Lucas, J: Turf

John Lucas was born in East London. Turf is based on John's own experiences of growing up in Hackney - he has been a victim of and witness to multiple acts of street violence. His debut novel TURF is out in August 2012. His ebook short TROUBLE is a reimagining of the London riots through the eyes of characters from TURF. You can follow him on Twitter on @wordoflucas

"Fifteen-year-old Jaylon is a member of the east London Blake Street Boyz gang. His every life choice is subject to its laws, right down to what chocolate bar he eats. To move up to the senior level, the Olders, he must stab someone from a rival gang. He's not keen, but it's not a choice "kill or die". Turf strongly resembles last year's Pigeon English but with a slightly older cast, and instead of a mystical pigeon, a tramp called Leo who dispenses crazy wisdom. It might just be all the pills and weed, but soon Jaylon is talking to people who might not be there, having visions and being lectured by the hologram of Jesus that hangs on his aunt's wall. The "turf" he fights over takes on a spiritual dimension. Lucas cleverly contrasts the banality of school life with the brutal code of the streets as Jaylon ricochets between them towards a nail-biting finale. An exhilarating, tragic tale and a terrific debut." -- Suzi Feay Financial Times "Lucas is good at capturing the claustrophobic world that Jay is ensnared in, where his possibilities and aspirations are crushed by byzantine street rules that even dictate what chocolate bar he buys. Jay makes for a lively, intelligent, wryly funny narrator. The fact he can see the hopelessness of his situation makes his tragic trajectory all the more poignant." -- Siobhan Murphy Metro "Published a year after the London riots, John Lucas's debut takes the estates of Hackney as its contentious turf. A fight to the death between two pit bulls introduces a dog-eat-dog underworld of violence, drugs and gangs. But despite its easily cliched setting, Lucas goes far beyond hoodie stereotypes in this sensitive and unusual teenage novel. As his 16th birthday approaches, narrator Jay is offered the chance to graduate to the Olders of the Blake Street Boyz. But when initiation means killing a classmate, Jay begins to question the rules. In an effort to reform him, Jay has been sent to live with his ardent Christian aunt; her flat is a