Anger is Only a Shadow : From the Carnegie-winning author of THE POET X by Elizabeth Acevedo

How am I spun from such good people?When did I unravel?The stunning new novel from the Carnegie Medal winning, Waterstones Book Prize shortlisted author of THE POET X, full of poetry, heart and humourSeventeen-year-old Lil is anything but small. She's rebellious, she's loyal; she's figuring out what kind of good person she wants to be, or if she wants to be a good person at all. But more than anything? Lil wants to be free.

Because Lil is on probation, and she's trying really hard to be New Lil - follow the rules, keep her head down, take a breath and smile till her court hearing in three weeks' time. But Old Lil keeps rearing her head - the one that wants to go, run, find a way to open the pot lid to let the angry steam out.

And when Aldwin's silences turn to something more alarming - to talk of nightmares, of hearing voices - Lil knows that she is the only one who can help him. But he's hundreds of miles away and a stark truth is staring Lil directly in the face: how can she get to him without putting her future freedom on the line?Does doing the right thing mean losing everything?

Author: Elizabeth Acevedo

General fiction (Children's / Teenage)

Published on 15 September 2026 by Hot Key Books in the United Kingdom.

Paperback / softback | 336 pages
198 x 129