Paris Lees

If the same book can make you laugh and cry, feel appalled and encouraged, angry and heartwarmed, that's a good reading experience, no?
I loved this book; it's frank, uncompromising, difficult to read at times, whilst being uplifting and inspiring.
I'd recommend reading the acknowledgements at the end of the book, extensive though they are, as they provide some useful codas.

Gritty but Redeeming
A review of the Penguin Books Ltd. paperback (July 7, 2022) of the Particular Books hardcover original (May 27, 2021).

Mammer Joe's me mam's mam - but I call 'er Old Mother 'ubbard coz she's always "runnin' low on supplies" apart from Giro day. Gaz sez, "There's no need to gi' yersen airs an' friggin' graces just coz yer a clever clogs," but I don't even reckon I am that clever. I just think everyone else round here's stupid.

[4.5 rounded up]
At first I thought would I be show more patient enough to read through an entire book written in Hucknall, Nottinghamshire dialect? But it actually was not a problem at all as it immerses you into the character of Paris (then Byron) Lees and their world during a time when they struggled against condemnation at home, bullying and abuse at school, a descent into teenage prostitution and crime, a stint in prison and finally a redemption arc through education.

What might be a depressing read at times is regularly lightened by Paris Lees' sharp-witted humour throughout, some of which you can sample in my status updates available on GR below or here if you are linking from outside of GR. A favourite was this excerpt:

They've put me in a cell on ma own. I've gotta TV. I watched Poltergeist on ma first night on this wing. Ya hear people goin' on about how they shun't have TVs in prison an' that, how "it's like a holiday for 'em". Well, I'm not bein' funny, but if I paid for a holiday an' ended up here I'd be writin' a very strongly worded letter to Thomas Cook.

I only heard about the original book after finding out about the TV-series. I decided to read the original first, but the series is reasonably faithful to it even if it jumps around a bit with the timeline.

Soundtrack
Although the memoir is set in Paris Lees' teenage years in the early 2000's, most of the music mentioned is from earlier disco / electronica / trance which must have featured in the dance clubs frequented at the time. Soft Cell and Boy George & Culture Club are specific bands mentioned for instance.
It is not mentioned in the book itself but the book title is presumably inspired by Madonna's What It Feels Like for a Girl (2001) which you can listen to on Spotify here or watch the video on YouTube here.
Madonna's album Ray of Light (1998) is definitely mentioned, especially the title track which you can listen to on Spotify here or watch the video on YouTube here.

There is a soundtrack and an official playlist for the 2025 TV-series which contains mostly newer tracks which were not mentioned in the original book. You can listen to the soundtrack on Spotify here and the official playlist on Spotify here.

Trivia and Links
What It Feels Like for a Girl was adapted into an 8-part BBC3 TV series What It Feels Like for a Girl (2025) starring Ellis Howard as Byron Lees. It debuted on June 3, 2025. It is available in the UK on BBC iPlayer but is geo-blocked elsewhere (unless you have a VPN). I have not yet (as of early July 2025) found it on Britbox in Canada. You can watch the trailer on YouTube here. show less