Need edgy YA book by British author

Ok....I confess. I'm not British. I joined this group to help a h.s. teacher (coworker) get the right book in the right hands. I hope you don't mind. She requested my help, and I told her I'd consult with people on librarything. I've posted this to Read YA, but thought you all might be able to help.....

Here's the scoop. She's tutoring a senior (very smart she says but not a big reader). The girl is required to read a 200+ page book for British Lit., so naturally the author needs to be British. She told me she thinks the girl would like something "edgy," maybe dealing with drugs.

I have no ideas on this at this point. I'm very grateful for any suggestions you have. Once I receive these, I promise, I'll get my non-British fanny out of your group! :)

Well probably not edgy now but Junk by Melvin Burgess (it was called Smack in the US) deals with drugs.

If you want something more up to date there was a book a couple of years ago that dealt with drugs from a new young writer but I have forgotten his name.

However if you widen the remit to just edgy books then Malorie Blackman might be a good writer to choose. Her Noughts & Crosses series might provide good reading. It is about a fictional dystopia with heavy racism and the latest book Checkmate features a sympathetically portrayed protagonist who becomes a suicide bomber.

As andyl says, the first writer that springs to mind when looking for edgy British YA is Melvin Burgess. As well as Junk, there's also Lady: My Life as a Bitch and Doing It.

I haven't read it yet, but The Knife That Killed Me has been getting good notice, perhaps helped by the recent greater awareness of knife crime in the UK.

There's also How I Live Now, by Meg Rosoff, which I think qualifies as British lit.

I'm having trouble thinking of more at the moment, I must admit. I think it's because I look to more of the fun and escapist books, personally, so the edgy ones pass me by a bit.

Yeah I originally was going to list Doing It but I think that is more suited for a boy than a girl.

Meg Rosoff is an American who lives and works in North London. I'm not sure if that counts.

Like HoldenCarver I don't particularly look for realistic fiction so most of these books YA or not just pass me by.

Well it's not realistic fiction or about drugs but what about Northern Lights/The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman?
It's current because of the recent movie and it caused enough controversy to possibly be considered edgy.
I just found this wonderful website created by the British council. You should be able to find something here.

Thanks to you all -- for the suggestions, which I've passed on to my teacher friend; and for the linguistic tips! :) I'll leave your group now!:)