Stitched

Waterstones Children’s Laureate Patrice Lawrence masterfully captures one girl’s fight for justice in a system stacked against her.

When thirteen-year-old Kandi struggles to fit in at her new school, she finds friendship instead with Gordon, a lonely seventeen-year-old who hangs around the local skate park. When a fight turns fatal and Gordon is arrested, Kandi knows what she witnessed could help him – but speaking up leads to consequences she never imagined.

Can one girl’s courage untangle a justice system that was never designed to protect young people like them?

A gripping exploration of the controversial joint enterprise doctrine and a justice system that often fails the young people caught within it .

About the author

Patrice Lawrence is the current Waterstones Children’s Laureate, appointed for the 2026–2028 tenure. Her debut YA novel, Orangeboy, won the YA Book Prize and the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize for Older Readers, and was shortlisted for the Costa Children’s Book Award. Her other novels include Indigo Donut, the Jhalak Prize winner Eight Pieces of Silva and the Carnegie Medal shortlisted Needle, which also won the Little Rebels Award. In 2021, Patrice was awarded an MBE for Services to Literature.