Carlene gets to where she's going by running away. Her brother Wesley likes to work toward his targets.

Carlene Cole is a naturally talented athlete capable of greatness but she’s intent on living her teenage life to the full rather than trade it, in search of an Olympic gold medal. Her twin brother, Wesley, is a hard-working footballer who would give anything to play for Arsenal in the Premiership like his grandfather had.

Following the death of the twins' father, Ian, applied to the Ethnic Millennium Fund for a grant to start up the Hackney football academy.

London 2012. The kids have made their grandfather proud. Carlene is a hot favourite for an Olympic title and, Hackney FC, captained by Wesley are the first non-league team to ever make it to the FA Cup final.

To achieve their respective goals; Wesley must face the issues surrounding racism in sport and Carlene must look behind, and turn to face what she is running from.
 


Comments

Elizabeth Lindberg

Sun, 14 Nov 2010 21:38:28

I finsihed the book this morning - it's HOT. Of course, you are a master of dialogue, and once I could "hear" the characters it was easier for me to know how their vernacular (it took a bit to figure out "fe" - haha) - this gives the story a voice unlike other books.

The pace of the book is fast, the characters are unforgettable, irreverent, and hilarious.

I'm not a sports fan, but I really got into the play by plays of football (what we call soccer). LOVED the end.

 

Rhonda

Fri, 08 Apr 2011 07:30:56

ead through Ch 4, and got what I had anticipated from this author's darkly witty bio. Shiny prose with a unique style and some urban bite, as touted by tags. As a huge Vonnegut fan, dare I compare just a little? I like the cheeky confidence in your style as well, which shines through. 90 percent of an author's job is to convince the reader to buy into our little fantasy world, and you've done this well! The prologue - chilling! Made me think of Saddam's nutzo son, who was in charge of the Iraqi National soccer (futball) team and had players tortured for bad plays. The dialog is snappy and rolls right on through my brain with no flaws. Even though I'm American, and not really well-versed with soccer, the underlying story is universal, and I had no trouble at all being out of the Brit-Urban loop. This is an author who has more than a story to tell, but a way of telling a story that has layers and complex underpinnings. I 've given highest star rating. What's not to like? Wish I could write so succinctly like this!

 

Harper Collins

Tue, 26 Apr 2011 13:43:21

LONDON 2012, editor's comments

This is the story of a group of disparate East London youths. Its progression has a rags-to-riches arc, though we enter the narrative at quite a late stage in the rise. At the centre of the novel is the Cole family, and the athletic successes of twins Wesley and Carlene – he as a footballer, she as a runner – but the story also paints a much broader social picture that encompasses issues of class, race, sexuality, and social pressure. The prose is gritty and unreserved in the vein of bold television programmes such as Skins and Shameless.

There is a lot to commend here. The first chapter is very strong: a dramatic scene, which is arresting in its ambiguity, and immediately grabs the reader. I wonder if it is not slightly too obscure though. There is a reference later to Carlene’s time in Berlin, but it is quickly passed over, and the passage seems to sit slightly apart from the rest of the novel. Similarly, the prologue could be made more immediately relevant, or dropped entirely.

What really delights the reader in this writing is the dialogue. The author captures the different dialects and vocabularies of the characters very well, and the conversations, particularly those of Carlene and Stuart, feel authentic and fresh. The flirtatious passage in the pub where they play with the idiom “slim to none” is particularly polished . . .

 



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