Review by Beth Kemp

Dara McAnulty’s Diary of a Young Naturalist is beautiful, following the teenage naturalist through a year of his life (aged 13-14) as he and his family move from County Fermanagh to County Down in Northern Ireland. From Spring – as he wakens to the blackbird’s call – through a Summer in which he moves, into Autumn and Winter, each season is lyrically and emotively detailed, with wildlife, plants and trees laid out intricately as McAnulty draws us into his life in nature. 

Going into this book – a non-fiction chronicle of the seasons in a year – I expected nature writing, lyricism, and a clear environmentalist stance, all of which are there in abundance. Knowing also that this book won or was listed for several prizes (Wainwright Prize for Nature Writing, Baillie Gifford Prize – Biography, British Books Awards – Narrative Non-Fiction), I expected it to be well-written and ‘literary’, which it of course is. However, there were still several surprises in store. 

The book is brightly coloured by McAnulty’s autism, as he is strongly connected with the natural world and comments on how he struggles to understand why others are not. Reading this book as a (probably autistic) adult with neurodivergent young adult children, I can’t help but observe how brilliant his parents are, helping their neurodivergent kids navigate the inhospitable world and fostering their individual interests. I had no idea before reading the book how personal it was going to be. It offers one of the best, most visceral, descriptions of anxiety that I have read, taking the reader right into his feelings and experiences and really showing what that anxiety feels like. This feels particularly poignant and valuable from a young male narrator and will be powerful for young readers. 

Another nice touch is the sense of place. Of course, a nature book needs to be rooted, but a further aspect that deepens this is occasional references to Irish myth and folklore. There’s a traditionalism, an agelessness that comes from this that ties in seamlessly to nature and forests and wild places. It’s all told with an ease that feels natural, making for an easy and satisfying read. 

I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone with even a passing interest in the natural world. It is beautifully, engagingly written and offers a wealth of information, in a gentle and unassuming way. A really enjoyable read – greatly deserving of those prize wins. 

Diary of a Young Naturalist
Written by Dara McAnulty
2021, Penguin Random House
ISBN: 9781529109603
Reviews: Kirkus, Library Journal, Publishers Weekly
Awards: Winner of the Wainwright Prize for Nature Writing 2020, An Post Irish Book Award for Newcomer of the Year 2020, Books Are My Bag Readers Award for Non-fiction 2020; shortlisted for Waterstones Book of the Year 2020; and longlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize 2020.

Beth is Programme Lead for GCSE English at Leicester College, and has been an English teacher of some kind for over twenty years. She is also conducting PhD research into young people’s perspectives on diversity and reading, with particular reference to the impact of the GCSE English curriculum. She loves diverse YA, dogs, Discworld and rock music. 

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GLLI’s 2024 International YA Literature Month has been curated by Dr Emily Corbett. She is a lecturer in children’s and young adult literature at Goldsmiths, University of London, where she leads the MA Children’s Literature: Theoretical Approaches to Children’s and Young Adult Literature programme. Her research focuses on the growth and development of YA from literary, publishing, and cultural perspectives. She is also General Editor of The International Journal of Young Adult Literature and was founding Vice President of the YA Studies Association. Her monograph, In Transition: Young Adult Literature and Transgender Representation (2024), is forthcoming with the University Press of Mississippi in June. You can find her contact details on her institutional website and connect with her on Twitter and Instagram via @DrEmilyCorbett.

Opinions expressed in posts on this site are the individual author’s and are not indicative of the views of Global Literature in Libraries Initiative.