Play nicely...

Playground is the debut novel from 24 year old Samuel Bonner and, although completely fictitious, is based on his own experiences growing up on a council estate in North London. He graduated from London Metropolitan University in 2008 with a degree in Film Studies and Creative Writing.

The story introduces us to Jonah, a 17 year old returning to London to visit his childhood friends. His mum had moved them away to Nottingham in order to get a fresh start, and keep him away from the bad influences of the London estate where he grew up.

Jonah comes back to visit for a week of the summer holidays. And things don't go to plan. His old school friends have changed. They are involved with drugs and violence, living a lifestyle that doesn't seem right to Jonah. But in amongst all this seedy underworld London, he also meets a nice girl. Could she be the catalyst that keeps him on the straight and narrow? Or will he just fall in with his old friends again.

Commenting on his reasons for writing Playground, Bonner says, "I knew Playground was going to be a dark tale and I loved the idea of using real issues as the horror at the core of the book. Ultimately, the story is about peer pressure, the dark powers of persuasion, and the lure of greed. I wanted to avoid making another disposable cliché about Boyz N' The Hood, and focus on making the characters believable and three-dimensional. Good writing teaches an author one thing - always tell the truth. So, the language became vulgar, the violence graphic, and the sexual deviancy is depraved and abject (sorry mum). I wanted to haunt the reader, to make something potent enough to grab the attention of the public."

It's always nice to get in at the start with a new author. So many times you hear about or discover an author by reading the latest book in a long running series.

And this is a good debut novel. It's always hard to step away from clichés like "gritty" when looking at a tale of inner-city violence, drug dealing and gangs. But it is gritty, and whilst I don't know much about the subject it all seems pretty realistic. There are a few times when you question Jonah and wonder why he just doesn't get the hell out of the situation, as it's pretty obvious what might be coming next.

Recommended if you like reading new authors, or if you're looking for a tale of gang culture, shootings, manipulation and dodgy dealings. Will be interesting to see what Bonner does next.