Bad Habit

I urge you to read Bad Habit PEDRO ALMODÓVAR

Had me hooked from the first page … Savour every word DUA LIPA

The book that everyone is reading NEW YORK TIMES

Sublime ÉDOUARD LOUIS

A SERVICE95 BOOK CLUB PICK

Beautifully written and told in an irresistible voice, Bad Habit is a powerfully moving coming-of-age novel following a young trans woman in 1980s Madrid.

An unnamed young trans woman grows up in a working-class suburb that has no place for her. She discovers community and kinship in downtown Madrid, amid a dazzling party scene animated by charming junkies, glamorous pop divas, and fallen angels. With each step she takes forward in the city, she finds herself confronted by an antagonism she does not yet know how to counter. In this thrilling yet often frightening place, each decision can have the highest of stakes, and yet she knows that only she can forge a path forward to the life she truly wants to live.

Beautiful and deeply moving, Bad Habit by Alana S Portero is translated by Mara Faye Lethem and deftly illuminates the search for identity and the power of chosen family. Bad Habit is an unforgettable story of self-realisation that speaks to the outsider in all of us.

A work of deep humility GUARDIAN

An engulfing novel AVNI DOSHI

Believe the hype! OKECHUKWU NZELU

A revelation … made me weep more than once SABA SAMS

Infused with camp humour, pathos and the spirit of resilience AMELIA ABRAHAMS

Affecting and evocative OBSERVER

Painful yet unquestionably hopeful NICOLA DINAN

Portero’s elegant storytelling catches a celestial light ELOGHOSA OSUNDE

Leaves you stunned TRAVIS ALABANZA

Obliges the reader to hold back (or unleash) their feelings chapter after chapter VOGUE SPAIN

The most talked-about debut of the year TIME OUT SPAIN