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*SHORTLISTED FOR THE WATERSTONES CHILDREN’S BOOK PRIZE 2022*

‘A superbly original debut’ – Guardian

‘A time-twisting, mind-bending thrill ride . . . I loved it!’ – Holly Jackson, author of A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder

‘Impossible to put down’ – The Independent

ONE GLIMPSE OF A TERRIFYING FUTURE.
ONE CHANCE TO CHANGE EVERYTHING.

After suffering a knock to the head, 15-year-old Esso experiences a chilling vision: that night he will witness the violent deaths of everyone he knows. He writes off the out-of-body experience as a strange dream – until a series of frightening coincidences prove that the vision is just hours away from coming true.

There is only one person who can help him rewrite the future.

The trouble is, she hasn’t been born yet . . .

SOON TO BE A MAJOR MOVIE STARRING ACADEMY AWARD WINNER DANIEL KALUUYA

‘A rollercoaster of a story . . . Orangeboy with an Inception-style twist.’ – Kat Ellis

‘Ambitious and highly addictive’ – The Bookseller

‘This is a book I will return to time and time again’ – Caleb Femi

‘So happy this exists’ – Daniel Kaluuya, Academy Award-winning actor

Publisher Review

To have a book that marries real London life, time travel and relativity in an illuminating and entertaining way is stuff I used to dream about. I had The Upper World in my hands until I finished it. So happy this exists. * Academy Award winner Daniel Kaluuya * For days after reading [The Upper World], I was left with what I can only describe as an electricity surging through my spirit. Fadugba is an impeccable weaver of universes and this is a book I will return to time and time again. * Caleb Femi * [An] ambitious and highly addictive sci-fi thriller . . . The theory of relativity and time-travel science may drive the incredibly tense and compelling plot, but it is Fadugba's skill in weaving this around complex characters and a very powerful human story that makes The Upper World so special. * Fiona Noble, The Bookseller * Wow! The Upper World is a time-twisting, mind-bending thrill ride. I raced through the pages trying to keep up with Esso and Rhia - if I could read at the speed of light, I would have! This south London epic will stay with you long after the final page. * Holly Jackson * A thrilling, electric book - so sharp and quick, so witty and wise it leaves you gasping. * Katherine Rundell * A rollercoaster of a story, like Patrice Lawrence's Orangeboy with an Inception-style twist. Exhilarating and exceptional! * Kat Ellis * The Upper World is an astoundingly impressive debut. Thought-provoking, thrilling, funny, and brilliant in every sense of the word. * Katherine Webber * Truly mind-bending, fiendishly clever, original and stylish - I was blown away by this novel. Philosophy meets physics meets Peckham . . . No doubt about it, The Upper World is destined to stand the test of time. * Amy McCulloch * The Upper World took everything I thought I knew about physics, time, space, and energy, and twisted it into a new, electrifying story that I couldn't put down! * Brittney Morris *