Promotional Information

fantastic new novel from this acclaimed writerboys being excluded from school along with rap band rivalries ensures a highly topical read,over 50,000 copies sold of Face; over 30,000 of Refugee Boy within one year of publication

About the Author

Benjamin Zephaniah is probably one of the most high-profile international authors writing today, with an enormous breadth of appeal, equally popular with both adults and children. Most well-known for his performance poetry with a political edge for adults and ground-breaking performance poetry for children, Benjamin also has his own rap/reggae band, and has appeared on desert Island Discs. He is in constant demand internationally to perform his work: he is (he thinks) Nelson Mandela's favourite poet, and is the only Rastafarian poet to be short-listed for the Chairs of Poetry for both Oxford and Cambridge University. His previous novels for Bloomsbury are 'Face' and 'Refugee' Boy'. He has also edited an anthology of poems 'The Bloomsbury Book of Love Poems' . Benjamin lives in East Ham, London.

Reviews

"The authority with which the story is written leaves the reader no choice but to be drawn in - and indeed educated - into the world of gangsta rap, with all the appropriate vocabulary. Not for a long time have I read a book with such a 'pick me up again' factor" Independent on Sunday

Zephaniah (Refugee Boy) paints a vivid picture of the hip-hop music scene and related gang warfare in London, but his message to readers is mixed. While attending an alternative school, three reputed trouble makers ("known for their confrontational behaviour") are given the opportunity to develop their music skills and voice their anger against their school system, their parents and other authority figures. Marga Man, the owner of a local music store, helps 15-year-old Ray and his buddies Tyrone and Prem form a band called the Positive Negatives; they release a hit single and the group is soon on the way to international stardom. The price of their success is high, however. Fans of a rival rap band grow vicious. Live concerts performed by the Positive Negatives become breeding grounds for fights, and the band members receive mysterious, recurring threats. On the one hand, the author clearly communicates the boys' commitment to their music and the ill effects of unleashed violence; on the other hand, his account of the three expelled students becoming overnight stars stretches credibility, and the expression of their anger seems to be the only purpose and goal for their music. Although the book features ultra-hip dialogue, romance and action, unfortunately, readers don't get a sense of the boys' characters or their relationships (to one another or to family members and other friends), and will likely remember the violence more than the author's message. Ages 14-up. (Aug.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.