Alex Wheatle
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.
This is the story of Naomi, a teenage girl growing up fast (too fast) in the UK care system.
It is a wholly modern narrative which sheds much-needed light on what can be an unsettling life – and the consequences that can follow when young people are treated like pawns on a family chessboard.
‘Wheatle’s empathy, authentic characters and rich dialogue illuminate the dark’ Observer, Young Adult book of the month
‘Wheatle’s writing is as rich and warm as ever, bringing courage and hope to an unforgettable heroine’s story’ The Bookseller Editor’s Choice
‘Alex Wheatle is the real deal; he writes with heart and authenticity, books that make you laugh and worry and cry and hold your breath. It’s a pity there’s only one of him’ Kit de Waal
‘Studded with Wheatle’s characteristic invented slang, Naomi’s story is both heartbreaking and hilarious, offering no easy happy endings but a flickering sense of hope.’ Guardian, best teen fiction
‘I love Alex and all he stands for in the world of literature’ Kerry Hudson (author of Lowborn)
‘Alex is a one of our foremost literary activists, giving voice to the black working class experience with unsurpassed clarity and compassion. For this alone he should be universally considered a national treasure’ Stephen Kelman
‘A writer who knows unseen places, unheard people and untold stories because he has lived a life that might have remained hidden if he hadn’t found within him the urge and talent to write’ Yasmin Alibhai-Brown
‘An author with great talent and great heart’ David Almond
Chosen By Publishers Lunch As A Buzzbooks YA Selection
Sales
- Atom/Little Brown UK
- Akashic Books USA
- Antje Kunstmann Verlag Germany
- Recorded Books Audio USA
- WFHowes Audio UK
- Au Diable Vauvert France
Material: Finished copies (288pp)