***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
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
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Reviews
I love this book. It's elegant, authentic and humane. It 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.
Alex Wheatle captures the rhythm and movement of language though simile, humour and redefinitions of meaning . . . Straight Outta Crongton is a book full of humour and tenderness.
[This] will soon be on school reading lists and examination syllabuses everywhere, as it 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 for any age.
Brilliant, tough, heartbreaking read.
Funny, profane, well-observed accounts of life on an urban estate.
