‘Jason Reynolds has done it again!’ Judy Blume

Seventeen-year-old Neon is about to have sex with his girlfriend, Aria, for the first time. In 24 seconds to be precise. He’s hiding in the bathroom, nervous, wanting to do everything right . . .

Rewind. To 24 minutes earlier where Neon rushes from work, taking the gift of fried chicken to Aria’s house.

Rewind again. To 24 hours earlier when Neon’s big sister has advice about sex which makes him think he probably shouldn’t be listening to his friends.

To 24 days earlier. To 24 weeks earlier. To 24 months earlier, when he and Aria first met.

This tender, sweet, wholesome piece of fiction discusses how to approach first sex, how to respect women, how to be gentle, how to make it about love. It shows us a refreshingly different side to male sexuality.

‘Twenty-Four Seconds From Now will stay with readers for years to come. A gem of a book!’ Angie Thomas, author of The Hate U Give

Jason Reynolds won the Carnegie Medal for his book, Look Both Ways, in 2019 and was a New York Times #1 bestseller on 3rd November of the same year.

Intimately set within the walls of a family home, this book is an incredible artefact of the historic year we have all lived through. We travel from the depths of despair but not without hope; the mundane details contained within four walls becomes our sanctuary. This is a gift in commemoration of a time and place, of a world wide pandemic, of loss and of the murder of George Floyd. It is a reminder of how, in uncertain times, we can cling to the simple things for respite, for hope. A reminder of how comforting books and artworks are in times of extreme stress.

A lot of the stuff that gives my neighbourhood a bad name, I don’t really mess with. The guns and drugs and all that, not really my thing.

Nah, not his thing. Ali’s got enough going on, between school and boxing and helping out at home. His best friend Noodles, though. Now there’s a dude looking for trouble – and, somehow, it’s always Ali around to pick up the pieces. But, hey, a guy’s gotta look out for his boys, right? Besides, it’s all small potatoes; it’s not like anyone’s getting hurt.

And then there’s Needles. Needles is Noodles’s brother. He’s got a syndrome, and gets these ticks and blurts out the wildest, craziest things. It’s cool, though: everyone on their street knows he doesn’t mean anything by it.

Yeah, it’s cool . . . until Ali and Noodles and Needles find themselves somewhere they never expected to be . . . somewhere they never should’ve been – where the people aren’t so friendly, and even less forgiving.

‘A funny and rewarding read.’ Publisher’s Weekly, Starred Review
‘Fiction with heart . . . unexpectedly gorgeous.’ Booklist
‘Moving and thought-provoking . . . defies readers’ expectations.’ Kirkus

SHORTLISTED for the CILIP Carnegie Medal
WINNER of the Yoto Kate Greenaway Medal and UKLA

‘A masterpiece from beginning to end.’ Angie Thomas, author of The Hate U Give

AND THEN THERE WERE SHOTS
Everybody
ran,
ducked,
hid, tucked
themselves tight.

Pressed our lips to the
pavement and prayed
the boom, followed by
the buzz of a bullet,
didn’t meet us.

After Will’s brother is shot in a gang crime, he knows the next steps. Don’t cry. Don’t snitch. Get revenge. So he gets in the lift with Shawn’s gun, determined to follow The Rules. Only when the lift door opens, Buck walks in, Will’s friend who died years ago. And Dani, who was shot years before that. As more people from his past arrive, Will has to ask himself if he really knows what he’s doing.

This haunting, lyrical, powerful verse novel will blow you away.

‘A heartrending and convincing blank verse narrative.’ Sunday Times, BOOKS OF THE YEAR

‘Astonishing.’ Kirkus Reviews

‘A tour de force.’ Publishers Weekly

‘Will attract teenagers who don’t consider themselves ‘readers’.’ The Inis Reading Guide