Paperback
Tape
By Steven Camden
TAPE is an outstanding debut. Told with crackling prose, shimmering with humour and deeply moving, it will haunt anyone who reads it…
Record a voice and it lasts forever…
In 1993, Ryan records a diary on an old tape. He talks about his mother’s death, about his dreams, about his love for a new girl at school who doesn’t even know he exists.
In 2013, Ameliah moves in with her grandmother after her parents die. There, she finds a tape in the spare room. A tape with a boy’s voice on it – a voice she can’t quite hear, but which seems to be speaking to her.
Ryan and Ameliah are connected by more than just a tape.
This is their story.
”'Truly gripping… a cleverly structured, movingly characterised and powerful tale.” - The Sunday Times
‘Steven Camden is a born storyteller. Read TAPE, rewind, then read it again.' Phil Earle -
”'Time-warping escapism. I loved it!” - Jordan, Rizzle Kicks
'Steven is one of my greatest influences, he is a powerhouse in his field, both looked to and admired. This book is just as original, playful as Steven is. Full of heart.' Laura Dockrill -
‘Warm, funny and honest. [Steven] writes about familiar things and makes them magic. He writes about magic things and makes them familiar.' Kate Tempest, winner of the Ted Hughes Award for innovation in poetry -
'Sad, poignant, true, funny and bursting full of heart.' Nikesh Shukla, author of Coconut Unlimited -
“An affectionate tribute to the mixed tape and the human desire to find a fairy tale. It encapsulates universal themes of love, hope and fate while adding a soupcon of magic. Camden writes sensitively from the perspective of different genders, evoking the dynamics of family dramas and the awkwardness of coming of age.” The Bookbag -