I have just finished Steady for This by Nathanael Lessore. It’s the story of 13 year old Shaun Thompson (aka MC Growls) who lives in London on large housing estate with his mum and older brother Adrian. Shaun has a best friend, Shanks, and they both love to rap and have big dreams of being big rap stars. Shanks has a more affluent, stable home life to Shaun but the 2 are firm friends. The young men decide to enter a rap competition and Shaun hopes that the winnings will help the issue of a possible eviction for him and his family. This goes wrong and then Shanks becomes unwell. Shaun becomes friends with Siobhan who is a positive influence on his low self esteem and confidence, unlike Tanisha.
This is clearly a YA book but, as a middle aged woman, I smiled and laughed out loud many times. That said, there are some deep themes in the book of social issues, poverty, peer pressure, self image, depression, disability and diversity.
Overall, a really good read.
This is clearly a YA book but, as a middle aged woman, I smiled and laughed out loud many times. That said, there are some deep themes in the book of social issues, poverty, peer pressure, self image, depression, disability and diversity.
Overall, a really good read.