Showing results by narrator "Nneka Okoye" in All Categories

A former carer, primary school teacher and education researcher, Matt Lloyd-Rose became a volunteer police officer to try to understand the challenges facing young people in Brixton, the place he lived and taught. He got more than he bargained for. Each Friday evening, he put on the uniform and policed South London: racing through it on blue lights, patrolling its streets, entering a parallel version of a place he thought he knew.

Having uncovered head teacher Dr Dòyìnbó’s hidden agenda behind the Academy of the Sun, Onyeka and her friends are on the run. But they’ve got bigger problems to worry about—they desperately need to find a cure for the Solari disease that comes with using their Ike power and they need to locate Onyeka’s missing parents. When their last safe house is uncovered, Onyeka turns to the only potential allies they have left; the Rogues, a group of rebels that have been trying to expose Dr Dòyìnbó’s lies for years.

Questioning your body? Not sure about how you feel? Or worried if that thing is normal? Unlikely educator Otis Milburn and his beloved friends are back in this frank, feminist and positive guide to life. Covering everything from understanding your anatomy, feeling confident about how you look and understanding how you feel, to consent, sexuality and the minefield that is modern love - this guide answers all the questions you're too scared to ask, in a language you understand.

Born in a remote village in Kenya, Nice Leng'ete saw the young girls she grew up with receive the cut, the rite of passage into female adulthood in Masai culture. Every girl got the cut, and once you did, you'd be married off to a man triple your age. You might be his second or third wife. You'd have children in your teens. This is exactly what happened to Nice's sister. To resist the cut meant becoming an outcast in Masai culture.

Ruth dares to dream of another life—far away from the horrors within the walls of Bethnal Green’s infamous orphanage. Luckily she has her friends, Amy and Ellen—but she can’t keep them safe, and the suffering is only getting worse. Surely there must be a way out of here? But when Ruth breaks free from the shackles of confinement and sets out into East London, hoping to make a new life for herself, she finds that, for a girl with nowhere to turn, life can be just as tough on the outside.

How far would you go for a more perfect world? A reimagining of the Greek myth of Eurydice and Orpheus, for fans of Naomi Alderman, Christina Dalcher and Madeline Miller. Set in a near-future where technology, governed by the all-seeing Panopticon, connects you with every other person on the planet – whether you’ve asked for it or not.

Anuri's stepmother, Ophelia, is the ultimate 'mumfluencer'. Throughout Anuri's childhood, she catalogued every minute, milestone and carefully curated family outing on social media, cultivating a devoted - and sizable - following. Now twenty-five years old, life looks pretty perfect on the outside. Ophelia's fans could be forgiven for wondering why Anuri spends much of her time insulting men online for money, battling the call of alcohol, running from a PhD application, and reminding herself that she is now allowed to choose her own outfits.

Jasmine’s dad is a farmer and her mum is a large-animal vet, so Jasmine spends a lot of time caring for animals and keeping them out of trouble. Unfortunately, this often means she gets into hot water herself. When Jasmine sees a tiny, unloved piglet left to fend for itself, she knows it will die without her help. So she smuggles it home to her farm to nurse it back to health. But she can’t keep Truffle forever, and then, one stormy night, disaster strikes.

When Gozie and Obianuju meet in August 1978, it is nothing short of fate. He is the perfect man: charismatic, handsome, Christian and—most importantly—Igbo. He reminds her of her beloved Uncle Ikenna, her mother’s brother who disappeared fighting in the Civil War that devastated Nigeria less than a decade before. It is why, when Gozie asks her to marry him within months of meeting, she says yes, despite her lingering and uncertain feelings for Akin—a man her mother would never accept, as his tribe fought on the other side of the war.

Jasmine’s dad is a farmer, and her mum is a large-animal vet, so Jasmine spends a lot of time caring for animals and keeping them out of trouble. Unfortunately, this often means she gets into hot water herself. When Jasmine and Tom rescue an abandoned kitten, Jasmine is desperate to keep her. But her parents decide to sell Holly - and Jasmine is NOT happy with her new owner! Can Jasmine and Tom give Holly the best-ever Christmas present - a good home?

It’s lambing time on the farm, and Jasmine has her hands full. She has two orphaned baby birds to care for, as well as a tiny motherless lamb who needs her attention. She’s determined to look after little Lucky and keep him safe. But there are bigger dangers facing the flock, ones that come in the dead of night.

Jane Eyre has no interest in a husband. Eager to make her own way in the world, she accepts the governess position at Thornfield Hall. Though her new employer, Edward Rochester, has a charming air—not to mention a handsome face—Jane discovers that his smile can sharpen in an instant. Plagued by Edward’s mercurial mood and the strange wails that echo through the corridors, Jane grows suspicious of the secrets hidden within Thornfield Hall—unaware of the true horrors lurking above her very head.

Striving not to be average is exhausting and breaking us. Our pursuit of success and perfection is blinding us to the everyday pleasures of the ordinary. Trying to be across our friends, our family, social media, our careers and our hobbies all the time can be damaging. We have been sold the story that we can do it all, that we are superhuman and that being above average is the path to success and happiness. But it's time we pressed pause. It's time to rediscover our appreciation of the ordinary and the average - that space where most of the best things happen.

When a nesting duck is killed in a terrible accident, Jasmine and her best friend, Tom, rescue the eggs and try to hatch them in an incubator. It’s a risky business, but soon Button is running around, getting into scrapes. Until the day he gets into a scrape with no escape.

From education to work to dating, this inspirational, honest and provocative book recognises and celebrates the strides black women have already made, while providing practical advice for those who want to do the same and forge a better, visible future. Illustrated with stories from best friends Elizabeth Uviebinené and Yomi Adegoke’s own lives, and using interviews with dozens of the most successful black women in Britain.

Culture will keep you fit and healthy. Culture will bring communities together. Culture will improve your education. This is the message from governments and arts organisations across the country; however, this book explains why we need to be cautious about culture. Offering a powerful call to transform the cultural and creative industries, Culture Is Bad for You examines the intersections between race, class, and gender in the mechanisms of exclusion in cultural occupations.

When Jasmine learns that Mr. Hobson has grown too old to take care of his pet donkey, Mistletoe, she is determined that they won’t be parted. Of course, this means Mistletoe will have to come and live with her. With Christmas coming, how can she convince her parents to give her this most unusual present?

Ren's family lose their home in a fire. They're living with her grandmother now and things are a bit tense. Ren lost her collection of things, her clothes; her brother lost his little bear and is inconsolable. So Ren starts replacing things with other people's possessions. They've got loads of stuff, after all. But she gets caught and has to strike a terrifying deal to avoid detection...

It is the 1990s, and Gloria is living in a London psychiatric ward. She is unapologetically loud, audacious and eternally on the brink of bursting into song. After several months of uninterrupted routine, she is joined by another young Black woman - Merle - who is full of silences and fear. Unable to confide in their doctors, they agree to journal their pasts. Whispered into tape recorders and scrawled ferociously at night, the remarkable stories of their lives are revealed.

London has changed a lot over the years. The Soho that Precious and Tabitha live and work in is barely recognisable anymore. And now, the building they call their home is under threat; its billionaire-owner Agatha wants to kick the women out to build expensive restaurants and luxury flats. Men like Robert, who visit the brothel, will have to go elsewhere.The collection of vagabonds and strays in the basement will have to find somewhere else to live.