'Wild East' is an engaging YA verse novel in which the narrator Ronny (a Black teenage boy) moves from inner-city London to Norwich after witnessing the fatal stabbing of his best friend. The real focus of the story is Ronny's development as a poet thanks to the encouragement of his English teacher and his time at a creative writing retreat, where he makes a number of other friends including a refugee from Afghanistan. However, the book explores a lot of other issues around this including knife crime, county lines, gender identity and the financial pressures on single-parent families.

The book is inspired by the author's own experiences, both of moving from London to Norwich and his work teaching English and tutoring asylum seekers. So it feels honest and authentic. It is also much more upbeat than a lot of YA fiction which can be very dark in mood - although serious topics are explored, the main focus is on Ronny's growth and development, supported by the community around him.

This is a very enjoyable read which should be popular with secondary school students in Year 8 or 9 upwards. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an ARC to review.

Loved this book. Raw, moving, and so accessible. A powerful verse novel on city life, county lines, gangs, and growing up.

Ronny is a black teenager in London and when he and his friend Maz are challenged for no reason by a couple of older men and it ends in a fatal stabbing, Ronny’s Mum decides that she needs to move him out of harm’s way. They relocate to Norfolk – quiet and safe, so she thinks. But county lines spread to rural life and peers are sucked in, trying in turn to recruit others.
One teacher recognises that Ronny has a lot of potential and firstly asks him to attend poetry workshops, later offering him a place on a creative writing course. It’s here that a rapper opens Ronny’s eyes to what he can do with his writing talent and love of words.
All the characters in this novel are well rounded and completely without judgement. I feared Ronny would become dragged into the dangerous world of drugs, but his upbringing has shown him right and wrong and he resists temptation resulting in a positive story for young adults.

I largely picked this up because it's a novel-in-verse and I'm yet to read one that hasn't been amazing. I'm glad this kept that pattern up.

This book seemed to have two key aspects - the power of words/writing and the dangers of just existing as a young Black man. It handled both incredibly well and merged them in Ronny as his move to Norwich and much of his writing was shaped by the tragedy of Maz's death.

I also really enjoyed the side-characters in this - they may not have necessarily had tons of page time, they all really shone and felt fully fleshed-out - especially Lana, Leigh, Maher, Ronny's mum, Mr Bruce, Malachi and Lucas.

And, the way writing was discussed in this, he way poetry and music were compared, the way other works like The Black Flaming and The Crossing were mentioned, this really feels like a book that will pull its readers into other books and possibly inspire a greater or renewed love of books/words/writing/poetry.

Wild East, a YA verse novel, has wonderful energy and pace.

It's about poetry, identity and friendship, It's filled with emotion, change and finding your voice.

What a treat to see strong, assured verse novels coming on to the market. And what a treat to see it Crossing from Manjeeet Mann popping up in the pages too.

This is the second book I’ve read about county lines recently and I think it’s great that teen/YA authors are addressing this issue. This title isn’t as hard hitting as the other book I’ve read – but that is possibly a good thing and makes it more accessible/suitable to younger readers – who need to know about this just as much as the older ones… if not more so.

Ronny is a black boy who moves to Norfolk when his mother decides she has to get him out of London for his own safety. There are elements about how hard he finds it to fit in but the focus is definitely on his love for words and how he develops his love for music into a real talent for poetry/song words.

I read the ARC on my Kindle and sadly lost the arrangement of the text on the page as a result. This is such an important aspect of verse novels it was a shame but I still enjoyed the book. It promotes reading and language; shows the importance of inspiring teachers; has given me ideas to use for a creative writing group; has given me fresh resolve to read Manjeet Mann’s The Crossing and inspired me to look at Ugly Dogs Don’t Cry by DD Armstrong.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

Firstly, thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for giving me the privilege of reading an advance copy of Wild East; it’s an absolute gem of a book. Written in verse and full of Ronny’s thoughts, feelings and reactions to the life events thrown at him, the story unfolds quickly and you are drawn into his world. Coming from East Anglia originally, I could identify with the descriptions of Norwich and could see the similarities and differences between the two settings and how Ronny faced the challenges around him. I loved the characters around Ronny and how they interacted.
The addition of a play list and reading list were an excellent idea and having read ‘The Crossing’ could see how readers might want to expand their reading further with these excellent suggestions.
I love this story and hope that those who read it with the National Teen Book Club enjoy the experience along with hearing from the author.

I thought this was brilliant. Hard hitting, thoughtful and with poignant messages throughout.

Aa a slight nerdy aside I loved how it was set locally to me.