Boys Don't Knit by T.S. Easton | Book Review

Boys Don't Knit by T.S. Easton was published by Hot Key Books in January 2014.

I won my copy through a twitter nail art competition (Thanks Hot key Books!) so that was pretty awesome. I'd added it to my wishlist a while back, initially because of the bright cover which drew me in with the yellow and pretty patterns (I'm a sucker for patterns!)

Boys Don't Knit follows the story of Ben Fletcher, an average teenage boy from Southern England who gets caught up in an incident with his friends involving a lollipop lady and a bottle of Martini Rosso. Ben is therefore put on probation and as part of his 'giving something back' scheme, he is made to join a knitting class at the local community college. Being from the South of England, I particularly enjoyed the Corfe Castle reference as I actually work in that village (so that entertained me, and my Gran when I told her!)



Ben is a very relatable character, bringing humour and wit to many of the events that occur within the novel. The very fact that he was on probation instead of his 3 friends who prove to be more suited candidates for the job shows Ben's luck. Ben, as it turns out, is a very non-criminal person, with an undiscovered passion for knitting.

I particularly liked the way this novel tackled gender stereotypes in regards to knitting being a feminine activity. The way in which Ben hides his passion from his masculine father highlights a problem in society that is still very relevant. I did find that the main female characters in the novel (Megan, Miss Swallow) were heavily sexualized. However, Ben does acknowledge and call his friends out on objectifying women which is reassuring and suggests that Easton is also trying to highlight this as an issue today as well.

Most of all, this novel made me want to pick up those knitting needles and knit that Gryffindor Scarf that had been staring at me in the form of yarn balls for the past few months.  You should definitely read this if you want to get that creative knitting vibe back into your system!

Overall, a very fun read!

Best Wishes, and dftba