“'An important read about the glamour free YOI custody experience in Scotland for young people, anyone working around or concerned with youth justice (we all should be).'.”

Graeme Armstrong The Young Team. The novel won the Betty Trask Award, Somerset Maugham Award, and was named 'Scots Book of the Year' in 2021

  'I read this book in one sitting, just wanting to know what happened next. I found it heart punching and heart warming, bringing a necessary light of compassion into places where people and systems live in the dark and shadow of social exclusion. This book shows us why we need change to our prison system, especially for young men.'

Gwen Adshead The Devil You Know @bbcradio4 book of the week and a @sundaytimes bestseller.

“Writing a fictional story that reflects this complexity is a rare and difficult task. Too often, such experiences are either romanticised or reduced to cliches. What Sara has done in ‘Blood Red Sky’ is something far more valuable. She has created a story that does not shy away from the realities, but neither does it sensationalise them.” 

Fiona Dyer, Director, Children & Young People’s Centre for Justice

‘Realist fiction at its most powerful’

Jennifer Horgan 'O Captain, My Captain': One Teacher's Call for Change in the Irish Education System and Care

"Blood Red Sky shines a harsh light on youth justice in lockdown—a powerful story of love, loss, and the fight for truth."

Chris Wild Damaged and The State of It Chris Wild is an author, care home consultant, government advisor, national youth advisor for young people and a charity patron for twenty charities.

'A deeply affecting look at the impact of intergenerational poverty and violence on family bonds and teenagers' perceptions of inevitability and their own power and choices. Blood Red Sky raises important questions about privilege, institutional structures, and the stories people are told about themselves and their lives. One for teenagers - and the parents of teenagers - everywhere.'  

Grainne Murphy Where the Edge Is, Winter People and Greener, Irish author and self-employed language editor specializing in human rights and environmental issues