Boys Don’t Cry

Boys Don't Cry is a novel about young fatherhood published by British author Malorie Blackman in 2010. Its central character is Dante, an ambitious 17-year-old who aspires to go to university and then become a journalist. One day, his plans are unexpectedly disrupted when his ex-girlfriend Mel arrives at his house and leaves him with a baby girl named Emma. She claims that he is the father and leaves him to raise the child. Although Dante initially does not believe her, a paternity test confirms that Emma is his child. The novel traces Dante's struggle to adapt to fatherhood and the dilemma that he faces of whether to raise Emma or give her up to adoption. This is complicated by Dante's complicated family dynamics. In particular, he clashes with his strict single father about the responsibilities of fatherhood. Over the course of the novel, Dante ultimately learns to embrace fatherhood and reject societal stereotypes about masculinity that encourage young men to perceive expressions of emotion and care for others as signs of 'weakness'.