29 locks

Format:

Book

Title:

29 locks

Other title(s):

Twenty-nine locks

Author:

Garrard, Nicola author

ISBN:

9781913109844

Publication:

London : HopeRoad, 2021.

Physical Description:

286 pages ; 20 cm

Summary:

"Meet Donald Leroy Samson, an ex-gang Younger from Hackney. Born into poverty, and groomed by violent gangs, Donny's early life was tough. Now, at the age of 15, he's being fostered in the rural safety of Herfordshire. During his Year Ten work experience on the Union Canal, Donny learns that the canal network leads through 29 locks back to Hackney. Determined to meet his mum, who will soon be released from prison for drug offences, Donny 'borrows' a narrowboat to make the journey back to London."-- Back cover.

Reading Level:

014-017.

Subject(s):

Ex-gang members -- England -- London -- Fiction.

Teenagers -- England -- London -- Fiction.

Dysfunctional families -- England -- Fiction.

Canals -- England -- Fiction.

Locks (Hydraulic engineering) -- England -- Fiction.

Children of prisoners -- Fiction.

Mothers and sons -- Fiction.

Canals -- Fiction.

Models (Persons) -- Fiction.

Gangs -- Fiction.

Foster home care -- Fiction.

Hackney (London, England) -- Fiction.

London (England) -- Fiction.

Hertfordshire (England) -- Fiction.

Geographic Term:

Hackney (London, England) -- Fiction.

London (England) -- Fiction.

Hertfordshire (England) -- Fiction.

England -- London -- Hackney

Genre:

Holds:

Available:*

Library	Call Number	Status
Searching... Salem Main Library	TEEN Garrard, N.	Searching... Unknown

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

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 modeling 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.

Author Notes

Nicola Garrard grew up in Devon, France and Sussex. She studied English Literature, with a focus on representations of race in Early Modern theatre. She has taught in secondary schools for twenty-three years. Her first novel, 29 Locks was shortlisted in the Lucy Cavendish Fiction Prize and the Mslexia Children's Novel Competition. She lives in Sussex with her partner, three children and a Jack Russell terrier. Her family is typical of modern Britain, with roots in England, Scotland and Trinidad.

Reviews (1)

Kirkus Review

A biracial tween grows into adolescence while coping with poverty, the foster system, and the lure of the streets. Donald Samson has grown up quickly between his mother's substance abuse and his foster care experiences. Donny is the son of a White English mother and a Black father from Saint Lucia. His attachment to his single mum makes it difficult for him to settle when he is placed with a Nigerian British family. Mama Folu is a deeply religious woman who tries to steer her charges away from trouble, but tragedy strikes the family. Fifteen-year-old Donny next ends up in a rural area outside London, where he is given a work experience position with the Hertfordshire Union Canal, becoming fascinated with boats and the water, though he intends to seek out his mother when he turns 16 and can assert his independence. To help new girlfriend Zoe, a posh White girl, fulfill her modeling dreams, Donny takes one of the boats in his care on an ill-advised canal trip to London, navigating the 29 locks of the Union Canal system. Set in London's vivid immigrant neighborhoods and a mostly White home counties community, the book's rich descriptions heighten the narrative. Donny is a fully realized character with keen observational skills, and the first-person narrative allows readers a clear understanding of his struggles. The secondary characters add textured layers to the story. A powerful coming-of-age story highlighting the experiences of marginalized youth. (glossary, resources, further reading) (Fiction. 12-18) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.