About This Boy

This book is a cross between a memoir and a self-help manual. Leon Rolle, better known as Locksmith from the band Rudimental, writes about his own life and describes how various decisions and knock backs – principally his failure to gain admission to the youth training scheme at Arsenal Football Club – led him to become part of Rudimental. Rolle’s own story includes membership of a gang. It also records his struggle to control a violent temper. Alongside these features he also gives advice to the reader. He urges his readers to follow their own passions and not to allow their emotions to control them.

The biggest advantage of this book lies in its potential appeal to those young people who usually regard reading as a pastime for other people. It will also appeal to people whose interests and preoccupations mirror those of Rolle, topics which rarely surface in the controlled atmosphere of a well-run school. It is easy to imagine this book being used in PSHE lessons by secondary school teachers at Key Stages three and four.