--- description: Find out why "Young Mungo" by Douglas Stuart is on TIME's list of the must-read books of the year. title: 'Young Mungo' Is One of the 100 Must-Read Books of 2022 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte09bd59a897f02a5/698a37c816d8843816c3b499/YoungMungo.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Nov 14, 2022 # Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close  In _Young Mungo_, the second novel from Douglas Stuart after his Booker Prize-winning 2020 debut [_Shuggie Bain_](https://time.com/collection/must-read-books-2020/5904317/shuggie-bain/ "undefined"), a burgeoning secret love between two young Scottish men is threatened by the harsh realities of their working class community. Stuart’s story centers on Mungo and James, two friends turned lovers from different religious backgrounds who must hide their relationship from their families and their peers in their Glasgow neighborhood, where the code of masculinity is as narrow as it is strict. Adding to their adversity is Mungo’s turbulent home life, where he fields abuse from his mother and observes his brother’s actions as the leader of a local gang. —_Cady Lang_ **Buy Now**: _Young Mungo_ on [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/4973/9780802159557 "undefined") | [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3tcCi7V "undefined") **Contact us at** [letters@time.com](mailto:letters@time.com?subject=%28READER%20FEEDBACK%29%20Stay%20True&body=https%3A%2F%2Ftime.com%2Fcollection-post%2F6228627%2Fstay-true%2F "undefined")**.** ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/must-read-books-2022/6228659/young-mungo/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/must-read-books-2022/6228659/young-mungo/"},"headline":"Young Mungo","datePublished":"2022-11-14T12:56:17.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-03T00:11:11.288Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/must-read-books-2022/6228659/young-mungo/","keywords":["Books","list","best books"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte09bd59a897f02a5/698a37c816d8843816c3b499/YoungMungo.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte09bd59a897f02a5/698a37c816d8843816c3b499/YoungMungo.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/must-read-books-2022/6228659/young-mungo/","name":"Young Mungo"}}]}] ```