Sparky, thoughtful, inventive, and fun, it's also the mix of these qualities that makes this a fantastic collection

This slim volume is a joy, packed with wry observation, vim and wit that deftly captures the spirit of these strange times we inhabit. Journeying through topical subjects, from rising oceans and adultery in lockdown to seaside staycations and an ode to Laura Kuenssberg, poet Roger McGough has a keen eye for the magical moments within the mundanities of modern life

Probably the best-known contemporary poet in the country, Roger McGough still tours his brand of zany takes on British culture . . . Safety in Numbers runs with several themes, including the pandemic, how to write poems and even being a narrator and voice-over artist. . . . [with] a lot of characteristically clever imagery and wordplay, such as in Warning Signs, a list of aphorisms, "Time to hit the road? You stumble, hit the road".

McGough is a true original and more than one generation would be much the poorer without him

McGough has done for poetry what champagne does for weddings

Memorable and enduring and fresh. Age has not withered [his lines] nor diminished their potency. Of how much modern poetry can you say that?

McGough's trademarks: the craft worn as lightly as the crown, the jokes that are something more, the underlying heartache, the acute sense of the way time slips away

The patron saint of poetry

Gulpable fictive entertainment . . . Eggers is a wonderful storyteller with an alert and defiant vision

You read it and think: yes, this is set in the future but it is actually going on here and now. It is an urgent and necessary book. It's also fun. You catch more flies with honey than vinegar

More playful and satirical than Orwell, Eggers's digital totalitarianism is a touchy-feely affair; where Orwell has the boot on the face, Eggers has online shopping and emojis. But it is no less of a serious warning . . . it scores as a series of brilliant set pieces and a devastating overall critique.

Zayyan brings attention to a period of history that many may be unaware of and reckons with some of the real world consequences of colonialism in an interesting and personalised way. It is a brave book in those terms ... we also witness some very believable and relatable instances of modern day racism as well as a strong and interesting account of how he struggles to balance his way of life with the wishes of his parents ... Zayyan writes very well ... in Sameer she writes a complex, interesting character who makes sense as a product of his life circumstances ... We Are All Birds of Uganda does tell stories that I haven't often read before, and brings attention to parts of history that really need to be focused on in our current climate.

Rapper Stormzy's favourite debut soars by asking: Who are we - and how do we belong?

On the evidence of this book, which is set in England and Uganda, [Zayyan] is an exciting new literary talent.

[A] tender, beautifully written read ... This remarkably accomplished debut is a moving tale of love and loss, told between two continents over a troubled century.

Zayyan's novel is emotive, multi-layered and makes for necessary reading.

From the moment the Afrori Team saw this book we were captivated. It is one of the most remarkable debut novels we have come across. A book you will not forget.

...It's a complex and delicately flavoured dish to be savoured and digested slowly.

Impressive and admirable.

Beautiful.

So brilliant, moving and just prescient for today that I just want to keep on waffling about it.

A truly thought provoking novel which makes you wonder and question yourself and the world long after putting it down. A real success.

A stirring exploration of love and displacement.

A remarkably accomplished, polished debut.

There are flashes of brilliance throughout, reminiscent of John Berger.

Acts of Desperation creates an immersive experience of toxic romance through a suffocating and addictive narrative.

Painful, sharp and absorbing.

A reflection on compulsion, addiction and what it's like to exist as a young woman in a world that is hostile to you. Read the first page and you won't be able to stop.

Nolan...stakes out thrilling new territory in an intense, unflinching novel that is always intelligent and utterly unafraid of ugliness.

A devastating stripping back of the gendered and politicised conditions that shape desire, a revelation of the unnerving ways we are made vulnerable to others in unequal systems. Its crisp, knowing prose is unparalleled, its anger remarkable.

Nolan's intelligent, elegant first novel, a gripping portrait of love turned toxic.

The star feature of Nolan's narration is her ability to cut through received ideas about women, relationships and even rape. Her headlong, fearless prose, feels like salt wind on cracked lips. You wince and you thrill.

A raw read of vulnerability, desperation, and most definitely a new voice in fiction

A thrilling read...if you want a visceral, honest, unputdownable summer read then this is it. You'll devour it in a day.

A very elegant novel, with coercive control at the core. She has such a strong voice and not a sentence is extraneous

I read this in one go... I found it raw, honest, brutal and real.

Written with acerbic style and wit, this is an intoxicatingly good look at romantic obsession, delusion and desire.

Beautifully written…and the short chapters keep things moving at an addictively fast pace. Most importantly, it’s shamelessly real