Read more
Praise for Patrice Lawrence: 'Fresh and important' The Times 'A vibrant, accomplished storyteller' The Observer 'If anything, Lawrence's second book surpasses her first with its deft characterisation' The Guardian ' A truly brilliant book' Malorie Blackman 'Fresh and riveting' Ben Bailey Smith (Doc Brown) Eighteen months ago, 17-year-old Rose and 13-year-old Rudder escaped a strict religious sect with their mum. They are still trying to make sense of the world outside - no more rules about clothes and books, films and music, no more technology bans. But also no more friendship with the people they knew before, no community and no certainty. It doesn't help that their mum has to work all hours to pay rent on the cramped, smelly one-bed flat above a kebab shop in Hackney. Rudder gorges on once-taboo Harry Potters and dances to Simon and Garfunkel and show tunes, while Rose swaps the ankle skirts and uncut hair of the Woodford Pilgrims for Japanese-cute fairy dress and her new boyfriend, Kye. Kye, who she wants with all her being. But there's loads of scary stuff about their new life that Rose and Rudder have no idea how to handle - it's normal for girls to let their boyfriends take naked pictures of them, right? Soon Rose must decide whether to sacrifice everything and go back to the life she hates, in order to save the people she loves. A story about coming of age slap-bang in the middle of a strange new world.
Report
Lawrence is one of our finest writers of contemporary YA, with an enviable knack for complex, believable characters. The Bookseller
