Danny Rhodes
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Asboville

‘A-S-B-O. You think that makes you special. But it doesn’t. It means you were stupid enough to get caught, that’s all. I should have one. I should have the biggest ASBO there is. I want a poster with my face on.’

When sixteen year old JB is served with an
ASBO he is sent to live with his uncle in a tiny caravan by the sea. 

Each and every day he must paint one hut on the beach. It’s a chance for him to turn his life around, a chance to pay something back for all that happened in the city. 

As the summer days drag by JB’s feelings of frustration and isolation grow. Only his tentative relationship with Sal offers up any chance of rescue.
But a storm is coming that threatens to shatter his hopes and destroy the relationship that could
redeem him.

Reviews

'A tender take on modern youth. Rhodes dramatises their sense of exclusion with freshness and insight' - The Guardian

'Rhodes asks important questions about social justice, but also tells a compellingly human story. An impressive debut' - The New Statesman

'Subject and setting imply a Loach-like bleakness, but this finely crafted and often lyrical debut novel offers far more than hoodie-hugging sympathy or sink-estate despair. JB, with his great but baffled expectations, shakes hands across time with Dickens' Pip.'  -
The Independent 

'A powerful coming of age story with a difference' - First Post Review

'A striking debut novel that deals with a vital topical issue. A young offender is sent to paint beach huts in Kent, and encounters people and forces that promise both his salvation and ruin' - Waterstones

'An excellent debut novel. I was completely wrapped up in it. Definitely in my top 10 of the year.' - Scott Pack - The Bookseller

‘This is Rhodes’ first novel, and his relatively unmannered voice alongside his deft combination of social issues and teen angst suggests that there may be even better to come from him.’  - The London Paper

'Rhodes is writing about what he knows and isn't afraid to present it plain and unvarnished. You can't ask more from a first time novelist than that' - The Book Bag

‘A smashing little debut novel’ - Bookmunch

Rhodes provides our often misunderstood youth of today with a distinct and passionate voice. This is a fantastic debut, a definite two
day read that will have you scanning the shelves for his next novel’ - Aesthetica Magazine







Danny Rhodes - Writer

I can never go back on what I’ve written. If it was not good, it was true; if it was not artistic, it was sincere; if it was in bad taste, it was on the side of
life
 
- Henry Miller