The Vegetarian Tigers of Paradise

Crystal's mother is a woman to be wary of. A diet of Hammer horror and deep fried snacks has hardened her heart and her arteries. One misstep and Crystal is ordered to pack her bags: she's off to live with Freddy Krueger on the other side of the park.

Near death avoided, back home with her mother, sister and shapeless but loveable dad, the teenage Crystal dotes on her pet bull terriers, struggles to keep her end up at her troubled inner city comp and begins to discover what love is all about. All while trying to understand what that period of belonging to the Kingdom of Jehovah's Witnesses was in aid of - apart from saving money on Christmas presents.

An incisive, occasionally scabrous, insight into growing up the 1990s.

"Vegetarian Tigers of Paradise is a heart-warming, scabrous insight into growing up wild in the 1990s when your family didn't quite fit in." -- Bookanista

"Fresh, witty, caustic and clever, Crystal Jeans' debut novel is the lesbian coming-of-age story that we have been waiting for." -- Sita Balani, Diva Magazine

"Think Caitlin Moran in Gabalfa, Cardiff - dysfunctionality made humorous and page-turningly entertaining and moving." -- Prof Tony Curtis

"A very well-handled coming-of-age novel in a tough and individual style: Crissy's voice is perfectly rendered, and the details of her life and relationships wholly convincing... my impression is of something much darker beneath the quirky, humorous surface..." -- Joanne Harris

"What a fantastic, original and raw read! I could smell the streets of Cardiff on the pages. Brilliant!" -- Manon Steffan Ros

"Exceptional and accessible funny, fearless and often beautiful." --Maria Donovan