Sipho is a “young blood”, a young man of the school-going generation caught up in a world of money, booze and greed.

Living in Umlazi, Durban, he is seventeen, has dropped out of school and helps out at his father’s mechanic shop during the day. But odd jobs underneath the bonnets of wrecked cars do not provide the lifestyle his friends have.

A fascinating look into the emotional landscape of car hijackers – by a vibrant new voice in South African literature.

Detectives in pursuit of criminals, a brother desperate to find his wunga-addicted sibling, a search for abducted girls, a quest to be reunited with a long-lost lover – these are just some of the searches that form the basis of the stories in this collection. On a more metaphysical level there are characters seeking some form of faith or purpose. Entertaining tales that keep the reader enthralled with tension and suspense, while reflecting the realities of contemporary South Africa.

2022 Shortlist, Hurston/Wright Legacy Award Winner, Wole Soyinka Prize for Literature in Africa Winner, 2011 Herman Charles Bosman Award Winner, Sunday Times Fiction Prize Winner, The Sunday Times Literary Award Sipho, a 17-year-old from the Umlazi township, drops out of high school and joins a car hijacking syndicate to make a name for himself and escape his family's low-income life. Along with hijacking partners Musa and Vusi, Sipho learns the tricks of the dangerous trade and pushes deeper into the underbelly of Umlazi under the guidance of gang leader Sibani, while partying heavily and juggling different women nightly alongside his longtime girlfriend Nana.Candid and unapologetic, Young Blood is the story of the intricate balance of circumstance and choice, swift gain and incredible loss, as Sipho finds out how far he can push his luck before the damage is irrevocable - and the consequences deadly. Both a red-hot crime novel of car heists, sex, and rival gangs and a coming of age story of a teenager navigating the costs of the fast life, Young Blood reveals the devastating violence and raw beauty of life in South Africa's townships.