Morgan's TOP 5 in 2025 | Dark Like Under - Alice Chadwick

Morgan says... A captivating and perfectly paced read. Set over the course of a single day this book deals with the aftermath of a beloved teacher's death. Chadwick's writing is so precise you can feel the heat emanating from her description of this almost summer's day experienced by the characters. A moving example of early and unexpected grief.

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A day in an English school in the 1980s unfolds in the aftermath of the death of a beloved teacher, Mr Ardennes. But while students and teachers grapple with this sudden loss, normal life, as it must, continues. Lessons, flirtations, arguments. The clock ticks on.

At the heart of it all is Tin. Burning bright with defiance, feared and adored in equal measure – and potentially betrayed by best friend Robin and boyfriend Jonah. As the heat of the baking hot day intensifies, rivalries and hormones simmer, and old secrets surface.

Set against a backdrop of strikes and economic unrest, Dark Like Under is at the same time languorous with sun-soaked, rural beauty. Thrumming with life, this luminous debut captures the promise and risk of late adolescence and is a profound exploration of friendship, loneliness and grief.