Wild East by Ashley Hickson-Lovence
Jul. 15th, 2024 12:55 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
Pen in one hand,
On my wrist,
A ticking clock
I’ve got to make this work,
Just need
A little luck …
When fourteen-year-old Ronny’s life is struck by tragedy, his mum decides it’s finally time they move from East London to East Anglia.
In his new city, as a Black teenager in a mostly white school, Ronny feels like a complete outsider and struggled to balance keeping his head down with his ambition of becoming a rapper.
But when a local poet comes into class, Ronny discovers and opportunity he never considered before. Rap is like spoken word, bars equal poetry - and maybe the combination of both could be the key to achieving his dreams?
14-year-old Ronny lives with his mum in a council flat in Hackney, London, but when he and his best friend Maz bump into the wrong lads on the bus, it ends with Maz dead. Keen to escape the violence, his mum trades in their council flat for a house in Norwich and Ronny finds himself in a new home and a new city where the majority of people are white.
Feeling like an outsider, Ronny keeps his head down and focuses on his rhymes, hoping that one day he will make it as a rapper. When his English teacher, Mr Bruce, suggests he join a poetry club to help him prepare for his GCSEs, Ronny is doubtful but finds himself enjoying the exercises set by the poet, Lucas, even though he does not feel confident enough to read them out to the class.
As the school year goes on, though, he finds his confidence growing - enough to make a friend in trouble maker Leigh and to attract the interest of Malachi who thinks that Ronny could be of use in his shadier business. Caught between two futures, Ronny must work out who he is and how he can accomplish his dreams.
Ashley Hickson-Lovence’s YA novel effectively uses its verse narrative to tell a compelling story of a boy who learns how to tap into his creativity to express himself. However I don’t think that the Malachi storyline had the intended impact and nor did Ronny’s friendship with the extroverted Leigh. That said, the use of language is great and Ronny’s guilt over Maz holds true. I’d definitely check out the author’s other work on the basis of this.
There seems to be something of a trend in YA fiction over the last few years for fiction to be told in a verse style. What is interesting about this book is that Hickson-Lovence taps into it by specifically referring to THE BLACK FLAMINGO by Dean Atta and THE CROSSING by Manjeet Mann (both of which are excellent) as books that Ronny enjoys reading, and I liked the way Hickson-Lovence pays tribute. The problem is that it does invite comparison and, for me, this novel doesn’t quite hit the same heights.
Starting with the good, I did totally believe in Ronny as a character. This is very much a coming of age story as he seeks to work out who he is through his creativity and, in doing so, learns to love English and I wondered if there was an element of autobiography here as Hickson-Lovence writes an acknowledgement section at the back hinting as much. I also enjoyed Ronny’s relationship with his mother and the guilt he feels for running away and leaving Maz to be stabbed. In fact, I would have liked to have seen a bit more of his friendship with Maz to have given that even more impact but also to have given more resonance to the friendship that later develops between Ronny and Leigh.
Hickson-Lovence’s use of language is great. The structure of the verse here is really well done and in terms of overall story arc, it’s a satisfying story that does hold the attention and has you rooting for Ronny to succeed.
Where it doesn’t hold true is in respect of the sub-plot that suggests Ronny being tempted into bad behaviour by getting involved with Malachi and much of that is because I didn’t believe in Malachi as a character. Hickson-Lovence did not sketch Malachi out well enough for me and as a result he didn’t convince me as a troubled boy in above his head and nor did the end of his plot line work. Nor did Ronny convince me when it came to being tempted to answer Malachi’s texts or meet him, purely because there is not enough interaction between them for me to believe in his actions. Also unconvincing was Ronny’s friendship with Leigh and again that’s because I didn’t believe in Leigh as a character. HIs extrovert personality and the suggestions that he’s non-binary didn’t convince me and seemed a little by-the-numbers for me.
All this said, there is a lot here that I did enjoy and Hickson-Lovence’s love for education and language really comes through with this story that I think many teen readers will empathise with Ronny’s story. I will definitely be checking out the author’s other work on the strength of this and look forward to reading what he writes next.
The Verdict:
Ashley Hickson-Lovence’s YA novel effectively uses its verse narrative to tell a compelling story of a boy who learns how to tap into his creativity to express himself. However I don’t think that the Malachi storyline had the intended impact and nor did Ronny’s friendship with the extroverted Leigh. That said, the use of language is great and Ronny’s guilt over Maz holds true. I’d definitely check out the author’s other work on the basis of this.
WILD EAST was released in the United Kingdom on 23rd May 2024. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.
On my wrist,
A ticking clock
I’ve got to make this work,
Just need
A little luck …
When fourteen-year-old Ronny’s life is struck by tragedy, his mum decides it’s finally time they move from East London to East Anglia.
In his new city, as a Black teenager in a mostly white school, Ronny feels like a complete outsider and struggled to balance keeping his head down with his ambition of becoming a rapper.
But when a local poet comes into class, Ronny discovers and opportunity he never considered before. Rap is like spoken word, bars equal poetry - and maybe the combination of both could be the key to achieving his dreams?
14-year-old Ronny lives with his mum in a council flat in Hackney, London, but when he and his best friend Maz bump into the wrong lads on the bus, it ends with Maz dead. Keen to escape the violence, his mum trades in their council flat for a house in Norwich and Ronny finds himself in a new home and a new city where the majority of people are white.
Feeling like an outsider, Ronny keeps his head down and focuses on his rhymes, hoping that one day he will make it as a rapper. When his English teacher, Mr Bruce, suggests he join a poetry club to help him prepare for his GCSEs, Ronny is doubtful but finds himself enjoying the exercises set by the poet, Lucas, even though he does not feel confident enough to read them out to the class.
As the school year goes on, though, he finds his confidence growing - enough to make a friend in trouble maker Leigh and to attract the interest of Malachi who thinks that Ronny could be of use in his shadier business. Caught between two futures, Ronny must work out who he is and how he can accomplish his dreams.
Ashley Hickson-Lovence’s YA novel effectively uses its verse narrative to tell a compelling story of a boy who learns how to tap into his creativity to express himself. However I don’t think that the Malachi storyline had the intended impact and nor did Ronny’s friendship with the extroverted Leigh. That said, the use of language is great and Ronny’s guilt over Maz holds true. I’d definitely check out the author’s other work on the basis of this.
There seems to be something of a trend in YA fiction over the last few years for fiction to be told in a verse style. What is interesting about this book is that Hickson-Lovence taps into it by specifically referring to THE BLACK FLAMINGO by Dean Atta and THE CROSSING by Manjeet Mann (both of which are excellent) as books that Ronny enjoys reading, and I liked the way Hickson-Lovence pays tribute. The problem is that it does invite comparison and, for me, this novel doesn’t quite hit the same heights.
Starting with the good, I did totally believe in Ronny as a character. This is very much a coming of age story as he seeks to work out who he is through his creativity and, in doing so, learns to love English and I wondered if there was an element of autobiography here as Hickson-Lovence writes an acknowledgement section at the back hinting as much. I also enjoyed Ronny’s relationship with his mother and the guilt he feels for running away and leaving Maz to be stabbed. In fact, I would have liked to have seen a bit more of his friendship with Maz to have given that even more impact but also to have given more resonance to the friendship that later develops between Ronny and Leigh.
Hickson-Lovence’s use of language is great. The structure of the verse here is really well done and in terms of overall story arc, it’s a satisfying story that does hold the attention and has you rooting for Ronny to succeed.
Where it doesn’t hold true is in respect of the sub-plot that suggests Ronny being tempted into bad behaviour by getting involved with Malachi and much of that is because I didn’t believe in Malachi as a character. Hickson-Lovence did not sketch Malachi out well enough for me and as a result he didn’t convince me as a troubled boy in above his head and nor did the end of his plot line work. Nor did Ronny convince me when it came to being tempted to answer Malachi’s texts or meet him, purely because there is not enough interaction between them for me to believe in his actions. Also unconvincing was Ronny’s friendship with Leigh and again that’s because I didn’t believe in Leigh as a character. HIs extrovert personality and the suggestions that he’s non-binary didn’t convince me and seemed a little by-the-numbers for me.
All this said, there is a lot here that I did enjoy and Hickson-Lovence’s love for education and language really comes through with this story that I think many teen readers will empathise with Ronny’s story. I will definitely be checking out the author’s other work on the strength of this and look forward to reading what he writes next.
The Verdict:
Ashley Hickson-Lovence’s YA novel effectively uses its verse narrative to tell a compelling story of a boy who learns how to tap into his creativity to express himself. However I don’t think that the Malachi storyline had the intended impact and nor did Ronny’s friendship with the extroverted Leigh. That said, the use of language is great and Ronny’s guilt over Maz holds true. I’d definitely check out the author’s other work on the basis of this.
WILD EAST was released in the United Kingdom on 23rd May 2024. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.
