Heart-breaking yet uplifting, this unforgettable portrait of an Anglo-Romani childhood on the edge of society, in and out of the perils of state care, marks the arrival of a vital new voice in British poetry

'Like amber, these poems capture moments of time, place and feeling' Lemn Sissay, author of My Name is Why

'An assured debut . . . It's not just the Dickensian narrative that's gripping , but the way it brings different forms to bear on its material' Guardian

'Don't worry, I'm here in the house where every room has a name, but children's names are often forgotten.'

Uplifting and heart-breaking, this lyrical evocation of an Anglo-Romani childhood marks the arrival of a vital new voice.

MINX reveals the vibrant but precarious world of a multi-racial Romani family- a world of grandfathers brewing moonshine in marrows, basement reggae parties, and a mother struggling to support her two daughters on the proceeds of her shadowy profession. Their powerful bond helps the sisters survive when they're taken into care, in a children's home that forcibly separates them.

With a verve and playfulness that belies their pain, these poems explore what it means to belong. Through daring experiments with form and narrative, MINX captures how it feels to grow up between a culture whose traditional ways are being lost and a wider society that despises them.

'Moving, magical, mesmerising, these poems stay with you long after the pages are closed' Jackie Kay, author of Fiere