Bad Habit
Published on 5. June 2025
Book
Paperback/Softback
240 pages
978-0-00-866333-9 (ISBN)
Description
'I urge you to read Bad Habit' PEDRO ALMODOVAR
'Had me hooked from the first page ... Savour every word' DUA LIPA
'The book that everyone is reading'
NEW YORK TIMES
'Sublime' EDOUARD LOUIS
A SERVICE95 BOOK CLUB PICK
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.
Beautiful and deeply moving, 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. Bad Habit is an unforgettable story of self-realisation that speaks to the outsider in all of us.
'A work of deep humility'
GUARDIAN
'An engulfing novel' AVNI DOSHI
'Believe the hype!' OKECHUKWU NZELU
'A revelation ... made me weep more than once' SABA SAMS
'Infused with camp humour, pathos and the spirit of resilience' AMELIA ABRAHAMS
'Affecting and evocative'
OBSERVER
'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
'Had me hooked from the first page ... Savour every word' DUA LIPA
'The book that everyone is reading'
NEW YORK TIMES
'Sublime' EDOUARD LOUIS
A SERVICE95 BOOK CLUB PICK
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.
Beautiful and deeply moving, 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. Bad Habit is an unforgettable story of self-realisation that speaks to the outsider in all of us.
'A work of deep humility'
GUARDIAN
'An engulfing novel' AVNI DOSHI
'Believe the hype!' OKECHUKWU NZELU
'A revelation ... made me weep more than once' SABA SAMS
'Infused with camp humour, pathos and the spirit of resilience' AMELIA ABRAHAMS
'Affecting and evocative'
OBSERVER
'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
Reviews / Votes
'Had me hooked from the first page ... Savour every word' Dua Lipa'I urge you, read Bad Habit to fully grasp the degree of adversity, pain, and danger endured for virtue of growing-up trans' Pedro Almodovar
'A sublime novel ... It is one of the most moving novels I have read in recent years' Edouard Louis, author of Change
'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
'Affecting and evocative ... incredibly heartening' Observer
'A work of deep humility, spilling over with prose rich as double cream' Guardian
'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 ... painful yet unquestionably hopeful' Nicola Dinan, author of Bellies
'An exemplary and fresh example of the trans bildungsroman ... Poignant' Washington Post
'Leaves you stunned ... Devastating yet beautiful ... Special and unique' 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 ... Unforgettable' 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' Saba Sams, author of Send Nudes
'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
'Engulfing ... Portero had me captivated with her visceral prose' Avni Doshi, author of Burnt Sugar
'Brutal, tender, and vulnerable ... A masterpiece' Marisa Crane, author of I Keep My Exoskeletons to Myself
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
HarperCollins Publishers
Product notice
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 197 mm
Width: 129 mm
Thickness: 18 mm
Weight
172 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-00-866333-9 (9780008663339)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Persons
Alana S. Portero is a medieval historian, writer, playwright, LGBTQ+ activist and co-founder of the theatre company STRIGA. Her writings on feminism and LGBTQ+ activism from the perspective of a trans woman have been featured in a number of international publications, including Agente Provocador, El Salto, S Moda and Vogue. Bad Habit is her debut novel and spent over 17 weeks on the bestseller list on publication in Spain. She lives in Madrid.