- Chapter Books
- Ages 13–18
- Thriller
Orangeboy
A tense, award-winning YA thriller about a teenager pulled into danger after a girl dies beside him on a fairground ride. It is gripping and valuable, but firmly older-teen rather than middle-grade, and it is not a graphic novel.
- Best for13–18
- FormatChapter
- Length448 pp
- Read aloud~13 hr25 min
The vibe
What it’s like.
Style
- Conversational
- Literary
Tone
- Dark
- Suspenseful
- Thought provoking
- Exciting
Themes
Experience meters
What’s it about?
The story.
Marlon wants to be the good son, the safe choice, the boy who stays away from trouble. But when a date at the fair ends with a girl dying beside him on a ghost train, his life begins to close in fast. He is scared, implicated, and suddenly surrounded by people who want something from him. As secrets from his brother's past and his family's present begin to surface, Marlon has to decide who he can trust and what kind of person he is willing to become. Patrice Lawrence writes a fast-moving YA thriller with real emotional and social bite, exploring family loyalty, criminal pressure, identity, and the danger of being judged before anyone really knows your story.
Fit check
Right for your child?
Where it lands by age
- 1
- 3
- 5
- 7
- 9
- 11
- 13
- Best fit · 13–18
- Read aloud · 13–18
- Independent · 13–18
Prose load
Heavy
Visual support
None
Reluctant-reader friendly
Workable
Read-aloud quality
Patchy
Preview before sharing if a child is sensitive to: death of character, violence, substance references, mental health, bullying, racism or discrimination.
Bedtime suitability
1 / 5 · Wide awake
Sensitive-child
1 / 5 · Tough fit
Graphic intensity
3 / 5 · Some
Best for
- Older ya thriller
- Award winner
- Urban realism
- High stakes
- Discussion heavy
Avoid if
- Younger children
- Sensitive to death
- Sensitive to drug references
- Bedtime reading
- Wants graphic novel
Particularly good for children who are…
- Anxiety and worry
- Being bullied
- Single parent family
- Low self esteem
In the classroom
How it works in school.
A gripping, award-winning YA thriller about a teen pulled into danger — a powerful discussion read for older teens about identity, family and choices.
A book children love that happens to support school — never a stand-in for the texts a class is taught with. Reviewed for the classroom · June 2026.
Why it lands
Why they love it.
Why kids love it
The specific weight is the date-gone-wrong — a girl dying beside Marlon on a fairground ghost-train, his life suddenly closing in with criminal pressure, family secrets surfacing, the question of who he's willing to become. The YA debut that hooks and holds.
- Surviving danger
- Proving yourself
- Making a difference
Why parents love it
The Patrice Lawrence YA debut — fast-moving thriller, criminal pressure, family loyalty under strain. Important UK YA, 14+. Best for older teens who can handle the weight; useful for any classroom interested in modern Black-British YA.
- Conversation starter
- Great writing
- Cultural representation
About the author
Patrice Lawrence.
If you liked this
Three ways out of this book.
If you liked this, try…
Lateral matches. Same shelf, different texture.
Come into this from…
Easier or preparing reads — perfect lead-ins.
Where to go next…
Escalation reads — a step up in scale, silliness, or stakes.
More like this…
Books that share themes and topics with this one.
Where you’ll find it
On these reading lists.
Buy or borrow
Pick up a copy.
- Bookshop.org ↗
- Waterstones ↗
- Amazon UK ↗
- Hive ↗
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