Princess Charmer

When two friends team up to write a graphic novel together, they end up embarking on an adventure which takes their lives in an unexpected direction.

Aged 17, Neil and Jamal are best friends who use their combined skills and imagination to create Demon Chaser - a story involving a world of fantasy and magic. The pair's creativity wins them a place on a workshop at a London college and they end up deciding to head to the capital together the following year to continue their education.

Princess Charmer is a young adult fantasy novel set in Britain in the near future where the lines between fiction and reality occasionally become blurred. The world Jamal and Neil live in closely resembles our own but there are additional challenges to face, including meat rationing, restrictions on travel and mass protests over social media and security.

When Neil arrives in London ready to take up his place on his college course, Jamal never arrives and a worried Neil finds himself unable to contact his friend. What he doesn't know is that Jamal's priorities have changed and he is more interested in coming to London to be with a girl he has met online than going to college to complete the course together.

Princess Charmer is an enjoyable blend of fantasy with a coming of age tale of friendship. Will the two of them be reunited and will they ever manage to finish Demon Chaser and bring their graphic novel to a wider audience?