How to Build a Champion: A Novel by Dylan Cody

How to Build a Champion is a picaresque story of courage, resilience, quick wit, and joy, which follows Cassandra, a bright, outspoken young woman, through a British summer in a multi-cultural, working-class neighbourhood, peopled with personalities, where the inner-city skyline changes in 'fits and starts'. Living among artists, musicians, trade-unionists, bohemians, students, writers, and educators defining what it is to live 'successfully' in the face of 'progress' in their shared city, Cassandra works with her uncle, Bobby, and his partner 'Toria, in their community-minded osteria. All is well, until their landlord, Harry, throws their lives into a tail-spin when he considers an offer from speculators, gentrifiers, and property developers who seemingly know the price of everything and the value of nothing. Raising their voices in opposition, Cassandra and her friends, street artists Mc, Pat, and Teddy, band together in a fly-by-night adventure, making mischief in their fight for the osteria, while a cunning lifestyle journalist 'helps' their cause. Learn to question your first impressions; to look twice at what you see. Learn to live life, fully, whatever your circumstances. Discover How to Build a Champion.

New Adult • Literary Fiction • Women's Fiction/Families • Women's Fiction/Contemporary • Contemporary Fiction • Women's Fiction/Friendship

Length: 37,769 words (about 108 pages)

Content Warning: Few instances of explicit language; brief mention of off-page familial loss.