29 Locks

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Navigating the 29 locks of the Union Canal system, Donny’s mission to the city is so he can reunite with his mother who is due to be released from prison, while Zoe’s mission is to meet with a modelling agency and pose for strip photos.

Yet there are moments of humour too, as Donny and his new friends navigate countless dangers in an attempt to build a brighter future. Miles revisits the much-loved protagonist of 29 Miles two years after his canal boat adventure as a fifteen-year-old.

I give regular talks for schools, libraries and colleges (including World Book Day), as well as prisons.

Hotjar sets this cookie to know whether a user is included in the data sampling defined by the site's pageview limit. Donny's fate as I say, seems sealed and he's to be either an addict or responsible for others no matter what he does. 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.This is a gritty, harsh story of someone's life who hasn't had it easy and hasn't had the chances a lot of people have in their lives. Donny has enough experience to know that something isn’t right and he will do whatever he has to to keep Zoe safe.

After all, it's all he knows from early childhood and having a single mum addicted yo crack and God knows what else. 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. HopeRoad’s founder, Rosemarie Hudson, said: ‘Nicola is a fantastic new talent, and I’m so proud that HopeRoad will be publishing her debut.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. I loved how much the author covered in this story, from poverty and crime to grooming, diversity, and racism — all of which are prevalent in today’s society. 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. Locks is a coming of age novel set in contemporary London and Hertfordshire where the story is divided into 3 parts. I was a runner up in the Poetry Book Society poetry competition, judged by one of my heroes, Carol Ann Duffy.

It's a very dark insight into a world that we all know exist, but often pretend not to see and for Donny it's a world he can't completely escape from even if he wants too, with a Mum whose addiction holds her hostage and caused him to be torn away from all he knows.Heartbreaking but ultimately hopeful, the exhilarating plot and memorable characters combine to create a true page-turner. Growing up in dire poverty in Hackney, East London, his life is shaped by casual violence, gang initiation, drug-dealing and knife crime. To survive, he must rely on the help of unaccompanied teenage refugees, living rough in the dunes east of Calais. I’m a freelance teacher and adviser for Minority Matters, an educational charity supporting disadvantaged young people in Islington.