Before the Fire

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More About This Title Before the Fire

English

It's June 2011. Best friends Stick and Mac can't wait to turn 18 and escape their north Manchester estate. They've spent months planning a road trip to Spain, but the night before they're due to leave, Mac ends up in the wrong place at the wrong time, and now Stick must face an uncertain future alone. Resisting his family's well-meaning attempts to help, he focuses on seeking justice for his friend and then meets a girl he can't stop thinking about. When riots break out across the country, Stick is still burning with rage and grief—and searching for a way to express them.

English

Sarah Butler is the author of Ten Things I've Learnt About Love, which was pre-empted by Penguin USA in a six-figure deal and translated into 14 languages.

English

"Butler’s novel is a slow burn of a book. Her ear for teenage dialogue, neuroses, tiny details about mannerisms, dress, opinions, are well-researched and feel authentic. . . .  The book revels in the diversity and mystery of young people. . . . Butler’s prose is microscopic, delicate and honest." —Independent"Butler is brilliant at capturing Stick's inner teenage turmoil, his anger, his feelings of futility, the terrible depths of his grief and his easy contempt for adults who clumsily try to help." —Daily Mail
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