Kick the Moon

The powerful second novel from Muhammad Khan, critically acclaimed author of I Am Thunder. Fifteen-year-old Ilyas is under pressure from everyone: GCSE's are looming and his teachers just won't let up, his dad wants him to join the family business, and his mates don't care about any of it. There's no space in Ilyas' life to just be a teenager. Serving detention one day, Ilyas finds a kindred spirit in Kelly Matthews, who is fed up with being pigeonholed as the good girl, and their friendship blows the social strata of high school wide open. But when Kelly catches the eye of one of the local bad boys, Imran, he decides to seduce her for a bet - and Ilyas is faced with losing the only person who understands him. Standing up to Imran puts Ilyas' family at risk, but it's time for him to be the superhero he draws in his comic books, and go kick the moon. Kick the Moon, is Muhammad Khan's explosive second novel, with original art from graphic novelist Amrit Birdi. "An impressive high-school drama that covers a lot of ground: bullying, gang culture, toxic masculinity, revenge porn, the power of representation in popular culture, parental pressure and the consequences of pretending to be someone you're not. Oh, and the joy of comics...A powerful novel that encapsulates the experiences of teenage boys with wit and heroism." -The Guardian "[Written] with humour and empathy." -Independent "[An] ambitious, wryly funny, optimistic-against-the-odds novel." -Times Literary Supplement "Khan's gift for authentic characters and believable dialogue makes his writing sing." -The Bookseller