Bad Habit

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What to expect

‘I urge you to read Bad Habit' PEDRO ALMODÓVAR

‘An engulfing novel’ AVNI DOSHI

‘Believe the hype!' OKECHUKWU NZELU

‘The book that everyone is reading’ NEW YORK TIMES

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 and 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.

Blistering and compassionate, 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. Shimmering in its lyrical beauty, Bad Habit is a thrilling story of self-realisation that speaks to the outsider in all of us.

‘A revelation … made me weep more than once’ SABA SAMS

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

'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

Critics Review

  • ‘I urge you, read Bad Habit to fully grasp the degree of adversity, pain, and danger endured for virtue of growing-up trans’ Pedro Almodóvar

    ‘The book that everyone is reading … tells the story of a working-class transgender woman full of rage and beauty, pain and poetry’ New York Times

    ‘Portero’s elegant storytelling catches a celestial light, illuminating the body in ways beyond language’ Eloghosa Osunde, author of Vagabonds!

    ‘Portero’s prose is so commanding – she’s drawn a painful yet unquestionably hopeful novel’ Nicola Dinan, author of Bellies

    ‘An exemplary and fresh example of the trans bildungsroman … Poignant’ Washington Post

    ‘Leaves you stunned … Devastating yet beautiful … A special and unique creation’ Travis Alabanza, author of None of the Above

    ‘Elegant and brutal’ Morgan M Page, author of Boys Don’t Cry

    ‘Affecting and poetic … Keenly observed’ New York Times Book Review

    ‘Incredibly moving, completely absorbing … An unforgettable story, told with frankness and vulnerability’ Okechukwu Nzelu, author of Here Again Now

    ‘A beautiful novel … about the journey we take to become who we truly are’ Elena Medel, author of The Wonders

    ‘Vivid, compassionate and compulsive’ Rachel Dawson, author of Neon Roses

    ‘A ballad, a quest, a revelation. It made me weep more than once’ Saba Sams, author of Send Nudes

    ‘Infused with camp humour, pathos and the spirit of resilience, it’s a story of defiance that makes you proud to be queer’ Amelia Abrahams, author of Queer Intentions

    ‘A singular and raw voice … The most talked-about debut of the year’ Time Out Spain

    ‘An engulfing novel. Portero had me captivated with her visceral prose’ Avni Doshi, author of Burnt Sugar

    ‘Brutal, tender, and vulnerable … A masterpiece, an ode, a life-giving story of trans affirmation’ Marisa Crane, author of I Keep My Exoskeletons to Myself

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