance and Dizz Tate's Brutes . . . empathetic, addictive and feverish as a Nirvana gig, In Bloom critiques societal problems without patronising those affected by according them a fierce collective voice