A compelling novel about the tragedy of corrupting power, set in post-independence Kenya. . . Ngugi writes with passion about every form, shape and colour which power can take

A mind-blowing political statement, an anguished cry of despair… a bombshell

Francesca Segal is incisive on modern lives, penetrating and thoughtful - and yet always joyfully entertaining and stylishly readable.

Segal’s wit and intelligence are entirely her own and the moral dilemmas of her characters could not be more modern… Segal has a superb eye for the lies that the middle-aged lovers tell themselves, and they are jolted back to reality when it all goes spectacularly wrong. It is nearly a tragedy, but not quite; she’s just too funny

Elegant… an entertaining look at the messy business of trying to be in a family in emotionally trying circumstances… Irresistible

A story that is equal parts hilarious and devastating

Francesa Segal is precise and funny, and The Awkward Age is brimming with keen observations of the highest order--the clever, the sore, and the sublime.

Segal… is a sharp observer of the tribulations of teenage love and modern relationships. Particularly strong on how blind parents are towards their ghastly offspring’s flaws, this book is a lively, quick-witted performance

In Francesca Segal’s magnificent new novel The Awkward Age, romantic and parental love go head to head, stress-testing loyalties and bonds with heartbreaking consequences… Genius… An impressively nuanced and convincing portrait of maternal love… a painful delight to read, invoking a perfectly balanced oscillation between compassion and frustration

Themes of non-nuclear family life, the everyday fractures and renovations inherent to relationships of any kind, amid moments of pitch-perfect comic tension… Segal navigates these re-drawn battle lines with skill and sensitivity… There is no precise time, we are reminded, at which life becomes less tangled, at which personalities are formed as in aspic: we can see that all ages are awkward, but some are more awkward than others

Movingly insightful about love, grief, birth and parenting, funny about teenagers and compassionate about ageing, The Awkward Age is a witty, compelling delight.

An adept, comic study of shifting priorities and the continual flux of child-parent relationships

humorous, wise, well-observed

She takes six characters… and plonks them in sturdy houses in Hampstead, sets the clock, and lets the story play out… Like a good piece of Bach, what unfolds has an inevitability to it but manages also to be surprising at every moment. Segal has an uncanny ability to climb into the mind of each character and show us convincingly exactly what he or she would think, say and do

Francesca Segal’s sharply observed second novel asks what parents owe to their children, and vice versa… A great premise for a novel, and Segal handles it expertly… Everyday family interactions – the deep, primal resentments played out over a bowl of porridge, or a shopping list – are observed warmly and yet with hawk-like precision… skilfully crafted morality tale for our times

Segal excels at character minutiae, switching protagonists from page to page but still doing each one justice… By the end of the book, I felt I would recognise these people waking down Haverstock Hill, albeit that I might not want to stop for a chat… As a comedy of manners though, The Awkward Age is entertaining and intelligently written

Francesca Segal gets the tricky mother/teenage daughter relationship just right in her sharply observant The Awkward Age.

Segal’s writing is a joy – funny, wise, and sharply observant... Terrific

By turns tender, brutal, mordantly funny, and heartbreaking, The Awkward Age is preternaturally knowing about fractured families, and young, middle-aged, and elder love. Every sentence is gorgeously, masterfully written. I loved it as I’ve loved no other recent novel. Francesca Segal is a major novelist

A beguiling story about the oceans between family members, generations, and continents and the journeys we make to reach each other on the other side

There are moments in Francesca Segal’s novel when you are so caught up in the characters that you want to shout at them as though they are your own friends… Think rows, sulks, unexpected relationships and sweet romance all dissected with an elegantly forensic precision

Terrific, sharply observed… Segal gets the precarious mother-teenage daughter relationship spot on

Segal’s is a clever, cruel, redemptive, psychologically acute novel that made this reader glad to have been at school just too early for Facebook, selfies and an “online community” baying for news of your latest boyfriend

Thoughtful and beautifully observed

A gripping foray into second families

Thanks to its occasional moments of emotional veracity, The Awkward Age will be praised as a worthy successor to Segal’s debut

Francesca Segal is an accomplished writer. She neatly describes the clash of cultures between the academically rigorous education enjoyed by Nathan and Gwen’s freer, no-holds-barred comprehensive school. There is an engaging and colourful cast of characters… Segal vividly conveys the difficulties faced by imperfectly blended families

This is a warm, funny book dealing with a most modern matter

A brilliant, thoroughly modern family drama from the author of The Innocents

Punchy… Segal tackles her subject with humour and intelligence and a wealth of memorable characters

Exuberant and entertaining… The rest of the narrative then considers how the competing needs and duties of its four main characters can be met, handled and resolved. It does so with brio, insight and empathy, and with carefully modulated comic energy

A compelling story on the complexities that come with a very modern family that we just couldn’t put down

Love, loss, new beginnings and saying goodbye, it's all in here. A moving read

A terrific novel.

[Segal's] descriptions are spare and unerring; everyday family interactions are observed warmly and yet with precision

Evans' writing is like water; her sentences ebb and flow and change course, mirroring the Thames as it wends its way in and around the characters' lives

A masterpiece of modern living

An amazing book full of wisdom and empathy

An immersive look into friendship, parenthood, sex, and grief - as well as the fragility of love. It is told with such detail, you're left wanting more

Beautifully written and observed

Evans is extraordinarily good on the minutiae of grief, family, and the fragility of love

a lyrical portrait of modern London