Shortlisted for the 2022 Goldsmiths PrizeShortlisted for the 2022 Jhalak PrizeLonglisted for the 2022 Republic of Consciousness PrizeLonglisted for the 2022 Desmond Elliott PrizeA teacher asked me a question, and I opened my mouth as a sort of formality but closed it softly, knowing with perfect certainty that nothing would ever come out again. Ruby gives up talking at a young age. Her mother isn’t always there to notice; she comes and goes and goes and comes, until, one day, she doesn’t.Silence becomes Ruby’s refuge, sheltering her from the weather of her mother’s mental illness and a pressurized suburban atmosphere. Plangent, deft, and sparkling with wry humour, Somebody Loves You is a moving exploration of how we choose or refuse to tell the stories that shape us.