The River Girls
Alessandra Ubezio
Barriera
Coming of age
In Barriera, everyone’s fate is written in their blood. And you can’t change that.
Sixteen-year-old Yasin lives in Barriera, a tough neighbourhood on the outskirts of Turin. He’s caught between his first love and a brother who’s just been released from prison, between who he wants to be and who the world expects him to be. Malik, his brother, is trying to make a new start. When tragedy strikes on New Year’s Eve, Yasin’s world collapses. Can he still dream of freedom in a place where violence feels inherited and every label sticks to the skin?
- A powerful portrait of youth on the margins, capturing the struggles of second generation teenagers in a society full of contradictions.
- A language that expresses the alternating voices of the two unforgettable main characters, in a balance between coming of age, romance and noir.
Publisher:
Piemme
Target:
Young adult
Year:
2023
Author
Manlio Castagna
Screenwriter, director, author, and film critic, he spent over 20 years as part of the artistic direction of the Giffoni Film Festival.
He made his debut in children's fiction in 2018 with the bestselling Petrademone trilogy (Mondadori), translated into several languages. Since then, he has explored a wide range of genres: from the historical fantasy of La notte delle malombre and Di fuoco e seta (both longlisted for the Strega Ragazzi Award and finalists in various literary prizes), to the horror of Goodwill and Nessuno verrà a prenderti, to nonfiction with the cinema guide 116 Movies to See Before You’re 16, and the genre-bending novel Dedalo & Dharma, all the way to social noir with Barriera (all published by the Mondadori Group).
The Reincarnation of the Klun Sisters and Try Not to Sleep are his adult fiction titles.
In 2022, he made his directorial and screenwriting debut in cinema with Il viaggio degli eroi, produced by Rai Cinema and awarded with record-breaking viewership on Rai1.
Author
Marco Magnone
Marco Magnone is one of Italy's most acclaimed and sought-after children's authors by schools, festivals, and reading groups. Thanks to these engagements, he meets thousands of young readers every year. His stories, which have earned him two nominations for the Strega Ragazze e Ragazzi Prize, often blend various genres but share a common goal: to explore the profound meaning of growing up. He teaches narrative at the Holden School in Turin and at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Milan.
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