Review: Liccle Bit by Alex Wheatle

 

Publication Date: March 2015

Publisher: Atom Books

Source: Borrowed from library    [Goodreads]

Blurb: 

What's worse than hiding a secret? Liccle Bit's about to find out...

Venetia King is the hottest girl at school. Too bad Lemar is the second shortest guy in his year. Everyone calls him Liccle Bit, and his two best friends, McKay and Jonah, never tire of telling him he has no chance with girls. Things aren't much better at home. His mum is permanently hassled, his sister a frustrated single mum and his dad moved out years ago. Liccle Bit wishes he could do something - anything! - to make life better. A new phone would be a start...

As a new gang war breaks out on his estate, Lemar discovers that South Crongton's notorious gang leader has taken an interest in him. Before he knows what's happening, he's running errands. When he puts his own family in danger, Liccle Bit will be forced to question his choices. How can he possibly put things right?

I picked this book up on a whim, having heard nothing about it apart from that the CBBC was adapting it into a tv show. After my order arrived from my local library I dove in and was so pleasantly surprised to find that this was a phenomenally entertaining read. 

Set in "Crongton", an alias for Croydon I assume, the story follows Lemar (Liccle Bit to everyone else) as he navigates friendship, family problems, school, a crush and some seriously dangerous people. 

What I absolutely loved about this book was how genuinely "teenage" the teenage characters felt. A lot of the time you read a book written by an adult with teen characters and think "no teenager would say that / act like that / do that". Alex Wheatle has captured exactly the mannerisms and thought processes of teenagers, and teenage boys to be more exact, in this novel. From the friendship interactions, the talking about and to girls and the slight feeling of awkwardness everyone feels as a teenager - it was perfectly done.

The characters are so real in this book. From Liccle and his family, Jonah and McKay and the villain of the story Manjaro. The colloquial language used will feel relatable to teenagers and I really liked the scene where they buy a packet of biscuits from the shop to eat in the park with their mates because that is so reminiscent of my own teenage years - scarping whatever coins together to buy a packet of Maryland cookies to eat on the swings. There was never better days!

The story also deals with some heavy topics too - drugs, county lines, teen pregnancy etc., The county lines drug trafficking storyline was really well done. Manjaro is presented as this incredibly intimidating gang leader who has a gang war escalating with a neighboring estate with bodies piling up. When Liccle is recruited into running drugs for him, we definitely see a different side to this issue. Of course we the reader know drug running and drug dealing is a bad thing but as Liccle meets the rest of Manjaro's crew they explain how he has helped them have a roof over their heads, pay for college and you can see how Manjaro can apply a sense of logic or heroism to his wrong-doings. 

Overall the story is a gripping tale of teenage life, the good, the bad and the intense. I recommend this book to any teenager who is looking for something a little closer to reality and a bit grittier. This book also explains how easy it is for kids and teens to get swept up in gangs and drugs and the consequences of that in a non-preachy way. 

I will definitely be checking out the next book in the series from my local library and watching the tv show very soon.