Crongton Knights
Living on the South Crongton estate has its worries - and life for McKay has been even tougher since his mum died. His dad has been working all hours to keep the bailiffs from their door. His brother is always out riding the streets at night, tempting trouble. And now, having strayed off his turf on a 'heroic' (if misguided) mission to help out a girl, McKay finds himself facing a friend's crazy ex-boyfriend, a group of kids on a mega power trip and a notoriously violent gangster with a vendetta that hits close to home.
Winner Of The Guardian's Children's Fiction Prize 2016
Nominated For The Cilip Carnegie Medal 2017
Winner Of The Accelerated Reader Quiz Writers' Choice Awards 2017
Shortlisted For The Southwark Book Award
Shortlisted For The Ya Book Prize 2017
Reviews:
'This has "classic" singing from every page. Crongton Knights is a joyous shout of youthful exuberance… Wheatle's Twain-like command of patois never falters. Crongton Knights is as enriching and life-affirming as McKay's jerk-chicken stir fry, the recipe for which is helpfully added at the end. A total gem for any age.'
Independent
'Readers who enjoyed Liccle Bit are in for a treat… Continual banter is laced with excellent near-the-knuckle jokes, sustained without a break over nearly 300 pages. Behind the vocabulary there is also a gripping story where group loyalty is put to the severest test. Young readers could learn plenty of useful lessons about survival from this story, which never lets up and has much of value to say.'
Books for Keeps
'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, heart-breaking read.’
Tanya Landman, author of Buffalo Soldier, Carnegie medal winner
‘A fast-paced, funny ride’
Metro