The Upper World
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
*SHORTLISTED FOR THE WATERSTONES CHILDREN'S BOOK PRIZE 2022*
'A superbly original debut' - Guardian
'A time-twisting, mind-bending thrill ride . . . I loved it!' - Holly Jackson, author of A Good Girl's Guide to Murder
'Impossible to put down' - The Independent
ONE GLIMPSE OF A TERRIFYING FUTURE.
ONE CHANCE TO CHANGE EVERYTHING.
After suffering a knock to the head, 15-year-old Esso experiences a chilling vision: that night he will witness the violent deaths of everyone he knows. He writes off the out-of-body experience as a strange dream - until a series of frightening coincidences prove that the vision is just hours away from coming true.
There is only one person who can help him rewrite the future.
The trouble is, she hasn't been born yet . . .
SOON TO BE A MAJOR MOVIE STARRING ACADEMY AWARD WINNER DANIEL KALUUYA
'A rollercoaster of a story . . . Orangeboy with an Inception-style twist.' - Kat Ellis
'Ambitious and highly addictive' - The Bookseller
'This is a book I will return to time and time again' - Caleb Femi
'So happy this exists' - Daniel Kaluuya, Academy Award-winning actor
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
With The Upper World becoming a high-profile TV adaptation (starring Oscar-winner Daniel Kaluuya) physicist-turned-author Femi Fadugba has “executive producer” to add his illustrious CV. He’ll have to go some to top his writing, though. Set within the culturally rich surroundings and distinct language of south London, Fadugba’s debut novel centres on Esso—a young man who gains the ability to see glimpses of the past and the future. His tough upbringing and unique associations draw Esso nearer to a repeated vision of a solitary bullet moving towards him in an alley. Fifteen years later, we meet foster child Rhia, searching for answers, but also treading a similar path fraught with danger. Soon their paths will collide in the wonders of the Upper World. Through these dual perspectives, Fadugba interrogates the pitfalls, prophesies and stark realities of London’s underclass, in a gripping ride of physics and fantasy.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Esso Adenon, 16, is just trying to survive high school in South London, stay out of the Peckham and Brixton gang war, keep his Bénin-born mother stress-free, and find the courage to confess his feelings to his crush, Nadia. But life becomes more complicated when he's involved in a car accident and time subsequently stops, allowing him to see what Socrates called the Upper World—a place where moments of the past and future collide. When Esso makes it back to the present, the scenes he witnessed begin occurring, and he works desperately to prevent one involving Nadia. Fifteen years in the future, Rhia Black is a high school footie player living in foster care who dreams of playing pro. But on the first day of her lesson with physics tutor Dr. Esso Adenon, Rhia, who is also Black, comes across a photo that connects him to her deceased mother. Exploring themes including fate, gang violence, and the ethics of time travel, debut author Fadugba uses physics theories to create an absorbing dual narrative with engaging voices. Ages 13–up.
