Teen & Young Adult Book of the Year

Shortlist 2022

The Asparagus Bunch by Jessica Scott-Whyte

The Asparagus Bunch

By Jessica Scott-Whyte

A fresh and irreverent comedy starring a cast of neurodiverse characters – guaranteed to be one of the funniest novels you’ll read this year. Leon John Crothers is 4779 days old (thirteen years and one month, if you’re mathematically challenged). He has been ‘moved on’ from six different schools and most people think he has an attitude problem. Leon doesn’t care for the label, in the same way that he doesn’t care for Tim Burton, supermarket trolleys, train fanatics or Bounty bars. This time, however, things may turn out differently, as help comes from where he least expects it – Dr Snot, a physician at pains to help Leon navigate ‘normal’ and classmates, Tanya and Lawrence, who both face their own challenges. When school bully Glen Jenkins humiliates Leon in the school canteen and almost destroys Lawrence, Leon very reluctantly agrees to the formation of a club, The Asparagus Bunch. How Leon manages to navigate school woes and family drama – and astonishingly ends up with not one but two friends – is nothing short of a miracle, or maybe just simply down to being different.

About Jessica Scott-Whyte...

Originally from Dublin, Jessica studied History and French at University and worked as a lifestyle journalist before working in Comms for the Space Sector. She now lives in Paris with her husband and two young children in a neuro-diverse family. She spends her spare time writing, reading and trying to keep her toddler away from glitter, with little success. The Asparagus Bunch is her first book.

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