This Can Never Not Be Real

A compelling, heartbreaking and hopeful book for fans of Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, Jennifer Niven and Holly Jackson.

In the unremarkable town of Amberside, the unthinkable has happened: Terrorists have attacked a local festival. No one knows why, and no one knows who the attackers are, but that doesn’t matter. What matters first is survival. And what matters after that is survival, too.

In this brilliantly written account of hope, humour and humanity, five ordinary teenagers are caught up in a truly extraordinary situation. It’s a heart-pounding and gripping account of the fight for survival, told from multiple perspectives, as the attackers prowl the festival grounds.

A book for anyone who needs to see that behind the hate that makes the headlines, there is always love.

Reviews

"Told in a bold style, This Can Never Not Be Real is utterly gripping from the first page to the last. It's a heart-in-mouth, heavy breathing, oh my gosh what's just happened, compulsive read that you will be racing to get to the end of. In a word, stunning." – George Lester, author of Boy Queen

'Five urgent voices, five lives dangling by a thread. A heart-in-the-mouth story about fighting for survival, the fragility of life, and finding love in the darkest places.' FInbar Hawkins

About the author

Sera Milano is a pseudonym for Birdie Milano. Birdie earned a first-class honours degree in creative writing from St Mary’s University, London before completing her MA in Writing for Young People at Bath Spa University, where she won the 2015 United Agents Prize for Most Promising Writing for Young People. This Can Never Not Be Real is her first young adult novel. She lives in Guildford, Surrey.