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King of Nothing

The hilarious and heartwarming Waterstones and Carnegie prize-winning teen comedy from Sunday Times bestseller!

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King of Nothing

By: Nathanael Lessore
Narrated by: Michael Ajao
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From the Yoto Carnegie Medal shortlisted author of Steady For This comes a hilarious and heartwarming new teen comedy!

ANTON AND HIS FRIENDS ARE THE KINGS OF YEAR 9.

They're used to ruling the school and Anton wears the crown. The other kids run away when he's about but that's the way he wants it - he's got a reputation to live up to after all.

So when he gets into serious trouble at school, he doesn't really care, but his mum most definitely does. She decides it's time for Anton to make some new friends and join the Happy Campers, a local activity group. Anton would quite literally rather do anything else, especially when he finds out Matthew, the biggest loser in school, is also a member.

But after Matthew unexpectedly saves Anton's life, Anton figures maybe this kid is worth a shot. Teaching him some game is the least Anton can do to repay the debt.

As the boys strike up an unlikely friendship, Anton finds himself questioning everything he thought was important. Does he want ruling the school to be his crowning glory or should he set his sights on better things?

Perfect for teen listeners of Alex Wheatle, Jason Reynolds and Patrice Lawrence. Growing Up & Facts of Life Humorous Fiction Literature & Fiction Funny Witty Feel-Good Heartfelt
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Critic reviews

Rib-achingly funny, poignant, thoughtful and sly, Lessore's second novel confirms him as a uniquely talented writer.
King of Nothing confirms [Nathanael Lessore] as a major new name in writing for younger teenagers . . . It's testament to Lessore's lightness of touch and believable characters that despite delving into big topics such as toxic masculinity and grief, this is an immensely readable book that never feels too worthy.
This teen comedy really is very funny, while also being meaningful and heartwarming.
This compelling contemporary comedy explores themes of friendship and identity and offers relatable insights into peer pressure and personal growth. Highly recommended for KS3 and KS4.
This hilarious teen comedy with a male protagonist can rightly claim a laugh on every page.
This book is perfect for teens as it is both witty and real. It covers some tough dilemmas in a really engaging way.
Witty and wise, this is a triumph of a novel
Funny, thought provoking (given the activity of social media influencers like Andrew Tate) and, in Anton's grief when his nan dies, really moving.
All stars
Most relevant
As an 13 year old you have so much stress with friends and fake one's here's my story: so I had this friend I'll call her Sarah she was nice and kind and would come over to my house with one other not so close suspicious friend soon my stuff started ✨magically✨ disappearing I obvs thought it was my suspicious friend but she once went home cause she felt sick and I had to put cal pol in her bag for the way back and none of my stuff was there sarah went home usual time next day a necklace of mine went missing ✨magically✨ again 🙄 so by then i knew that it was her so I confronted her in the hallway we got into a huge fight and she slapped me I started crying as my nose was literally BLEEDING and she said I was faking for attention MY NOSE IS BLEEDING AND YOU JUST SLAPPED ME GIRLY a teacher came and I stopped hanging out with her an guess what none of my stuff for taken again home wonder why 🤔🤔🤔 anyways yea that's my story!!! Ps keep on making books there sooooo good!

it's so good for teens!

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As a 14year old girl it’s glad to hear that’s it’s not just girls that’s have tones of complicated drama and as a person who has had to deal with a lot of toxic friendships this was a very powerful and important story. It’s also very refreshing to hear it from a male point of view. Story’s like this often depict the main character as female and although those books do have an aspect of relatability it also plays a lot to gender stereotypes (eg: that woman have all the drama or that girls are emotional and go through more stuff than boys ) glad to see this book go against gender stereotypes and I still found it very relatable for a year 9 pupil choosing GCSE options and becoming a prefect and adding in the mix the relatability with the toxic relationships not just with friends but with family all and all an amazing story with amazing characters not only focusing on the main character Anton but it also show cases the powerful woman like Anton’s mom and grandma and don’t forget fernanda and reshell
I just love the whole book and would 100% recommend it to all ages but specifically for year 9 and down

Best book ever

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My kids loved it I’m a really faster than anyone else And now you love me, do you have more?

Story line

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Love it! Touching. Hilarious. Clever.
Never disappoints. Listening to it with my 14 year old. We both love it. We will have to listen again soon as we will miss the characters!

Favourite Audiobook Ever

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Loved it overall was amazing to follow however the reader was quite slow so had to speed it up to 1.5 speed.

The twists

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