Cover designed & illustrated by Pip Johnson
AWAY WITH WORDS
Little Tiger Press, 11 May 2023
Set in a world where words appear physically when people speak, AWAY WITH WORDS explores the importance of communication and being there for those we love.
Gala and her dad, Jordi, have just moved from home in Catalonia to a town in Scotland, to live with Jordi's boyfriend Ryan. Gala doesn't speak much English, and feels lost, lonely and unable to be her usual funny self. Until she befriends Natalie, a girl with selective mutism. The two girls find their own ways to communicate, which includes collecting other people's discarded words. They use the words to write anonymous supportive poems for their classmates, but then someone begins leaving nasty messages using the same method - and the girls are blamed. Gala has finally started adapting to her new life in Scotland and is determined to find the culprit. Can she and Natalie show the school who they really are?
Runner-up - Diverse Book Awards 2024
Shortlisted - Yoto Carnegie Medal for Writing 2024
Shortlisted - UKLA Book Awards 2024
Shortlisted - Polari Children’s & YA Prize 2024
Shortlisted - Spark! School Book Awards 2024
Shortlisted - Wessex Amazing Book Award 2024
Shortlisted - Hampshire Book Award 2024
Shortlisted - Bookling Book Award 2024
Longlisted - Juniper Book Awards 2024
Longlisted - Red Book Award 2024
"A clever, inventive story with appealing characters which shows the power of words and the impact they can have for good or for ill" - The Scotsman
Available to buy from Waterstones, LoveReading4Kids, Daunt Books, Portobello Books, Topping & Company and many other bookstores
Audiobook (narrated by Stephanie Cannon) available on Audible, ListenBook, Apple Books and others