Published by Hot Key Books, 2nd January.

Goodreads Synopsis: Ben Fletcher must get to grips with his more ‘feminine’ side following an unfortunate incident with a lollipop lady and a stolen bottle of Martini Rosso from Waitrose. All a big misunderstanding of course.

To avoid the Young Offenders unit, Ben is ordered to give something back to the community and develop his sense of social alignment. Take up a hobby and keep on the straight and narrow. The hot teacher he likes runs a knitting group so Ben, reluctantly at first, gets ‘stuck in’. Not easy when your dad is a sports fan and thinks Jeremy Clarkson is God.

To his surprise, Ben finds that he likes knitting and that he has a mean competitive streak. If he can just keep it all a secret from his mates…and notice that the girl of his dreams, girl-next-door Megan Hooper has a bit of a thing for him…Laugh-out-loud, often ridiculous, sometimes quite touching, and revelatory about the knitting world, Boys Don’t Knit is a must for boys and girls…

My Review: I was not expecting so many laughs and so much fun from this. I devoured the whole book cover to cover in one sitting; I literally couldn’t put it down! Tom’s book definitely isn’t one to miss this year.

Boys Don’t Knit is different from anything I’ve read. I read quite a lot of contemporary, but I’ve never come across something so original and something that brings such a big smile to my face as this. Ben’s accidental crimes were so funny, I couldn’t help but laugh as well as feel a little sympathetic. Ben decides a knitting class is the best for him out of a rather unappealing selection, mainly because the teacher he has a crush on is said to be running it. Ben’s knitting adventure is full of mishaps and classic laugh-out-loud moments. I loved reading about it! I literally had no idea where the book was going, but I wasn’t disappointed.

Ben reminds me of a male version of Tallulah Casey, from my old favourite Louise Rennison series, because they’re both such hilarious, brilliant protagonists. His family’s rather strange, and his secret obsession is the last thing boys are expected to be taking up, and anyone who reads his story will at least smile. Ben and his knitting obsession is hard to dislike. He’s so different from his friends, and really stands out. I loved the way that his knitting club, something he was half-dreading, turns into a lifestyle, and completely changes his life in a lot of ways. Ben’s such a memorable character. More like him in books in future, please!

I was giggling like a maniac for the most part, literally from the first page. The story starts at a hilarious point with his parents and from then on, I knew the book definitely was as hilarious as I’d been told. Reading this in one sitting at home, I guess I was kind of lucky. People would’ve thought I was a bit made if I read it in public. Tom’s writing is witty and sharp, and it’s so hard not to giggle at a lot of points. It’s a book I think both girls and boys will love, and I’m definitely going to be recommending it to anyone and everyone.

Overall, Boys Don’t Knit, was just awesome. The plot was witty but captured a teenage boy’s life really well, and how hard it is to fit in when you have a hobby no one else has. I’ve never seen or read a book anything like it before, and it’s a must whether you’re a boy or a girl, a teenager or an adult. It’s a laugh-out-loud book that I think might be the funniest book I’ve read in a good few months! Bonus: HUNGER GAMES REFERENCES. (“I’m Katnisssssss!” – you will understand after reading). I loved Ben, and Megan and Ben’s teacher-crush and practically everyone. I can’t recommend it enough!

My Rating: 

I received a copy of Boys Don’t Knit from the publisher, in exchange for a review. In no way at all did this affect my thoughts.