Troublemakers

Shortlisted for the Waterstones Children's Book Prize 2018

Described by the Guardian as 'A thought-provoking, richly layered YA novel about politics, love, grief and coming of age' Troublemakers brings together contemporary social issues with a moving story of growing up and learning how to navigate family loyalty and personal belief.

In three years I will be able to vote and I will still have less power than I did at the moment that I saw that email, which was such a tiny thing but look what happened.

Fifteen-year-old Alena never really knew her political activist mother, who died when she was a baby. She has grown up with her older half-brother Danny and his boyfriend Nick in the east end of London.

Now the area is threatened by a bomber who has been leaving explosive devices in supermarkets. It is only a matter of time before a bomb goes off.

Against this increasingly fearful backdrop, Alena seeks to discover more about her past, while Danny takes a job working for a controversial politician.

As her family life implodes, and the threat to Londoners mounts, Alena starts getting into trouble. Then she does something truly rebellious.

A searing, heartbreaking coming-of-age tale for fans of Lisa Williamson, Jenny Downham and Sarah Crossan.

British author Catherine Barter's career as a writer began when she won the 2014 Bath Novel Award. When not writing, she is the co-manager of the radical London bookshop Housmans. Troublemakers is her first novel.