Flavours of Hackney

Following the murder of his best friend, 12-year-old Gavin Campbell is sent away from Brixton by his mum to go and live with his uncle in Hackney, east London. But when Gavin starts his new school, and begins to attract female attention, some of the boys are not happy about the new kid from south London getting with Jamella Greenwood, the most attractive girl in year 7. It’s not long before Gavin lands himself in some hot water with Nelson ‘Nasher’ Ogbodo, a violent school bully in year 9 from the notorious London Fields estate, who begins a personal vendetta against him. The only way Gavin can fight back against Nasher’s abuse is with the help of two boys who live on Gavin’s estate- the confident Yemi Abimbola and the sensitive Kwesi Adjei. But can Gavin trust them? And even if he doesn’t, does he have any choice? Hackney isn’t like Brixton, in some ways it’s worse, and he’s going to need some new friends as he navigates these dangerous new ends… Flavours of Hackney is a funny and heart-warming story about friendship, dealing with trauma, growing up in London and finding your place as a young black boy.