Welton Blake has done it! He's asked out Carmella McKenzie - the best-looking girl in school - and she's only gone and said yes!
But just as he thinks his luck is starting to change, Welton's phone breaks, kick-starting a series of unfortunate and humiliating events. With bullies to avoid, girls ready to knock him out and all the drama with his mum and dad, life for Welton is about to go very, very wrong ...
Hilarity follows disaster in this sharp-witted tale of the trials of teen life from award-winning author Alex Wheatle.
'Wheatle's characteristic lively language, impassioned Star Wars references and colourful invented insults make for a brief but riotously relatable slapstick romp' — Guardian
Laugh out loud funny with perfect comic timing' – BookTrust
'A hilarious, charming story … Peppered with Star Wars references and laugh out loud, cringeworthy moments that every awkward teen will relate to” -- Scottish Book Trust
“As thought provoking as it is hilarious” -- Books for Keeps
Kemosha and her brother have lived their whole lives in slavery. Sold away to work in lawless Port Royal, Kemosha takes her chance to escape brutal treatment. With fortune on her side, Kemosha befriends Ravenhide, a man with a mysterious past who teaches her the art of swordfighting, and introduces her to the beautiful runaway Isabella. Yet Kemosha's greatest test yet is upon the deck of the Satisfaction: the notorious Captain Morgan's ship. His next adventure on the high seas could be the making of Kemosha - and her one chance to earn enough pieces of eight to buy the freedom of her brother... A thrilling, incredible story with a wonderful young Black woman at its heart, told by one of the most accomplished writers in the world today. Wheatle creates a heroine who is impossible not to love and who will stay in the reader's mind and heart long after finishing the book -- Sunny Singh Alex paints a vivid character in Kemosha, a stubborn and strong willed slave who refuses to accept defeat at every corner. It is a story about courage, determination, and never giving up. -- Kereen Getten
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?
'Funny, profane, well-observed accounts of life on an urban estate.' SUNDAY TIMES
East of Acre Lane is the fast-paced and razor sharp story of a young man trying to do the right thing and establishes Alex Wheatle as the exciting new voice of the urban experience.
When East of Acre Lane was first published in 2001, Alex Wheatle instantly became one of the key commentators on contemporary black culture and was featured in BBC news, radio, numerous papers and Channel 4. The BBC have already optioned 'East of Acre Lane' to be made into a film.
Set in 1981, the year of the Brixton riots, the novel is a gripping thriller in a society on the edge of explosion. Wheatle focusses on Biscuit and his posse as a way to introduce the whole community. Biscuit lives with his mother, brother and sister. He helps out by hustling on the frontline for the south London badman, Nunchaks. He doesn't want to be doing this for the rest of his life but it's difficult to get out of the trap.
As the patience of the community breaks and the riots begin to erupt, Biscuit has to make a choice that could change his life forever.
'Alex Wheatle writes from a place of honesty and passion.' STEVE MCQUEEN
'Alex Wheatle's second novel is a rhythmic, fast-talking tour of the tower blocks of South London. The strength of the novel lies in the characters who form Biscuit's posse ... writing in a street slang that reads like an urgent urban poetry, Wheatle catches the dialogue of the friends and contrasts it with passages of distilled description. He observes meticulously the subcultures within the black community... It is this blend of frantic action and thoughtful writing that ranks Alex Wheatle alongside Courttia Newland as one of the most exciting writers of the black urban experience.' The Times
'Dubbed the Brixton Bard by his contemporaries, Alex Wheatle was always ambitious... He is first and foremost a story teller.' The Voice
'This is a vibrant book pulsing with the reggae beats of the era. The dialogue... has rhythm and inventiveness. And the violent climax is a cathartic one, the logical and positive first stage of a revolution.' ***** Independent on Sunday
'Wheatle's novel is a bright, adventurous tale, jammed to the rafters with a parade of fine hustlers, headcases and herbsmen.' The Latest
'In East of Acre Lane Alex Wheatle has managed far more than simply pulling off a fast, punchy morlaity tale centring on a young man's dilemma about going straight or opting for a life of crime... Action packed, funny and filled with cocky banter between its teenage male characters, references to reggae music and street stye... Wheatle has written a hardhitting novel which is an incendiary reminder of one of the most explosive events in London's post war history.' Big Issue
Moa is fourteen. The only life he has ever known is toiling on the Frontier sugar cane 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, and the day of the uprising approaches . .
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Irresistible, gripping and unforgettable, Cane Warriors follows the true story of Tacky's War in Jamaica, 1760.
New from the winner of the Guardian Children's Book Award: Home Girl is the story of Naomi, a teenage girl growing up fast in the 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 can 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 award-winning author Alex Wheatle's most moving and personal novel to date.
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)
Wheatle's empathy, authentic characters and rich dialogue illuminate (Observer)
I love Alex and all he stands for in the world of literature (Kerry Hudson)
Studded with Wheatle's characteristic slang, Naomi's story is both heartbreaking and hilarious, offering no easy happy endings, but a flickering sense of hope. (the Guardian)
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, author of My Name is Leon)
I love Alex and all he stands for in the world of literature. (Kerry Hudson, author of Lowborn)
Straight Outta Crongton has 'classic' singing from every page ... A joyous shout of youthful exuberance ... Wheatle's Twain-like command of patois never falters ... Enriching and life-affirming ... A total gem (Independent)
Elegant, authentic and humane. Straight Outta Crongton hums with the beat of real life and the language sings from the page. This is mature, powerful writing by an author with great talent and great heart. (David Almond)
Brilliant, tough, heartbreaking read (Tanya Landman)
The long-awaited follow up to Brixton Rock
Juliet is consumed with guilt knowing that her half-brother, Brenton, grew up in children's homes while she received all her mother's love. She marries Clayton, a successful banker, to please her mother. But secretly Clayton has always suspected that there is something between Juliet and her half-brother. Meanwhile, Juliet and Brenton try to stay away from what they know is a forbidden love...
