A coming-of-age novel set in contemporary London and Hertfordshire.
Fifteen-year-old Donald Leroy Samson is the son of an absentee St Lucian father and a drug-addicted English mother. Growing up in dire poverty in Hackney, East London, his life is shaped by casual violence, gang initiation, drug-dealing and knife crime. When Donny’s bored, rich, white girlfriend Zoe is offered a dubious modelling audition, the couple ‘borrow’ a barge and navigate the 29 locks on the canal system from Hertfordshire down into Kings Cross.
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. Life will never be the same again. A gritty, urban tale of redemption!
'Nicola Garrard finds and sustains a fresh voice, from inside a hazardous childhood world. Her characters are convincing and the development of her story original and satisfying. An impressive, accomplished debut' Dr Lindsey Traub, Lucy Cavendish Fiction Prize
Author
About Nicola Garrard
Nicola Garrard grew up in South Devon, where her family made ends meet by growing and fishing for their own food. Her critically-acclaimed debut, 29 Locks, was inspired by the pupils she met during her many years as a teacher. Its sequel, 21 Miles, was described by author Anthony McGowan as ‘One of the very best pieces of fiction to come out of the refugee crisis.’ 29 Locks was shortlisted for the Lucy Cavendish Fiction Prize and the Mslexia Children’s Novel competition and longlisted for the Branford Boase Award 2022. Garrard’s poetry has been published by the Frogmore Papers magazine, IRON Press Publishing, Mslexia magazine and the Poetry Book Society. She lives in West Sussex with her wife and three children and continues to teach and work for the charity Minority Matters.
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