Cuts Both Ways
Love is never just black and white. A sharp, funny, and deeply felt YA novel about grief, identity, and finding yourself when everything you knew has changed.
About the Book
Love is never just black and white.
London is everything to Cynthia. So when her parents uproot the family after a devastating event — her brother's murder — and move to a small town where there's one bus an hour and the faint smell of horse manure, it's a culture shock to say the least.
At her new private school, Cynthia is one of the only Black students. She finds herself caught between two brothers — Thomas, the white head boy her parents approve of, and Isaac, the only other Black student in her year, who is aloof, guarded, and impossible to stop thinking about.
When it turns out both brothers are keeping secrets that link back to what happened in London, Cynthia realises that nothing — and no one — is quite what they seem. Candice Brathwaite's debut novel is sharp, funny, and full of heart.
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"Funny and heart-warming. Brathwaite tackles big themes with a deft touch."— Stylist
What You'll Find Inside
The themes that run through this book
How a family survives the unsurvivable — and what it costs each of them to keep going when everything has changed.
What it means to be one of the only Black students in a predominantly white space — and the quiet, constant work of navigating that reality.
The collision between Cynthia's world and the world of private school — and what it reveals about who gets to belong where.
A love story that refuses to be simple — exploring what it means to follow your heart when everyone around you has an opinion about who you should choose.
When the people closest to you aren't who you thought — and what happens when the truth finally cuts through.
The messy, funny, painful reality of being a teenager — figuring out who you are while the world keeps moving underneath your feet.
What They're Saying
Press & Critical Response
"Funny and heart-warming — Brathwaite tackles big themes with a deft touch."
Stylist
"A sharp look at the realities of growing up Black in Britain — warm and insightful."
The Observer
"You don't want to put it down until you've read it cover to cover."
The Independent
"Tackles big issues with humour and heart."
i Newspaper
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