When Our Worlds Collided

WINNER OF THE YA BOOK PRIZE AND THE JHALAK CHILDREN'S AND YA PRIZE 2023. A powerful coming-of-age story about chance encounters, injustice and how the choices that we make can completely change our future. The second YA novel from multi-award-winning Danielle Jawando, perfect for fans of Angie Thomas, Gayle Foreman, Jennifer Niven and Nikesh Shukla. ‘Jawando’s writing is incredibly raw and real; I felt completely immersed’ Alice Oseman When fourteen-year-old Shaq is stabbed outside of a busy shopping centre in Manchester, three teenagers from very different walks of life are unexpectedly brought together. What follows flips their worlds upside down and makes Chantelle, Jackson, and Marc question the deep-rooted prejudice and racism that exists within the police, the media, and the rest of society. Praise for When Our Worlds Collided: 'A raw, unflinching and powerful story that will stay with me for a long time’ Manjeet Mann, author of The Crossing   ‘A beautiful ode to found family, and a compassionate look at the power of connection borne from the ashes of tragedy and apathy’ Christina Hammonds Reed, author of The Black Kids   ‘Hard-hitting yet still hopeful, this is an emotional powerhouse of a book’ Alexandra Sheppard, author of Oh My Gods Praise for And the Stars Were Burning Brightly: 'An outstanding and compassionate debut' Patrice Lawrence, author of Orangeboy ‘An utter page turner from a storming new talent. Passionate, committed and shines a ray of light into the darkest places - the YA novel of 2020!’ Melvin Burgess, author of Junk 'One of the brightest up and coming stars of the YA world' Alex Wheatle, author of Crongton Knights

Danielle Jawando is an author and screenwriter. Her debut YA novel, And the Stars Were Burning Brightly, won best senior novel in the Great Reads Award, and was shortlisted for the Waterstones Children's Book Prize, the YA Book Prize, the Jhalak Children's & YA Prize, the Branford Boase Award, and was longlisted for the CILIP Carnegie Medal, the UKLA Book Awards and the Amazing Book Awards. Her previous publications include the non-fiction children's book Maya Angelou (Little Guides to Great Lives), the short stories Paradise 703 (longlisted for the Finishing Line Press Award) and The Deerstalker (selected as one of six finalists for the We Need Diverse Books short story competition), as well as several short plays performed in Manchester and London. Danielle has also worked on Coronation Street as a storyline writer. Her second novel, When Our Worlds Collided, won the 2023 Jhalak Children's and YA Prize and the 2023 YA Book Prize.