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29 LOCKS by Nicola Garrard

29 LOCKS

by Nicola Garrard

Pub Date: Oct. 1st, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-913109-84-4
Publisher: HopeRoad

A biracial tween grows into adolescence while coping with poverty, the foster system, and the lure of the streets.

Donald Samson has grown up quickly between his mother’s substance abuse and his foster care experiences. Donny is the son of a White English mother and a Black father from Saint Lucia. His attachment to his single mum makes it difficult for him to settle when he is placed with a Nigerian British family. Mama Folu is a deeply religious woman who tries to steer her charges away from trouble, but tragedy strikes the family. Fifteen-year-old Donny next ends up in a rural area outside London, where he is given a work experience position with the Hertfordshire Union Canal, becoming fascinated with boats and the water, though he intends to seek out his mother when he turns 16 and can assert his independence. To help new girlfriend Zoe, a posh White girl, fulfill her modeling dreams, Donny takes one of the boats in his care on an ill-advised canal trip to London, navigating the 29 locks of the Union Canal system. Set in London’s vivid immigrant neighborhoods and a mostly White home counties community, the book’s rich descriptions heighten the narrative. Donny is a fully realized character with keen observational skills, and the first-person narrative allows readers a clear understanding of his struggles. The secondary characters add textured layers to the story.

A powerful coming-of-age story highlighting the experiences of marginalized youth.

(glossary, resources, further reading) (Fiction. 12-18)