'ONE OF THE MOST MOVING ACCOUNTS OF NON-FICTION EVER WRITTEN' GUARDIAN
'If you like Shuggie Bain, then Slum Boy is for you' LEMN SISSAY
'Beautifully told. I hope it finds a million readers' ANDREW O'HAGANJohn MacDonald is a four-year-old boy growing up in the slums of Glasgow.
John's mother is an addict, who leaves him starving in their flat for days at a time.
When a neighbour reports her, John is wrenched away from his family and placed into the care system. There, he has experiences he's too young to understand which his eventual adoptive parents silence as he grows into a gay man within a strict Romani community.
But John dreams of being reunited with his mother and will stop at nothing to find her.
'Compulsively readable' PATRICK GALE
'Remarkable and moving tale' TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT
Juano Diaz was awarded the Pride Awards 2024 for LGBTQ+ Heroes Changing the World."Powerful and beautifully written... Juano Diaz's elegant and heartbreaking memoir immediately brings to mind Douglas Stuart's Booker-winning Shuggie Bain" - Guardian
"A powerful and at times harrowing memoir. Slum Boy is a remarkable and moving tale of survival." - Times Literary Supplement
"The writing is beautiful" - Scooter LaForge
"A heart-breaking, inspiring read" - Alan Cumming
"An extraordinary survival story" - Sophie Fiennes
"A reminder that beautiful things grow and flourish" - Christie Watson
"A heart-rending story that has you constantly holding back tears" - Dr Pam Hogg
"I laughed and cried. It's a masterpiece" - Joey Arias
"A heart-breaking, inspiring read" - Alan Cumming
"An extraordinary survival story" - Sophie Fiennes
"A reminder that beautiful things grow and flourish" - Christie Watson
