Jacaranda swoops for YA fantasy from Faturoti

Jacaranda Books has secured Finding Folkshore, a fantasy YA tackling immigration and police brutality, by Rachel Faturoti.

Former fiction editor and founder of Jacaranda’s YA list Cherise Lopes-Baker acquired world all language rights directly from the author. Finding Folkshore is scheduled for publication on 22nd September 2022.

The novel is set in a world where the Windrush generation immigrated to a fairy-tale part of London. Fola Oduwole is the young heroine who fights the rising gentrification of her world.

The synopsis reads: “Fola Oduwole is your average teen, with a head for numbers, an eye for the camera, but she is suffering heartbreak over her brother Deji’s cancer treatment. The last thing she needs is more on her plate. But when she’s transported through a book into Folkshore, a hidden part of London, she finds her plate runneth over. Trapped in this fairy-tale land, Fola uncovers the local Assembly’s deceptive ‘regeneration’ plans. Torn between escaping and joining the resistance, she must make a crucial choice. If she fails, the community she’s come to love could be destroyed forever.”

Lopes-Baker commented: “Narrated with acerbic wit and hilarious banter, Rachel has created an incredibly unique and magical world filled with characters that readers will be excited to recognise and love. We started the YA list to be a safe home and supportive platform for all diverse voices, especially Black British authors in our community who have been overlooked for far too long. As we continue to build this list, we are so proud to have Rachel Faturoti join us.”

Faturoti added: “Literacy is an area I’m passionate about as I believe that not enough children have access to books. My main writing goal is for young Black children and teens to see themselves in all of my books.”