Cut Short
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Why we’re failing our youth – and how to fix it
'Lays down a transformative path to peace' David Lammy MP
'A devastating and beautifully-drawn tribute to the young boys that the media turns into statistics of knife crime' Candice Carty-Williams
'I came away from this book enraged, enlightened and with a sense of urgency to do something' Annie Mac
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Demetri wants to study criminology at university to understand why people around him carry knives.
Jhemar is determined to advocate for his community following the murder of a loved one.
Carl's exclusion leaves him vulnerable to the sinister school-to-prison pipeline, but he is resolute to defy expectations.
Tony, the tireless manager of a community centre, is fighting not only for the lives of local young people, but to keep the centre's doors open.
Drawing on the latest research and interviews with experts, this refreshingly nuanced and beautifully written book interweaves the stories of a cast of characters at the sharp end of Britain's serious youth violence epidemic, with chapters on subjects such as social media, gentrification and criminal justice.
Showing how we are all connected to this tragedy, Cut Short is a gripping, urgent, sympathetic and often painful portrait of a society fracturing along lines of race, class and postcode. It is a blueprint for positive change, and a book we desperately need.
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'Compelling' The Sunday Times; 'Assured' Observer; 'Brilliantly written' Nikesh Shukla
'Makes you stop and think' Nick Robinson, BBC R4's Today programme
'This book strongly gives a voice to the voiceless . . . essential reading' Kenny Allstar
'Angry, impassioned, informed, accurate - the story behind the cutting short of public health and young lives' Danny Dorling
'Ciaran's work is informed by lived experience at the frontline of social change. It takes a sensitive and respectful look at the truths less often told' George the Poet
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Imprint: Penguin
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Published: 24/06/2021
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ISBN: 9780241988718
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Length: 368 Pages
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RRP: £16.99
Reviews
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Honest, authentic and raw, this book confronts our deepest assumptions about violence, and lays down a transformative path to peace
David Lammy MP, author of Tribes
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A devastating and beautifully drawn tribute to the young boys that the media turns into statistics of knife crime. In telling their stories, Ciaran Thapar brings to the page their dreams, their imaginations and their hearts
Candice Carty-Williams, author of Queenie
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A very inspiring and important piece of work and I'd encourage people to buy it, to read it and to act on it
Ed Miliband
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An incredibly important look at the plight of Britain's youth, delivered with clarity, honesty and an open heart
Nikesh Shukla, editor of The Good Immigrant
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Ciaran's work is informed by lived experience at the frontline of social change. It takes a sensitive and respectful look at the truths less often told
George the Poet
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Pays poignant tribute to the victims of youth violence who so often become statistics . . . A compelling read that covers a difficult subject with nuance and authority . . . more urgent than ever
Shanti Das, The Sunday Times
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Makes you stop and think
Nick Robinson, BBC R4’s Today programme
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Cut Short is an assured debut that leaves you in no doubt of Thapar's talents as a writer. His depictions of the characters he gets to know during his years as a youth worker are full of respect, even love . . . These character studies are complemented by an analytical rigour that means Thapar's powerful narrative kicks against the state - against the austerity and demonisation that keep so many young black men trapped in cycles of poverty and marginalisation while a discourse of knife crime draws attention away from its root causes
Ashish Ghadiali, Observer
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A powerful account of teenage lives blighted by violence
Robert Wright, Financial Times
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Angry, impassioned, informed, accurate - the story behind the cutting short of public health and young lives
Danny Dorling, author of Inequality and the 1%
