Age 11+

This slim, wry, slangy first novel, written when the author was between 17 and 19, has sold 70,000 copies in France, and been translated into 20 different languages. It tells the story of 15-year-old Doria, who lives, as does the author (whose parents are Algerian), in the public-housing projects on the outskirts of Paris; a writing workshop on her estate led to a publishing contract, and the novel draws on Guène’s experience without being autobiographical. Doria’s father has gone back to Morocco and a second wife and child, while her mother, who doesn’t speak French, works as a cleaner. The best that Doria’s education can offer is a hairdressing course and a French culture of popular television and celebrity gossip. Illuminating the prejudice of the police, the smugness of social workers, the humiliations of charity, the narrow- mindedness of two societies and (as any teenager might) the obtuseness of adults, the mocking but surprisingly un-angry Doria makes some unexpected observations: the drug- dealer who loiters on the stairs, for instance, quotes Rimbaud and espouses traditional family values.

(Red Fox Definitions £5.99)

Explore Books

• Book Extracts

• Book Reviews

• Books Group

• Audio Books

Times Recommends

• Jane Bussman's Top 10 journalism tips
• Why do Pynchon, Ballard and Wallace provoke such online loyalty?
• The Sunday Times 100 best holiday reads