'This isn't my home. Haven't had a proper home since ...This is just somewhere I'll be resting my bones for a week and maybe a bit. This time next year you'll forget who I am. I haven't got a diddly where I'll be by then. But I'm used to it' Naomi has bounced around the care system for far too long. When she's placed with the Goldings, an emergency foster home, her expectations are already on the floor. But sometimes connections find you where you least expect them. Home Girl is fast-paced and funny, tender, tragic and full of courage - just like Naomi. It is award-winning author Alex Wheatle's most moving and personal novel to date. 'Studded with Wheatle's characteristic slang, Naomi's story is both heartbreaking and hilarious, offering no easy happy endings, but a flickering sense of hope.' Guardian

WELCOME TO CRONGTON, WHERE YOUR LOYALTY AND WITS WILL BE TESTED ... What's worse than hiding a secret? Liccle Bit's about to find out... Venetia King is the hottest girl at school. Too bad Lemar is the second shortest guy in his year. Everyone calls him Liccle Bit, and his two best friends, McKay and Jonah, never tire of telling him he has no chance with girls. Things aren't much better at home. His mum is permanently hassled, his sister a frustrated single mum and his dad moved out years ago. Liccle Bit wishes he could do something - anything! - to make life better. A new phone would be a start... When Venetia starts paying Liccle Bit attention, he secretly hopes he's on a fast track to a first date. Unfortunately, as a new gang war breaks out, he finds himself on a fast track to something much more sinister. South Crongton's notorious gang leader has taken an interest in Liccle Bit. Before he knows what's happening, he finds himself running errands. But when he hears about a killing on the estate, Liccle Bit is forced to question his choices. How can he possibly put things right?

In this breathtaking memoir, acclaimed writer Alex Wheatle shows how music became his salvation through a childhood marred by abuse and his imprisonment as a young man protesting against systemic racism and police brutality. "Alex Wheatle is an inspirer. He sheds light in dark places . . . He is a vital writer" LEMN SISSAY Abandoned as a baby to the British care system, Alex Wheatle grows up with no knowledge of his Jamaican parentage or family history. Later, he is inexorably drawn to reggae, his lifeline through disrupted teenage years and the challenges of living as a young Black man in 1980s Britain. "Alex Wheatle is the real deal; he writes with heart and authenticity, books that make you laugh and worry and cry and hold your breath" KIT DE WAAL Alex's youth was portrayed in Oscar Award-winning director Steve McQueen's "Small Axe" series (2020). In Sufferah, he tells his own story urgently, vividly and unsentimentally. His award-winning fiction - and this memoir - are a call to never give up hope. Sufferah reminds us that words can be our sustenance, and music our heartbeat. "Alex Wheatle writes from a place of honesty and passion" STEVE McQUEEN, director of Small Axe

***Shortlisted for the YA Book Prize*** WELCOME TO CRONGTON, WHERE YOUR LOYALTY AND WITS WILL BE TESTED ... Round these ends, it's hard to hold on to your dreams. Life's a constant hustle for Mo. Her mum's boyfriend Lloyd is just another man who likes to beat down women; the South Crong streets are fraught with hazards and nasty G's; and when it comes to matters of the heart . . . she's still hung up on Sam. No wonder she's vexed so much of the time. Thank god her sistrens, Elaine and Naomi, are on her side: if one of them falls then they all fall. But when badness goes down and a life is left hanging in the balance, Mo has to face her hot urge for revenge . . . and she might end up losing more than she wins. 'full of humour and tenderness' Patrice Lawrence

WELCOME TO CRONGTON - where your loyalties and wits will be tested ... Things have been quiet in South Crongton. It's been an age since anyone last spotted Manjaro, South Crong's most notorious warlord. But there have been murmurs that something is coming. Jonah is the fastest sprinter in South Crong, and has his sights set on an Olympic Medal one day. But with his dad now jobless, and his parents constant fighting because they can't make ends meet, Jonah has more on his mind than the North/South Crong gang war games. So when he gets kidnapped and taken to Manjaro's secret hideout, it's the last thing Jonah needs. But Manjaro's latest game comes with a map and the promise of a big bag of cash at the end. Jonah's family, and his parents' marriage, could be saved with all that cash! It's time for Jonah to rally the Crongton Knights again and follow the clues. But will the map lead them to treasure, or something much more deadly?

Shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal and the UKLA Book Award Winner of the Young Quills Historical Fiction Award Shortlisted for the YA Book Prize, Diverse Book Award and Iris Award Longlisted for the YA Jhalak Prize Nobody free till everybody free. Moa is fourteen. The only life he has ever known is toiling on the Frontier sugar cane plantation for endless hot days, fearing the vicious whips of the overseers. Then one night he learns of an uprising, led by the charismatic Tacky. Moa is to be a cane warrior, and fight for the freedom of all the enslaved people in the nearby plantations. But before they can escape, Moa and his friend Keverton must face their first great task: to kill their overseer, Misser Donaldson. Time is ticking, and the day of the uprising approaches . . . Irresistible, gripping and unforgettable, Cane Warriors follows the true story of Tacky's War in Jamaica, 1760.

Welton Blake has done it - he's asked out Carmella McKenzie, the best looking girl in school and she's only gone and said yes! But just as he thinks his luck, and life, is starting to change, Welton's phone breaks kickstarting a series of unfortunate, humiliating, and sometimes disgusting events. Life for Welton is about to go very, very wrong ...

Set in Brixton, 20 years after the race riots, The Dirty South follows the adventures of Bricky teenager Dennis Huggins as he drifts into the easy, dangerous life of the shotta - or drug dealer - and discovers that, hard as the struggle for respect on the streets is, the struggle for love is harder still. At least Dennis has involved parents looking out for him; too many of his friends have no guidance other than that offered by their fellow shottaz, or the dubiously motivated black Muslims. Wheatle brilliantly evokes the temptations of the thug life for young black men growing up in London's 'Dirty South' - a fast, compelling novel that offers no easy answers, but refuses to shy away from asking the difficult questions.

"Pacy; witty; his characters are real and recognisable" LINTON KWESI JOHNSON "Alex Wheatle is the real deal; he writes with heart and authenticity, books that make you laugh and worry and cry and hold your breath" KIT DE WAAL "Alex Wheatle writes from a place of honesty and passion" STEVE McQUEEN, director of Small Axe South London in the 1980s. Sixteen-year-old Brenton Brown is the mixed-race child of a mother he has never met. He's been living in a children's home all his life, and when he is unexpectedly reunited with his mother, Cynthia, his whole world seems poised to change. The best thing happens: Brenton has a family at last. And then the worst: Brenton falls in love with his beautiful half-sister, Juliet. As tensions brew in Brixton, Brenton finds himself embroiled in a violent feud with a killer. Vengeance seems like the only option as Brenton hurtles towards an explosive climax which will risk everything. Brixton Rock is the extraordinary debut of one of the UK's finest writers, a pitch-perfect depiction of South London life. "A triumph . . . This is a debut which confirms its author is a pro in prose" The Times

'Alex Wheatle writes from a place of honesty and passion with the full knowledge and understanding that change can only happen through words and actions' - Steve McQueen Four schoolchildren decide to run away from the the horrors of their everyday lives in a children's home. Seeking asylum in the woods, they enjoy the exhilaration of freedom and the first flush of adolescence. Yet the forest slowly asserts its own power and what happens out in the wild will affect the four boys' lives forever. With his compelling narrative directness, rhythmic prose, and trademark humour, Alex Wheatle shows himself to be an author of real calibre, exposing the social stigma associated with children's homes, and the horrifying psychological consequences of their impact on children at the most sensitive stage. Never losing pace or failing to engage the reader at every moment, Home Boys is an unflinchingly honest depiction of disrupted childhoods.

"This novel will be nostalgia trip for anyone who grew up in similar circumstances and a breath of fresh Jamaican air for anyone else" The Voice Jenny and Hortense Rodney have always loved and hated one another in the way that only sisters can. From their childhood in Claremont, rural Jamaica, to working life amid the hustle and bustle of Trenchtown, they are the turning point in a multi-generational tale. Enticed by the possibilities of the colonial "motherland", the sisters move to England and settle in the bleak streets of Brixton, only to find that this land of opportunity is instead one that will stretch their fractious relationship to breaking point . . . A hauntingly beautifully evocation of twentieth-century Jamaica and the Brixton of the Windrush generation, Island Songs is an epic of love, laughter and sorely tested family loyalties. By the author of Brixton Rock, East of Acre Lane and Homeboys, and several bestselling, prizewinning novels for younger readers "Island Songs grabs your heart " Independent "Alex Wheatle has a real talent for understated, convincing dialogue" Big Issue

'Alex Wheatle writes from a place of honesty and passion' Steve McQueen, director of Small Axe East of Acre Lane is the fast-paced and razor sharp story of a young man trying to do the right thing from celebrated author Alex Wheatle, one of the figures who inspired Steve McQueen's Small Axe It is 1981, and Brixton is on the verge of exploding. Biscuit lives with his mother, brother and sister, trapped hustling on the frontline for the South London badman Nunchucks. As the patience of the community breaks and the riots erupt, Biscuit must make a choice that could change his life forever. 'His prose is as sharp as a barber's cutthroat and the hard edged dialogue perfectly captures that London vibe. Thrilling, very funny, and most of all a page turner' Courttia Newland

Life on the Crongton estate can be rough for Briggy. Dad's lost his job, Mum's working so hard to make ends meet, and big brother Kingsley just wants out. With all of the shouting and arguing it's difficult not to get lost in the mix. So when his best mate Terror and coolest chick in the year Caldonia, cook up a plan to make a quick buck, Briggy hopes this time it might be his chance to shine. Robbing the Post Office ... what could go wrong? A brilliantly real and funny novella of life on one of London's toughest (fictional) estates.

'A vivid and powerful story ... Another tour de force by Alex Wheatle, a truly gifted storyteller' David Olusoga Kemosha and her brother have lived their whole lives in slavery. Sold away to work in lawless Port Royal, Kemosha takes her chance to escape brutal treatment. With fortune on her side, Kemosha befriends Ravenhide, a man with a mysterious past who teaches her the art of swordfighting, and introduces her to the beautiful runaway Isabella. Yet Kemosha's greatest test yet is upon the deck of the Satisfaction: the notorious Captain Morgan's ship. His next adventure on the high seas could be the making of Kemosha - and her one chance to earn enough pieces of eight to buy the freedom of her brother...

'Alex Wheatle writes from a place of honesty and passion with the full knowledge and understanding that change can only happen through words and actions' - Steve McQueen Four schoolchildren decide to run away from the the horrors of their everyday lives in a children's home. Seeking asylum in the woods, they enjoy the exhilaration of freedom and the first flush of adolescence. Yet the forest slowly asserts its own power and what happens out in the wild will affect the four boys' lives forever. With his compelling narrative directness, rhythmic prose, and trademark humour, Alex Wheatle shows himself to be an author of real calibre, exposing the social stigma associated with children's homes, and the horrifying psychological consequences of their impact on children at the most sensitive stage. Never losing pace or failing to engage the reader at every moment, Home Boys is an unflinchingly honest depiction of disrupted childhoods.

"A rich layering of motive and emotion . . . robust dialogue, streetwise humour and muscular, mischievous vernaculour" Independent Set on the streets of Brixton, south London, BRENTON BROWN is a fatal love story about a man who never got over his first love, a perfect love with his half-sister Juliet that has left him unable to form any real relationships since they both decided it must end. "Wheatle's dialogue sings" Guardian Juliet is consumed by guilt because she knows that her half-brother, Brenton, grew up in children's homes with no family to speak of, while she received all her mother's love. She has a career with good prospects in politics, and has married Clayton, a successful banker, to please her mother. He treats her daughter, Breanna, like his own - but secretly he has always suspected that there has been something going on between Juliet and Brenton. Unable to let go physically or emotionally, Brenton takes the advice of his longstanding friend Floyd, and decides to start a new life in another country. When their good intentions fail, Juliet and Brenton must pay the ultimate price. A story about family ties, forbidden love and life, BRENTON BROWN is shot through with robust humour, unforgettable characters, unerringly pitched dialogue and towering emotion.

Winner of the Guardian Children Fiction's Prize 2016 Shortlisted for the YA Book Prize 2017 WELCOME TO CRONGTON, WHERE YOUR LOYALTY AND WITS WILL BE TESTED ... Living on the South Crongton council 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, some power-tripping hood-rats and a notoriously violent gangster with a vendetta which hits too close to home. Poor McKay. He never asked for trouble . . . But during one madcap night of adventure and danger, he will find out who his true friends are, what it means to stick with your family and that, sometimes, the lessons learned the hard way are the ones you'll never forget. '... powerful writing by an author with great talent and great heart.' David Almond

This is the gritty but inspiring true story of the award-winning author Alex Wheatle. Alex had a tough start in life. He was abandoned by his family as a young child and grew up in a care home. After being expelled from school as a teenager, he was sent to live in a hostel in Brixton. There, Alex found music and friends but he also got mixed up in drugs and violence. When he was sent to prison for taking part in the Brixton Uprising, Alex’s future seemed hopeless. But then something happened to change his life . . . SERIES INFORMATION This page-turning story from award-winning author Alex Wheatle is part of the Diffusion books range, written especially for adults and teenagers who want to improve their reading skills. Easy-to-read, with short chapters, the books in the series enable learners to practice their reading skills and build up their reading confidence. They are also a brilliant choice for anyone learning English as an additional language. The books also include discussion and reflection questions that help readers to understand the story and to reflect on their own lives and relationships. Buying this book will support our project to help people in prison improve both their reading skills and their life chances. To find out more visit https://spckpublishing.co.uk/diffusion-books