A Crongton Story: Straight Outta Crongton

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

[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. Independent
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. David Almond, Guardian Children's Fiction Prize judge
Brilliant, tough, heartbreaking read. Tanya Landman, author of Buffalo Soldier, Carnegie medal winner
Funny, profane, well-observed accounts of life on an urban estate. Sunday Times
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. Patrice Lawrence, the Guardian

Alex Wheatle is the author of several acclaimed novels, many of them inspired by experiences from his childhood. He was born in Brixton to Jamaican parents, and spent most of his childhood in a Surrey children's home. Following a short stint in prison following the Brixton uprising of 1981, he wrote poems and lyrics and became known as the Brixtonbard. Alex has been shortlisted for numerous awards including the Carnegie Medal and the YA Book Prize. He won the Guardian Children's Fiction Award and was awarded an MBE for services to literature in 2008.

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