
Home Boys by Alex Wheatle
Four friends decide to run away from the horror of their everyday lives in a children's home in the English countryside. They head for the woods, their sense of freedom surprises them, and for the first time they feel the exhilaration of adolescence. Yet the forest slowly asserts its own power and what happens there will affect the four boys' lives forever. With his trademark humour, compelling narrative directness, and rhythmic prose, Alex Wheatle here shows himself to be an author of real calibre, exposing the social stigma associated with children's homes, and the psychological consequences of their impact on sensitive children. Never losing pace or failing to engage the reader at every moment, 'Home Boys' is an unflinchingly honest depiction of childhood.
This is a brave, brutal story told with a shocking immediacyAlex Wheatle has created a disturbing portrait of life in a children s home, in language which is plain, unsparing, and heart-rendingly poignant * Daily Mail *
Strong and meaningful * Independent on Sunday *
This is a book to read and nourish ... For it is a book which never gives up on its characters and, doing such, also never gives up on its readers * Morning Star *
Impossible to put down * Buzz Magazine *
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
A gripping, horrifying and moving adventure story -- Maggie Gee
I think I went through every emotion possible whilst reading this book and was bereft when I got to the end * 5/4 nudge-book.com *
With this groundbreaking work of fiction, Wheatle has produced what is truly the most moving book I have read this year * The New Nation *
A beautifully written poetic portrayal of loyalty, friendship, and boyhood adventure * Big Issue *
Alex Wheatle, always a gripping writer, has given us an important work about life as a kid in care in the 1970s and how brutality and abuse within the system can continue to distort and destroy lives down the years * Teen Librarian *
Strong and meaningful * Independent on Sunday *
This is a book to read and nourish ... For it is a book which never gives up on its characters and, doing such, also never gives up on its readers * Morning Star *
Impossible to put down * Buzz Magazine *
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
A gripping, horrifying and moving adventure story -- Maggie Gee
I think I went through every emotion possible whilst reading this book and was bereft when I got to the end * 5/4 nudge-book.com *
With this groundbreaking work of fiction, Wheatle has produced what is truly the most moving book I have read this year * The New Nation *
A beautifully written poetic portrayal of loyalty, friendship, and boyhood adventure * Big Issue *
Alex Wheatle, always a gripping writer, has given us an important work about life as a kid in care in the 1970s and how brutality and abuse within the system can continue to distort and destroy lives down the years * Teen Librarian *
Alex Wheatle MBE was born in South London in 1963 and is an accomplished and award-winning author of more than a dozen books, including children's and young adult novels. The story of his teenage years was the basis of Steve McQueen's "Alex Wheatle" in the Small Axe series (December 2020), and he has written and performed a play about his life titled Uprising. His novels for adults include the Windrush classic Island Songs, as well as Brixton Rock, Brenton Brown, East of Acre Lane, and Home Boys. His books have been adapted for theatre, radio and film.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781911350392 |
| ISBN 10 | 1911350390 |
| Title | Home Boys |
| Author | Alex Wheatle |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Quercus Publishing |
| Year published | 2018-05-24 |
| Number of pages | 240 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |