This book won’t burn
£9.99
After her dad abruptly abandons her family and her mum moves them a million miles from their Chicago home, Noor Khan is forced to start the final term of her senior year at a new school, away from everything and everyone she knows and loves. Reeling from being deserted and uprooted, Noor is certain the key to survival is to keep her head down and make it to graduation. But things aren’t so simple. At school, Noor discovers hundreds of books have been labeled ‘obscene’ or ‘pornographic’ and are being removed from the library in accordance with a new school board policy. Even worse, virtually all the banned books are by queer and BIPOC authors. Noor can’t sit back and do nothing, because that goes against everything she believes in, but challenging the status quo just might put a target on her back. Can she effect change by speaking up?
‘Blazes with searing honesty and unflinching emotional truth’ Becky Albertalli, award-winning author of SIMON VS. THE HOMO SAPIENS AGENDA
From the New York Times bestselling author of Internment comes a timely and gripping social-suspense novel about book banning, activism, and standing up for what you believe in.
‘Reading is dangerous because it shows us the truth. Words give us power; that’s why some adults want to silence us’
Noor Khan is the new girl at school. Moving to the tiny town of Bayberry with her mother and sister after their family life is upended, she’s determined to keep her head down and make it through her final year, unnoticed.
While hiding out in her school library, Noor notices that hundreds of books are being removed from the shelves and boxed up: a new school policy banning books that parents object to. Worse, almost all the books being targeted are by queer and BIPOC authors.
Outraged, Noor and her new friends decide to read some of the banned books out loud to their classmates, to protest this new policy at school. But in Bayberry, trouble is never far behind.
Can Noor effect change by speaking up, while navigating the politics of small-town life? And can she trust the son of the school board president, who she finds herself falling for?
‘Rings with truth and hope’ Joanna Ho, bestselling author of THE SILENCE THAT BINDS US
Pre-order
