29 Locks

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Donny’s story is something a lot of young people find themselves in by being in and out of foster homes. And it just works so, so well, raising so many ideas and issues in a provoking way that forces the reader to reconsider perspectives and challenges them to think differently. I loved the scenes of Donny and Zoe escaping down the canal – it was especially engaging for me, as I lived in Hertfordshire briefly, and I can picture that stretch of the canal so vividly.

Growing up in Hackney with his loving but troubled single mum, fifteen-year-old Donny's life has been shaped by poverty, crime and casual violence, including grooming by a local gang. Payments made using National Book Tokens are processed by National Book Tokens Ltd, and you can read their Terms and Conditions here. Donny is a great narrator – his voice feels fresh and real and engaging, and he is another character, like Aoife in Iron Annie, that I refuse to believe does not exist in real life. Donny is an inspirational hero who seeks justice in the face of overwhelming obstacles – it’s impossible not to fall in love with him! Hotjar sets this cookie to know whether a user is included in the data sampling defined by the site's daily session limit.Growing up in Hackney with his loving but troubled single mum, fifteen-year-old Donny’s life has been shaped by poverty, crime and casual violence, including grooming by a local gang. But when Donny and his best friend Zoe plan a day trip to France ahead of their sixth form exams, Donny loses his passport and is arrested as an ‘illegal’ migrant. I have appeared at the Hay Festival of Literature and Arts, Chichester Arts Festival and the Petworth Literary Week, and I am a frequent guest on BBC Radio London. There are enough references to 29 Locks to make it an utterly convincing sequel, but it works absolutely as a standalone story. She has taught in secondary schools for twenty-three years, including fifteen in an Islington comprehensive.

I’m a freelance teacher and adviser for Minority Matters, an educational charity supporting disadvantaged young people in Islington. His devotion to her through the years of his childhood never falters, even leading him to feel guilt when enjoying the cooking of his foster mother. In the 2nd part of the story, Donny finds himself far from the city and in a rural area where he forms an unlikely friendship with Zoe, a posh white girl. I studied English Literature at university and have taught in secondary schools for 23 years, including 15 years at an inner-city London comprehensive. A story that is narrated in first person, which I prefer as you get to know the character and Donny is a lad that I warmed to immediately on his and Zoe's journey of the 29 locks.Locks by Nicola Garrard is a Young Adult book which I was drawn to immediately with the bright cover and the synopsis. After some trouble and an unexpected death, Donny finds himself back in the system and on his way to County. Donny as a character feels startlingly real: naive at times but still someone who has seen far too much too soon.

Set between the violent estates of inner-city London and the rural home counties, 29 Locks tells the story of 15-year-old Donny, an ex-gang member from Hackney who is fostered outside of London after the disappearance of his beloved mother. The ending was absolutely unrealistic, and any teen of color in such a situation would get railroaded by the system, not released with a wink and an 'attaboy'. Heartbreaking but ultimately hopeful, the exhilarating plot and memorable characters combine to create a true page-turner. It's far from gentle, it's certainly not a fairytale and it doesn't have a single prince (or princess) charming.It tells the story of Donny, who has grown up in a violent, cruel and brutal world of drugs and crime. But as each lock is navigated and conquered, their adventures take on a new dimension, and life will never be the same again. Life in the rural Home Counties is a bit like landing on another planet but doing work experience on the Hertford Union Canal, Donny feels like he's finally found his purpose. Her first novel, 29 LOCKS , was shortlisted for the Lucy Cavendish Fiction Prize ; Mslexia Children’s Novel Competition; Financial Times Best Books of 2021 and longlisted for the 2022 Branford Boase Award.

Difficult and complex issues are present on these pages, but the writing is so full of life and vivacity that you just glide along, keen to know how things will turn out for Donny, and rooting for him all the way. When they start out on their journey, the future for both of them looks unpromising, like the fake audition, but as each lock is navigated and conquered, as the waters fall then rise again, their adventure takes on a new dimension. I am extremely grateful to the author and the publisher for providing me with a proof copy of 29 Locks in exchange for an honest review. Donny is a great narrator – his voice feels so fresh and real and engaging that I refuse to believe he does not exist in real life. Now 15 years old, he and Zoe, his posh girlfriend and aspiring model, make the journey back to London to reunite with Donny’s mother.No, what 29 Locks has is the ability to knock the reader down and make them sorely wish you could help Donny escape what seems to be an inevitable conclusion - another teenage addict, a runner for some arrogant faceless monster who loves money and cares little about consequences, a name on a faded memorial. Urgent, authentic, satisfying and an anthem for the ordinary spirit that burns so fiercely inside each of us.