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No Way to Go
A dark, compelling novel about one girl's determination for the truth, addressing gangs, young deaths, and crime with sensitivity and realism
Amber is shocked when her brother falls to his death from a tower block. She's convinced it wasn't an accident, and so begins her journey to discover the truth and bring some kind of justice for Connor. Twists, turns, and a fabulous multi-layered plot create a thrilling and engrossing tale. Set in south east London, this gritty and absorbing novel will appeal to both boys and girls.
Amber is shocked when her brother falls to his death from a tower block. She's convinced it wasn't an accident, and so begins her journey to discover the truth and bring some kind of justice for Connor. Twists, turns, and a fabulous multi-layered plot create a thrilling and engrossing tale. Set in south east London, this gritty and absorbing novel will appeal to both boys and girls.
288 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2009
22 people want to read
About the author
Bernard Ashley
110 books13 followersBernard Ashley lives in Charlton, south east London, only a street or so from where he was born. He was educated at the Roan School, Blackheath and Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School, Rochester. After National Service in the RAF Bernard trained to teach at Trent Park College of Education, specializing in Drama. He followed this with an Advanced Diploma at the Cambridge Institute and has been awarded honorary Doctorates in Education by the University of Greenwich and in letters by the University of Leicester. During his career as a teacher he worked in Kent, Hertfordshire, Newham and Greenwich, with thirty years of headships in the last three.
He is now writing full time. His first novel, The Trouble with Donovan Croft (recently re-issued by OUP), was published in 1974 and won the 'Other' Award, an alternative to the Carnegie Medal (for which he has been shortlisted three times). Nineteen further novels have followed, gaining him a reputation as a 'gritty' writer in sympathy with the under dog. In Margaret Meek's view he gets inside children's heads, who say that this is what it's like for them.
Of Tiger Without Teeth Philip Pullman wrote in The Guardian:
'A commonplace setting, an everyday situation, ordinary characters. Bernard Ashley's great gift is to turn what seems to be low-key realism into something much stronger and more resonant. It has something to do with empathy, compassion, an undimmed thirst for decency and justice. In a way, Ashley is doing what ‘Play for Today’ used to do when TV was a medium that connected honestly with its own time, and what so few artists do now: using realism in the service of moral concern.'
Johnnie's Blitz (Barn Owl), drew on his wartime experiences as a child in and around London; while Little Soldier (Orchard) sums up his writing: a pacy plot with an emotional turning point, a theme that concerns him, and characters that grip as real people. It was shortlisted for the 'Guardian' young fiction prize and for the Carnegie Medal. His latest novel is Flashpoint - a thriller, the third of the Ben Maddox stories.
Bernard’s picture books include Double the Love (Carol Thompson illustrating) from Orchard, Growing Good (Bloomsbury), Cleversticks, and A Present for Paul (Harper Collins). Tamarind published The Bush, illustrated by Lynne Willey. His popular stories for young readers include Dinner Ladies Don't Count (Puffin), Justin and the Demon Drop Kick, and I'm Trying to Tell You (both Happy Cat).
Television work has included Running Scared (from which he wrote the novel), The Country Boy (BBC) and his adaptation of his own Dodgem which won the Royal Television Society award as the best children's entertainment of its year.
Stage plays are The Old Woman Who Lived in A Cola Can (Edinburgh Festival and tour), The Secret of Theodore Brown (Unicorn Theatre for Children in the West End), and Little Soldier (published by Heinemann).
A strong family man, Bernard is married to Iris Ashley, a former London headteacher, and they have three sons. Their eldest, Chris, also a headteacher, co-wrote with Bernard the TV series Three Seven Eleven (Granada), and his latest "Wasim" books were published in 2007 by Frances Lincoln. David is a London headteacher and an expert on children's reading; and Jonathan is an actor, writer and director whose writing for theatre includes Stiffs; and who was writer and voice director in Los Angeles and London on Primal and Ghosthunter for Playstation 2.
Bernard and Iris have four grandchildren, Paul, Carl, Rosie and Luke.
He is now writing full time. His first novel, The Trouble with Donovan Croft (recently re-issued by OUP), was published in 1974 and won the 'Other' Award, an alternative to the Carnegie Medal (for which he has been shortlisted three times). Nineteen further novels have followed, gaining him a reputation as a 'gritty' writer in sympathy with the under dog. In Margaret Meek's view he gets inside children's heads, who say that this is what it's like for them.
Of Tiger Without Teeth Philip Pullman wrote in The Guardian:
'A commonplace setting, an everyday situation, ordinary characters. Bernard Ashley's great gift is to turn what seems to be low-key realism into something much stronger and more resonant. It has something to do with empathy, compassion, an undimmed thirst for decency and justice. In a way, Ashley is doing what ‘Play for Today’ used to do when TV was a medium that connected honestly with its own time, and what so few artists do now: using realism in the service of moral concern.'
Johnnie's Blitz (Barn Owl), drew on his wartime experiences as a child in and around London; while Little Soldier (Orchard) sums up his writing: a pacy plot with an emotional turning point, a theme that concerns him, and characters that grip as real people. It was shortlisted for the 'Guardian' young fiction prize and for the Carnegie Medal. His latest novel is Flashpoint - a thriller, the third of the Ben Maddox stories.
Bernard’s picture books include Double the Love (Carol Thompson illustrating) from Orchard, Growing Good (Bloomsbury), Cleversticks, and A Present for Paul (Harper Collins). Tamarind published The Bush, illustrated by Lynne Willey. His popular stories for young readers include Dinner Ladies Don't Count (Puffin), Justin and the Demon Drop Kick, and I'm Trying to Tell You (both Happy Cat).
Television work has included Running Scared (from which he wrote the novel), The Country Boy (BBC) and his adaptation of his own Dodgem which won the Royal Television Society award as the best children's entertainment of its year.
Stage plays are The Old Woman Who Lived in A Cola Can (Edinburgh Festival and tour), The Secret of Theodore Brown (Unicorn Theatre for Children in the West End), and Little Soldier (published by Heinemann).
A strong family man, Bernard is married to Iris Ashley, a former London headteacher, and they have three sons. Their eldest, Chris, also a headteacher, co-wrote with Bernard the TV series Three Seven Eleven (Granada), and his latest "Wasim" books were published in 2007 by Frances Lincoln. David is a London headteacher and an expert on children's reading; and Jonathan is an actor, writer and director whose writing for theatre includes Stiffs; and who was writer and voice director in Los Angeles and London on Primal and Ghosthunter for Playstation 2.
Bernard and Iris have four grandchildren, Paul, Carl, Rosie and Luke.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
May 4, 2012
The first few chapters had me in goosebumps!
It is a thriller mystery and a fun read that is set in Londen.
A little boy Connor can climb any mountain with his eyes close so what happens when his sister gets the report he "fell off a building". Why did he wear 2 different colors in his shoe laces can her 10 year old baby brother have been involved in a gang?
I liked it a little bit * * * (3 stars)
Some of the chapters were dull and contained paragraphs I just wanted to scan. It was nerve cutting though and had me on a mission to finish the book so i could know what the mystery was.
Themes :
Deals with alcoholism, gangs , parents that don't care, brother and sister bond , parents locked up in prison.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 11, 2015
Some bits were interesting and compelling but others seemed a bit pointless. There were too many points of view and some that didn't really add to the plot and seemed like filler. I liked Amber and Sunil though.
December 13, 2012
Still reading... No comment really.
December 31, 2012
This book was quite good. It was a bit confusing at times with all of he gang talk but i did it enjoy it and really wanted to find out what happened. I would recommend it.
July 28, 2013
It was a great read, keeping you hooked along the way. Some of it was lacking in detail and some of it was predictable but I loved it!!!! It definitely deserves 5 stars!
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews