Winner of the Guardian Children Fiction's Prize 2016 Shortlisted for the YA Book Prize 2017 Living on the South Crongton council estate has its worries - and life for McKay has been even tougher since his mum died. His dad has been working all hours to keep the bailiffs from their door. His brother is always out riding the streets at night, tempting trouble. And now, having strayed off his turf on a 'heroic' (if misguided) mission to help out a girl, McKay finds himself facing a friend's crazy ex-boyfriend, some power-tripping hood-rats and a notoriously violent gangster with a vendetta which hits too close to home. Poor McKay. He never asked for trouble . . . But during one madcap night of adventure and danger, he will find out who his true friends are and what it means to stick with your family. Crongton Knights is a very funny, very moving story that shows that although life is testing, the lessons learned the hard way are the ones you'll never forget.
What's worse than hiding a secret? Liccle Bit's about to find out... Venetia King is the hottest girl at school. Too bad Lemar is the second shortest guy in his year. Everyone calls him Liccle Bit, and his two best friends, McKay and Jonah, never tire of telling him he has no chance with girls. Things aren't much better at home. His mum is permanently hassled, his sister a frustrated single mum and his dad moved out years ago. Liccle Bit wishes he could do something - anything! - to make life better. A new phone would be a start... When Venetia starts paying Liccle Bit attention, he secretly hopes he's on a fast track to a first date. Unfortunately, as a new gang war breaks out, he finds himself on a fast track to something much more sinister. South Crongton's notorious gang leader has taken an interest in Liccle Bit. Before he knows what's happening, he finds himself running errands. But when he hears about a killing on the estate, Liccle Bit is forced to question his choices. How can he possibly put things right?
***Shortlisted for the YA Book Prize*** WELCOME TO CRONGTON, WHERE YOUR LOYALTY AND WITS WILL BE TESTED ... Round these ends, it's hard to hold on to your dreams. Life's a constant hustle for Mo. Her mum's boyfriend Lloyd is just another man who likes to beat down women; the South Crong streets are fraught with hazards and nasty G's; and when it comes to matters of the heart . . . she's still hung up on Sam. No wonder she's vexed so much of the time. Thank god her sistrens, Elaine and Naomi, are on her side: if one of them falls then they all fall. But when badness goes down and a life is left hanging in the balance, Mo has to face her hot urge for revenge . . . and she might end up losing more than she wins. 'full of humour and tenderness' Patrice Lawrence
"Wheatle has delivered a definitive narrative steeped in cultural philosophy and human sensibilities. Despite the foibles of his tragic characters, a redemptive quality is present--persevering--a testament of the human will to survive against all odds...Highly recommended." --Kaieteur News (Guyana) "With a tough exterior and brash attitude, Naomi is an authentic character in an unfortunate yet accurate picture of modern-day foster care in the UK...The ending is neither predictable nor sugarcoated, leaving readers rooting for this determined heroine." --School Library Journal Included in In the Margins's 2020 Recommended Fiction List Included in Publishers Weekly's African-American Interest Young Readers's Titles, 2019–2020 Included in Booklist's Fall 2019 Youth Preview Included in Publishers Weekly's Fall 2019 Children's Sneak Previews "As politicians might only see the population's day-to-day lives in terms of statistics rather than experiences, (knowing how many people work on minimum wage doesn't say anything about what the experience is like), they might benefit from more of an insight. A useful contemporary novel they should pick up is Alex Wheatle's Home Girl, focusing on the experience of a girl in the foster care system who is constantly shifted around and can never find a permanent home. Wheatle's other books might be just as beneficial, as he draws on his own experiences of Brixton and the social system." --The Boar, included in The Politicians' Required Reading List "Wheatle returns to the world of his award-winning Crongton books with what Atom is calling his most powerful and personal novel yet. Naomi Brisset is a teenage girl growing up too fast in the UK care system. Her journey through a series of foster homes exposes the unsettling, often heartwrenching truth of this life. Yet despite the grit, Wheatle's writing is as rich and warm as ever, bringing courage and hope to an unforgettable heroine's story." --Bookseller (UK), Editors' Choice "Teenager Naomi, old before her time and as vulnerable as she is fierce, is growing up in the care system. Foster homes and pupil referral units revealing the unsettling, often bewildering reality of this existence. Wheatle's empathy, authentic characters, and rich dialogue illuminate the dark." --Observer Magazine (UK) "Another powerful and poignant novel deftly created by one of the most prolific master novelists on either side of the pond. Home Girl is a page-turner, with not a dull moment. Loved it from the rooter to the tooter." --Eric Jerome Dickey, New York Times best-selling author of Before We Were Wicked "Alex Wheatle's latest novel offers no unrealistic fairy tale happy ending. But the award-winning writer, who draws on his own experiences of a childhood in care, does offer some hope for Naomi, a sometimes difficult but very likeable heroine." --Irish News, Children's Book of the Week This isn't my home. Haven't had a proper home since...This is just somewhere I'll be resting my bones for a week and maybe a bit. This time next year you'll forget who I am. I haven't got a diddly where I'll be by then. But I'm used to it. New from the best-selling black British author Alex Wheatle, Home Girl is the story of Naomi, a teenage girl growing up fast in the foster care system. It is a wholly modern story which sheds a much-needed light on what can be an unsettling life--and the consequences that follow when children are treated like pawns on a family chessboard. Home Girl is fast-paced and funny, tender, tragic, and full of courage--just like Naomi. It is Alex Wheatle's most moving and personal novel to date.
Welton Blake's life is about to go very, very wrong when hilarity follows disaster in this sharp-witted tale of the trials of pre-teen life, from award-winning and critically acclaimed author Alex Wheatle.
I Am Thunder is the Branford Boase Award-winning debut YA novel which questions how far you'll go to stand up for what you believe. Fifteen-year-old Muzna Saleem is used to being invisible. So no one is more surprised than her when Arif Malik, the hottest boy in school, takes a sudden interest. But Arif is hiding a terrible secret and, as they begin to follow a dark path, Muzna faces an impossible choice: keep quiet and betray her beliefs, or speak out and betray her heart. Muhammad Khan's stunning, multi-award winning YA writing gets right to the centre of what it means to be an urban teenager today. 'An uplifting, empowering novel with hope at its heart' Observer Children's Book of the Week 'Funny and clever - a perspective long overdue in British fiction' Alex Wheatle, author of Crongton Knights 'This one is special . . . punches well above the weight of most debuts' The Times 'This assured, hopeful debut feels unprecedented and essential' Guardian
"Pacey; witty; his characters are real and recognisable" LINTON KWESI JOHNSON "Alex Wheatle writes from a place of honesty and passion with the full knowledge and understanding that change can only happen through words and actions" STEVE McQUEEN, director of Small Axe South London in the 1980s. Brenton Brown is a 16-year-old mixed-heritage boy who has lived in a children's home all his life. He has never met his mother and is haunted by her loss. The best thing happens: Brenton is reunited with his mother, Cynthia. And then the worst: he falls in love with his beautiful half-sister, Juliet. At the same time, Brenton meets his nemesis in the shape of Terry Flynn, a killer who scars him for life. Brenton must seek revenge. All this leads to an explosive climax as Brenton struggles to hold on to his sanity. Brixton Rock is the powerfully explosive debut of one of the UK's finest writers, with pitch-perfect descriptions of South London street life.
‘Alex Wheatle writes from a place of honesty and passion’ Steve McQueen, director of Small Axe East of Acre Lane is the fast-paced and razor sharp story of a young man trying to do the right thing from celebrated author Alex Wheatle, one of the figures who inspired Steve McQueen’s Small Axe
Moa, a fourteen-year-old slave, gets caught up in the most significant slave rebellion in Jamaican history, paying homage to freedom fighters all over the world. Winner of a 2021 Young Quills Award for Best Historical Fiction “Wheatle brings the struggle of slavery in the Jamaican sugar cane fields to life . . . A refreshing and heartbreaking story that depicts both a real-life uprising against oppression and the innate desire to be free. Highly recommended.” —School Library Journal, Starred Review NOBODY FREE TILL EVERYBODY FREE. Moa is fourteen. The only life he has ever known is toiling on the Frontier sugarcane plantation for endless hot days, fearing the vicious whips of the overseers. Then one night he learns of an uprising, led by the charismatic Tacky. Moa is to be a cane warrior, and fight for the freedom of all the enslaved people in the nearby plantations. But before they can escape, Moa and his friend Keverton must face their first great task: to kill their overseer, Misser Donaldson. Time is ticking as the day of the uprising approaches . . . Irresistible, gripping, and unforgettable, Cane Warriors follows the true story of Tacky’s War in Jamaica, 1760.
The gun is the coward's fist. The gun is power. Alex and Ethan are growing up on an estate where there are just two choices: sport or crime. Ethan is selected for a football training programme in the US, his chance to escape the gangs that terrorise his neighbourhood. But Alex is drawn into an explosive feud with a gun at its heart. In this gripping and absorbing real life thriller, Alan Gibbons explores the complex issue of gun crime, and the far reaching consequences it can have.
