Crongton Knights

South Crongton Quartet #2

by Alex Wheatle

Winner of the Guardian Children Fiction's Prize 2016Shortlisted for the YA Book Prize 2017Living on the South Crongton council estate has its worries - and life for McKay has been even tougher since his mum died. His dad has been working all hours to keep the bailiffs from their door. His brother is always out riding the streets at night, tempting trouble. And now, having strayed off his turf on a 'heroic' (if misguided) mission to help out a girl, McKay finds himself facing a friend's crazy ex-boyfriend, some power-tripping hood-rats and a notoriously violent gangster with a vendetta which hits too close to home.Poor McKay. He never asked for trouble . . . But during one madcap night of adventure and danger, he will find out who his true friends are and what it means to stick with your family. Crongton Knights is a very funny, very moving story that shows that although life is testing, the lessons learned the hard way are the ones you'll never forget.

Genres: Young Adult, Crime, Friendship, School, Fiction, Young Adult Contemporary, Contemporary

259 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 3, 2016

About the author

Alex Alphonso Wheatle was a British novelist, who was sentenced to a term of imprisonment after the 1981 Brixton riot in London.

Reviews

[Beth Bonini · Rating 4 out of 5]

14 year old McKay Medgar Tambo is the narrator of this friendship story - set in the 'badlands' of contemporary London. South Crongton is meant to be Brixton, I suspect; or at least Brixton-like. This is a world of gangs - with hood-rats who will jack your phone, and proper gangsters who carry weapons, nurse grudges and jealously guard their territory and reputations.

McKay is a sweet kid who absolutely loves his grub. He'd really like to be in the cooking club at school, learning how to perfect his cakes, but he's not quite secure enough for that. He's got two best friends, Jonah and 'Liccle Bit', and a wannabe 'Boy from the Hills' who wants to hang out with them. He also has an older brother called Nesta and a widowed father. McKay's mother has died in some accidental and violent way, and none of the men in the family have even begun to get over it yet. They are all still mourning in different ways, and both Nesta (because of his temper) and his father (because of his gambling problem) bring trouble to McKay's door.

The main action of the story involves McKay's gang of friends attempting to recover the phone of Venetia from an unsavoury older boyfriend. Of course everything goes wrong and they get in a world of trouble, but in the end, friendship prevails and McKay's family rally and come together in a positive way. The point of this story is the VOICE, which I loved. McKay and his friends talk in this Caribbean-inflected 'street' lingo, and I found the vocabulary and the rhythms of it hugely entertaining and appealing. Despite the often grim subject matter, I laughed at many points in the book - and McKay mostly keeps it light. His obsession with food is a constant focus, and a welcome counterpart to the uglier aspects of race, poverty and criminality touched on in the storyline.

I would have never read this book had it not been shortlisted for the 2017 YA Book Prize, but it was a delightful surprise.

[Robin Stevens · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic, poetic and engrossing, this was my first Alex Wheatle book and I loved it. McKay is a fantastic main character, and I loved living through his story! 12+

*Please note: this review is meant as a recommendation only. Please do not use it in any marketing material, online or in print, without asking permission from me first. Thank you!*

[Anni K. Mars · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,5
Es war wieder toll :D Spannend und interessant. Nur das Ende ging mir ein bisschen zu schnell. Schöner zweiter Teil :)

[Bookwormbev · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first Crongton tale, Liccle Bit, was narrated by the eponymous Lemar 'Liccle Bit' Jackson. Their second outing is told by his friend, McKay Tambo, who is a very different character. For anyone who has not yet read Liccle Bit, (and you really should) McKay starts with a brief prologue giving just enough information to allow the reader to understand the background to the events that follow. Using a different voice obviously offers a new perspective on South Crongton and we also get to know McKay and his family circumstances. His mum has died, and McKay, his brother Nesta and their dad muddle along, trying to cope in their own ways. Meanwhile, Bit asks McKay and their other friend Jonah to join him in retrieving something of importance for a girl, involving a trek across town. Things of course get out of hand and lessons are learned by all. McKay is a warm and funny person to lead us through the mine field of life on the South Crongton estate. I laughed (mostly) and cried (a bit). I'm hoping that this won't be the last visit to South Crongton.
Highly recommended.

[Danielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

very nice, a lot nicer than I expected. I thought the references to famous series were funny

[Debra · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've recently started work in the library at a local comprehensive school in mostly white, middle-class suburbia in the South East of England and was pleasantly surprised to discover this on our shelves. I didn't realise it was the middle book in a trilogy until I'd finished the book, delighted to say it stands on its own two feet, I didn't feel I'd missed anything by not reading the first book (however, I shall be checking we own all three, such was the power of this book). It moved me, it shook me and it made me laugh. Somehow, this book, written using street talk I am totally unfamiliar with, set in a fictitious inner city, full of gangs and a culture I am so far removed from, struck a chord deep inside me and that will stay with me for a long time. It proved to me, once again, that the power of words can reach out like a winding rope and wrap around you and reel you in and you don't want to escape, you want more, you want to ride alongside the characters, you want their safety, you want their bonds to include you and you want them to live. Read it.

[BAD · Rating 1 out of 5]

Some of the worst dialogue I've ever read in a book. Alex Wheatle seems so obsessed with writing his slang and making it 'realistic' he forgot that there usually needs to strike a balance between 'realistic' and readable dialogue. Not just that but almost every character sounds the same and it ruins so many dramatic scenes and tension. I did enjoy parts but whenever anyone opens their dumb mouths it just brought me out of it. It's also extraordinarily pervasive even in inner monologue. There's one part where he has a flashback about his mother, which could've been nice but he uses 'downloaded' into his brain to describe it. Yes this kid is a generation Y or whatever, I get it and again destroyed any emotional weight that flashback could've had.

What's frustrating is I started off enjoying the book, it could've been great if an editor said, 'please, just peel back the slang a bit.'

[Aurora Jonathan Goga · Rating 4 out of 5]

Engaging and probably a very important book for some. It was difficult to judge what age it would be appropriate for as it was very easy to read with mostly simple language, but it also had a lot of swearing and complicated and serious themes so I wouldn’t want to recommend it to anyone young enough for the overall language.
That said I loved the Classical narrative structure and the inclusion of recipes at the end. It also gave a lot of varied characterisation for a group that’s usually only stereotypically represented in literature, so it’s good that this book shows some diversity. It was an engaging read that was easy to devour and made me hungry many times.

[Juliet · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit slow at the start and took a while for me to get into but the end was definitely action-packed. Felt a bit odd as the characters and target audience seemed to be middle-grade, but had older language? Not sure for what age I'd recommend it.

[Michelle (Fluttering Butterflies) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really loved this.

[Boyan Cheng · Rating 4 out of 5]

interesting book very cool

[A Severs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Didn't know what to expect - read it in a day. Blown away by the quality of this - the grittiness balanced so well by humour.

[Andy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found the slang a little jarring at first. But got into it. I kind of liked the main character and thought he was the best bit.

I don't live on an estate and it makes you apprciate the struggles and worries of a young guy living in a tough area worried about getting shanked. (I am aware I used slang for this review...)

[Snoakes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Crongton Knights is about a group of teenagers going on a mission into an estate outside their ends to help a friend.

It's got a strong believable plot and well-defined characters. I've no idea if the speech and slang is how kids really speak, but I don't think that matters. Slang changes over time so it will date anyway, but friendships like these are universal and timeless - as is a good story. Most importantly it's about real people, people who live in council estates and tower blocks, single parent families, families affected by gang violence, genuinely good people (both kids and adults) who sometimes screw up, and some downright rotten ones. It's a world away from the posh kids at boarding school who inhabited all the books I grew up with, and thank heaven for that!

I read and really enjoyed the previous Crongton novel (Liccle Bit). However with this book, Alex Wheatle has really found his YA voice.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wanted an easy read to relax with before going to sleep. This wasn't it

It was bloody brilliant. I read it one sitting.
The dialogue and language the whole way through was clever and authentic without seeming excessive or patronising. The characters were real and three dimensional. And Christ I haven't been that stressed reading in ages, at certain points I could hear my heart pounding in my ears. Loved it.

[Chloe · Rating 2 out of 5]

for me, the modern language/roadmap slang felt very forced and i was often cringing throughout the book. i had to read this for school.

[Kaia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this for my English Contemporary British Lit class. It was good, although not my usual genre! Following the story of McKay as he and his friends go on a "mission" to help a friend and run into all sorts of trouble. My favorite part about this book was the language- Wheatle created his own slang and own geographical area of Crongton (which I believe is supposed to be in or near London) specifically for this book. Patrice Lawrence says, "Capturing young people’s language is impossible. Slang is wildly outdated before it hits the keyboard, let alone the page. Instead, Alex Wheatle captures the rhythm and movement of language through simile, humour and redefinitions of meaning" which I couldn't have said better. The creation of his own slang in this book makes it more inclusive to represent a wider audience that is not usually represented in literature like this. While the specific slang words were unfamiliar, the use and rhythm of the language felt familiar and was easy to understand once you got the hang of it. Would definitely recommend this book to high-school aged readers!

[Adrianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Alex Wheatle so I might be a bit biased in my review but he is an amazing and talented author. I first read one of his books, East of Acre Lane when I was a teenager and his writing and name stuck with me to this day. Anyway moving onto Crongton Knights, its a follow on to Liccle bit which I have also reviewed here. The story follows Mckay, one of Liccle Bits close friends and tells his story of his troublesome brother Nesta (my favourite character), his always working father and his love for cooking. This was a delight to read and was great to see how Liccle Bit, Venetia and the other characters are getting along since the whole Manjaro debacle. It was witty, funny and made me think of the days when I was at school and went on missions and got into trouble. If you're going to read this I'd say read Liccle Bit first so you get a feel for the writing style, lingo and characters but this is definitely a great book which is probably why it won the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize 2016.

[O · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic and really immersive.

I was inside's the protagonist's head, living among his thoughts.

At first it was a little jarring, but I started to connect what the lingo meant when aligned with context and repetition.

Hard drive- mind
Castle- house
Sex up- give food flavour
Fit- good looking
Bless Up- as in bless up my wallet, receive money

I really enjoyed this.

Good read.

[Andy Bird · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good. I liked this. It it’s not exceptional but it it is a good read. Very much a young adult book with a look into gang culture based at that reading level and therefore it’s not overly graphic or too depressing. It does look at a lot of the issues around the subject and does it well. I liked the characters and the story is not bad. Overall not a classic, but a book I would recommend, particularly to the target age.

[Ella Ranasinghe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love how descriptive everything in this book is, gripped me start to finish despite the protagonist being a 14 year old boy. Kept thinking how great this would be as a film, the plot would work so well. Loved the recipes detailed throughout and that they were listed at the end.
I just wish it didn’t end the way it did, felt unfinished, and the end felt slightly rushed.

edit - my baddd didn’t realise it was a series !! just bought all the other books

[Duncan Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gem of a book. My book of the year.

I am late to the party but loved this book. This book main storyline is about a mission undertaken by Mckay and his bretherens. Friendship, girls, love, gangs, families, arguments are all covered. The dialogue sings off the pages - one of the best ya books I have read for years.

I will definitely try and get the other two books in the series.

[Alice Visser · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was blown away by this book & the 14 yo first-person narrator McKay. I especially loved the clever, comical & insightful 'Crongton dialect' Wheatle invented (he explains this + more here: https://booktrust.org.uk/news-and-fea...). Gritty but funny KS4/5

[David Peat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another superb book

Second in the Crongton series and I was pleased to see the second boy’s story. Again, the strength is in the fabulous dialogue, the amazing setting and characters who you desperately want to survive, surrounded be flawed but incredibly loyal families and friends and superb villains snd situations. Outstanding

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Deserves all the praise and awards it's been getting and just as good as the first book in this series, Liccle Bit. My only (very minor) criticism is that I found the pace is a bit slow in the first half but once it picks up, it doesn't stop

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I simply couldn't get through this book. Not one page that sparked an interest, or made me excited for what would come next.

I can imagine the actual storyline to be good, seeing that the blurb sounded interesting, but it just isn't for me.

[Kim Howard · Rating 4 out of 5]

I struggled with the language of this book to begin with, but that is my problem and not the author's. A good read, but the ending did make me wonder if a sequel may be in the offing.

[Dr. Cheryl Diane Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second book in the Crongton Knights trilogy and shows more of a character development than Liccle Bit. McKay, the chubby sidekick, becomes the protagonist. We see his love of cooking, how he glues his little family together - a role usually associated with the mother, and how although sheltered by his other brother, he has a full and at times dangerous existence on his estate.

What I liked about this was that it continued, to an extent, with the character's lives from Liccle Bit, but through McKay's eyes. The pace isn't as fast as Liccle Bit, but we get to see how McKay ticks, his relationship with his father and brother and how he attempts to win over a love interest. The scrapes he and his friends get into, especially at the climax of the story, makes your heart ache for worry for him. By the end, you truly care for this character, largely because of the way his backstory is weaved throughout the texts in memories connected with his love of food. The language again, thoroughly enjoyable. Reminds me of the 'giff-giff' laughter of characters like Moses in the classic Lonely Londoners by Sam Selvon.

As soon as I finished this one, again, I reached for the next in the series. Very enjoyable and leaves you wanting more.

[Simran:):):):):):) · Rating 3 out of 5]

it got better and better from the start

[Laura Cutmore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good read, but i'm not sure it's very appropriate for younger children and there isn't necessarily a disclaimer on the book or online regarding that.