Orangeboy

Story

16 year old Marlon has promised his mum that he will stay out of trouble. But now he’s being hunted. They’re looking for Mr Orange and they’ll use Marlon to get him.

Why we chose it

Orangeboy is a pacy Young Adult thriller, tightly plotted, gritty and original.

Where it came from

Patrice Lawrence worked for more than 20 years for charities supporting equality and social justice. As part of a crime writing workshop she wrote a scene, featuring Marlon and a girl who he knows is out of his league. She found that she then wanted to know more about Marlon. She wanted to explore what makes lovely people do things that aren’t lovely. Growing up with brothers in the 1970s/80s she had experienced racism and she wanted to ask, what do you do when people you love are under attack? She wanted too to write about the London she knows and the young people she sees in schools who aren’t often represented in books, films or on television.

Where it went next

Orangeboy was shortlisted for the Costa Award and won the Waterstones Prize for Older Children’s fiction.

Associated stories

Patrice Lawrence has written two further books for young adults, Indigo Donut and Rose Interrupted. Toad Attack is a story for younger children.