
'A brilliant read raw in its emotions & a real eye-opener.' Martina Cole My name is Chyna. When I was thirteen years old I became part of a girl gang. This is my story. Chyna was born in the middle of gangland UK. From a young age she saw people all around her in gangs. They had the status the ghetto-fabulous look & the money. So when girls from a rival school started picking on Chyna & her friends they decided to take control of their lives & form their own gang. They called it Nothing 2 Lose. Soon Chyna was caught up in a world of thiefing phones shoplifting & shanks. She rolled tight with her fam. The risk of arrest & beatings was always present but so were the rewards: fast p's bare liquor & draw & the thrill of being above the law. Then boys came into their lives & Chyna & her friends were attracted to some of gangland's most notorious boys. Now Chyna had found herself in a very glamorous world with VIP tables at the most exclusive clubs big p's lavished on bling & champagne. She was living the highlife as the girlfriend of one of London's most feared gangstas. The deeper she got into this world the more she discovered the dark side. The guns the vicious drug dealers the constant threat of prison: Chyna knew she had to find a way out. But it would take a devastating tragedy
- one that ripped apart her world
- before Chyna found the courage to leave gangland behind once & for all. ' Rich & dazzling.' The Sunday Times' This emotional story of a girl born on a tough London estate provides a shocking eye-opener on gang culture.. .gritty & hard-hitting.. . Written in London slang the story has a real spirit which really shines through.' New of the World'A scary insight into the lives of youngsters born into poverty in Britain.' Sun' This isn't an expose to ease middle-class guilt. We're not asked to pity Chyna. Nor does FAM seek to glamourise the horrors of gang life. It is simply crudely an account of a side of London you probably know absolutely nothing about & about which very little is written (aside from social care reports). These are the intimidating girls at the back of the bus the kids storming through shopping centres the ones who mug you for your phone & purse the names in the newspaper your eyes sip over following yet another stabbing on a council estate.' Time Out