The Humiliations of Welton Blake

Hilarity follows disaster in this sharp-witted tale of the trials of pre-teen life, from award-winning and critically acclaimed Crongton author Alex Wheatle.

Welton Blake has done it! He’s asked out Carmella McKenzie – the best-looking girl in school – and she’s only gone and said yes!

But just as he thinks his luck is starting to change, Welton’s phone breaks, kick-starting a series of unfortunate and humiliating events. With bullies to avoid, girls ready to knock him out and all the drama with his mum and dad, life for Welton is about to go very, very wrong …

Hilarity follows disaster in this sharp-witted tale of the trials of teen life from award-winning author Alex Wheatle.

Reviews

“Laugh out loud funny with perfect comic timing … Great for readers who might have loved Liz Pichon’s Tom Gates, and hopefully a gateway to Alex Wheatle’s brilliant Crongton series" – BookTrust

"Wheatle’s characteristic lively language, impassioned Star Wars references and colourful invented insults make for a brief but riotously relatable slapstick romp, ideal for reluctant readers" – Guardian

"A hilarious, charming story … Peppered with Star Wars references and laugh out loud, cringeworthy moments that every awkward teen will relate to” – Scottish Book Trust

“As thought provoking as it is hilarious” – Books for Keeps

“A sharp-beat of a voice that is as fresh and as hip as is it awash with pop-cultural charm … not only riffs with a cultural and lexical discourse of today’s youth but it also speaks for an audience who will have long been crying out for more voices like theirs for a very long time" – Mat Tobin

About the author

Alex Wheatle is a best-selling and multi-award-winning author. Liccle Bit, Alex’s first YA novel and the first story of the now beloved Crongton series, was published in 2015 to critical acclaim. Crongton Knights and Straight Outta Crongton quickly followed, and Alex became renowned for his ingenious use of language and his honest portrayal of inner city, teenage life. In 2008, Alex received an MBE for his services to literature and was shortlisted in 2020 for the NSK Neustadt Prize for Children’s Literature. Most recently, Alex received the 2021 Young Quills Award for Cane Warriors.