29 Locks

Product Information

I was a runner up in the Poetry Book Society poetry competition, judged by one of my heroes, Carol Ann Duffy. But when Donny and his best friend Zoe plan a day trip to France ahead of their sixth form exams, Donny loses his passport and is arrested as an ‘illegal’ migrant. Growing up in Hackney with his loving but troubled single mum, fifteen-year-old Donny’s life has been shaped by poverty, crime and casual violence, including grooming by a local gang.

It's far from gentle, it's certainly not a fairytale and it doesn't have a single prince (or princess) charming. Locks by Nicola Garrard is a Young Adult book which I was drawn to immediately with the bright cover and the synopsis. But it is Donny's work experience with canals and helping out Andrew the gatekeeper of the lock gates who truly changes the lost boy into being the strong and determined young man he becomes. Donny's inner strength is one to be admired and whilst you nay want to scream at the pages, you will also cheer him on.

The novel is dedicated to the memory of my former student, Mahad Ali, who was brutally murdered in 2017 at the age of 18.

The different sections of Donny’s life keep the book fast-paced and attention-grabbing, while allowing for small moments of reflection which add depth and tenderness to the story. August 2020 Reading: Small Pleasures; Echo Hall; The Vanishing Half; A Different Drummer; The Naseby Horses; For When I’m Gone; Inside The Beautiful Inside; Long Live the Post Horn! Life in the rural Home Counties is a bit like landing on another planet but doing work experience on the Hertford Union Canal, Donny feels like he’s finally found his purpose. No, what 29 Locks has is the ability to knock the reader down and make them sorely wish you could help Donny escape what seems to be an inevitable conclusion - another teenage addict, a runner for some arrogant faceless monster who loves money and cares little about consequences, a name on a faded memorial.When Donny's posh new friend Zoe is offered a dubious modelling audition in London, the pair decide to 'borrow' a canal barge and navigate the 29 locks down to Kings Cross. A hot meal, a warm bath when he needs and wants it, a parental figure who shows him true affection and puts her children first.

Later in the book, Donny’s journey back to London to reunite with his mother has the fierce desperation of someone willing to do anything for those they love. When Donny is taken from London finally and to Hertfordshire, he feels out of his depth and is taunted by his classmates who judge him by both how he looks and where he comes from. My debut novel, 29 Locks, was shortlisted for both the Lucy Cavendish Fiction Prize and Mslexia Children’s Novel Competition and was longlisted in the Berkshire Book Award 2022. Donny has enough experience to know that something isn’t right and he will do whatever he has to to keep Zoe safe. Publication dates are subject to change (although this is an extremely uncommon occurrence overall).When his mum is jailed for drugs offences, Donny is fostered outside London to the Hertfordshire countryside. Locks is dark, the world within the book is gritty and one that opens the reader's eyes to the reality of the world some have no choice of being a part of but there is also hope.