Needle

Paperback

Waterstones Children's Laureate Patrice Lawrence delivers a powerful and heart-rending exploration of a teenager’s journey through grief, rage and getting caught in the criminal justice system.

Winner of the 2023 Little Rebels Award and shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal.

Charlene is a demon knitter. It’s the only thing she enjoys and the only thing she believes she’s really good at.

So when her foster mum’s son destroys her latest creation, Charlene loses it and stabs him in the hand with her knitting needle. It damages a nerve and she gets sucked into the criminal justice system for assault.

Charlene's not sorry and she’s never apologised to anyone in her life. But people keep telling her that if she says sorry, they’ll go easier on her. Can she bring herself to say it and not mean it when her freedom’s at stake?

Particularly suitable for children aged 13+ with a reading age of 8.

RRP: £7.99

Imprint

Barrington Stoke

ISBN

978-1-80090-101-8

Interest age

13+

Reading age

8

Accelerated Reader Level

4.1

Publication Date

05-05-2022

Format

Paperback

Pages

128 pages

Dimensions

130x198mm

Product Description

Waterstones Children's Laureate Patrice Lawrence delivers a powerful and heart-rending exploration of a teenager’s journey through grief, rage and getting caught in the criminal justice system.

Winner of the 2023 Little Rebels Award and shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal.

Charlene is a demon knitter. It’s the only thing she enjoys and the only thing she believes she’s really good at.

So when her foster mum’s son destroys her latest creation, Charlene loses it and stabs him in the hand with her knitting needle. It damages a nerve and she gets sucked into the criminal justice system for assault.

Charlene's not sorry and she’s never apologised to anyone in her life. But people keep telling her that if she says sorry, they’ll go easier on her. Can she bring herself to say it and not mean it when her freedom’s at stake?

Particularly suitable for children aged 13+ with a reading age of 8.

Author

Patrice Lawrence, Cover design by Andy Gellenberg

Patrice Lawrence is the current Waterstones Children's Laureate, appointed for the 2026–2028 tenure. Her debut YA novel,Orangeboy, won the YA Book Prize and the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize for Older Readers, and was shortlisted for the Costa Children’s Book Award. Her other novels includeIndigo Donut, the Jhalak Prize winnerEight Pieces of Silvaand the Carnegie Medal shortlistedNeedle. In 2021, Patrice was awarded an MBE for Services to Literature.

Imprint

Barrington Stoke

ISBN

978-1-80090-101-8

Reading age

8

Interest age

13+

Accelerated Reader Level

4.1

Publication Date

05-05-2022

Format

Paperback

Pages

128 pages

Dimensions

130x198mm

Product Description

Waterstones Children's Laureate Patrice Lawrence delivers a powerful and heart-rending exploration of a teenager’s journey through grief, rage and getting caught in the criminal justice system.

Winner of the 2023 Little Rebels Award and shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal.

Charlene is a demon knitter. It’s the only thing she enjoys and the only thing she believes she’s really good at.

So when her foster mum’s son destroys her latest creation, Charlene loses it and stabs him in the hand with her knitting needle. It damages a nerve and she gets sucked into the criminal justice system for assault.

Charlene's not sorry and she’s never apologised to anyone in her life. But people keep telling her that if she says sorry, they’ll go easier on her. Can she bring herself to say it and not mean it when her freedom’s at stake?

Particularly suitable for children aged 13+ with a reading age of 8.

Author

Patrice Lawrence, Cover design by Andy Gellenberg

Patrice Lawrence is the current Waterstones Children's Laureate, appointed for the 2026–2028 tenure. Her debut YA novel,Orangeboy, won the YA Book Prize and the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize for Older Readers, and was shortlisted for the Costa Children’s Book Award. Her other novels includeIndigo Donut, the Jhalak Prize winnerEight Pieces of Silvaand the Carnegie Medal shortlistedNeedle. In 2021, Patrice was awarded an MBE for Services to Literature.