Influential (2023)

Longlisted for the Branford Boase Award 2024

Almond Brown has no friends in real life . . . but 3.5 million followers online. A heart-felt, whip-smart deep dive into what it would really be like to be internet famous at 17: a cautionary tale for our time from a writer who has grown up with social media.

Almond is forced into the spotlight when she was just a perfectly filtered bump: her mum has been documenting their family through social media since before she was born. And her family enjoy all the rewards that come from that level of influence. Only, it’s not the life Almond would have chosen for herself, and being on a platform all the time has made her anxious and insecure. When the darkest side of the internet begins to haunt her, Almond feels like she’s going to lose everything . . . If only she could see that she has a real-life, too, full of friends and family who love her, and that it could save her.

  • Sage has a keen eye for the realities of contemporary teenage life; Almond's voice is fresh and believable.

    The Observer

  • A thoughtful and believable first novel for 14+, exploring the nuances of cancel culture and the remorseless nature of internet scrutiny.

    The Guardian

  • A deft and sobering novel about growing up with the internet, written with great skill by debut author, Sage.

    The Bookseller

  • An incredibly provoking and perceptive YA debut. An essential read for both young adults and adults alike.

    Culturefly

Girl, Ultra-Processed (2025)

Longlisted for the Jhalak Prize 2026 and the Diverse Book Awards 2026

New year, new me! That’s what Saffron Saldana tells herself as the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Eve. Her resolution is the same every year: lose weight. Because Saffron has it hard-wired that weight loss equals happiness. It’s what she’s been told her whole life – online, in magazines, especially by her own diet-obsessed mother. But dieting
is hard. So to escape her own reality, Saffron creates Sydney, a super-slim, AI-generated ‘perfect’ version of herself. Boys online love Sydney, and for Saffron, it’s just a bit of harmless fun.

Until the boundaries of her life online and offline begin to blur . . . And one boy in particular makes her question her desire to be someone she’s not. Can Saffron find a way back to herself, and learn to love who she actually is?

Girl: Ultra-Processed explores what it is like to be a teenage girl in our current body-obsessed world while juggling family drama, friend dynamics, dating, betrayals and major life changes.

  • Hilarious even while exploring a pertinent and painful subject. Saffron is an incredibly funny narrator.

    Patrice Lawrence, Author of Orangeboy

  • Heartwarming, hard-hitting YA takedown of diet culture.

    The Guardian

  • Sends a powerful message about the importance of fighting a narrative that tells women and girls they'll never be good enough.

    Loisa Reid, Author of The Poet

  • A slick and skilful exploration of internet v reality culture and the ever changing expectations of a body-obsessed world.

    Christine Pillainayagam, Author of Ellie Pillai is Brown