Lark by Anthony McGowan

review by Maryom

It's years since Nicky and Kenny last saw their mum, but now she's on her way to visit, arriving by plane any day soon. She left when they were young, and a lot has changed since, so while they're hyped up at the prospect of her coming home, Nicky, in particular, is partly dreading her arrival too. To fill the waiting, the boys decide to head off to the moors, just like their dad used to in the days before computers and video games. It'll be fun, a lark. They might even see one (a lark, that is), singing as it rises into the sky.
But things go wrong ...
The weather turns from dull to sleet to snowstorm, and Kenny and Nicky find themselves cold, hungry and possibly lost. A short cut seems like a good idea, but isn't, and the boys find themselves in a situation that's getting worse by the minute.

Lark is the fourth, and last, story following the adventures of Nicky and Kenny, and what an end to the series it is! Presented in a font and format to encourage reluctant, struggling or dyslexic readers, Lark is a nail-biting, heart-pounding, poignant read suitable for any young teenager. It's a story in which to lose yourself, to feel you're there on the moors, lost, wet and starting to be terrified, fearing, along with Nicky, how, and if, he's going to get out of this latest scrape. (I imagine that afterwards a lot of readers will be all 'I'd never have done anything so stupid. I'd have got us safely home, no problem' but don't disrupt them in the middle)
The story is told from Nicky's point of view and McGowan gets inside his mind in a way that makes you feel he clearly remembers being a teenager - messing about with mates, getting dumped by his girlfriend, hastily disguising his rude drawings - and, away from the danger, it's funny, especially in an appealing-to-teen-boys way (though I laughed regardless of who it's aimed at).  At the same time there's a great sense of family and belonging running throughout, a sense there's a bond between the two brothers that nothing could break.




If you haven't met Nicky and Kenny before it doesn't really matter, their story-so-far is filled in enough for you to read Lark, and without spoilers for the previous books. But if you'd like to read their story in full the first three novellas have been collected in one volume 'The Truth of Things'.


Maryom's review - 5 stars
Publisher - Barrington Stoke
Genre - teenage/teenage reluctant readers 

I Killed Father Christmas by Anthony McGowan

illustrated by Chris Riddell

review by Maryom

Jo-Jo has annoyed his dad with an enormous list of  presents he wants for Christmas, and now his dad and mum are arguing. Despite hiding under his pillow, Jo-Jo can't avoid hearing them, especially when his mum says "You've killed Christmas". Although she's talking to his dad, Jo-Jo knows it's all his fault, and, with Father Christmas dead, it's up to him to make amends. He can't travel all round the world, but wearing his mum's red coat, and laden with pillowcases filled with old toys, Jo-Jo sets out to bring Christmas to his street at least.

 Anthony McGowan's words and Chris Riddell's illustrations join to bring this delightful, heart-warming seasonal story to life. While reminding us that Christmas is about loving and sharing, rather than the quantity or expense of the presents we receive, it's a fun read rather than an over-sentimental, cloying one.

One of Barrington Stoke's Little Gem series, it comes with all those dyslexia-friendly features you'd expect - cream paper, easy-to-read font, lots of pictures, and short, punchy sentences - but you'll probably be so wrapped up in the story that you won't notice them.

It's a perfect stocking-filler for young, capable readers, or a story you might choose to read to a younger child. Don't overlook the end-papers, though - there are Christmassy cracker-style jokes at the front, and a maze puzzle - can Jo-Jo and Father Christmas reach the parcels and deliver them? - at the back  ... and it explains how Father Christmas gets all those presents down all the chimneys.



Publisher - Barrington Stoke
Genre - children's picture book, early read, dyslexia friendly, 5-9, 

Rook by Anthony McGowan

review by Maryom

Out walking their dog one day, Kenny and Nicky find a rook, attacked by a hawk and only clinging on to life by the merest thread. Kenny, always naive and too trusting, remembers how they saved a baby badger, and is sure they can do the same again for 'Rooky', but Nicky isn't convinced. In fact he's not really interested. With Kenny's learning disability, and his dad's troubles after their mum left, Nicky always feels he has to be the one to look after the family, but now  his dad's got a new girlfriend and is starting to get his life in order, and Kenny is busy making new friends at his school. Meanwhile  Nicky has problems of his own mounting up - trying to attract the attention of his first love, and avoid the attention of the school bully. Life's about to get complicated for him ...


Nicky has fallen for a girl in his year, Sarah Stanhope, but how can he even start to talk to her?  At school he's either surrounded by his mates who suddenly seem so very childish or on the receiving end of the school bully's attentions. Trying to catch her after school seems like a good idea, apart from the way it turns into stalking. In fact, if you could think of a wrong way to attract a girl's attention, that's probably what Nicky's doing! To make matters worse, that school bully is her brother! If Nicky's to win Sarah over, or even get to talk to her, shouldn't he make a stand against him? But when that plan goes disastrously wrong, Nicky looks like losing everything.

Brothers Kenny and Nicky, familiar from Anthony McGowan's previous stories, Brock and Pike, are back with a third instalment of their story, this time about the thorny problems of teenage relationships.  I can't claim to having seen every book published for teens, but there generally seem to be more stories dealing with teen relationships from the girl's point of view. McGowan takes the reader on a boy's eye view of the world - where you maybe feel a need to stand up physically against bullies, where a good idea so quickly and easily turns into a disastrous one, and girls have suddenly become strange beings that it's impossible to talk to. Sometimes you'll laugh with him, sometimes at him, sometimes just cringe for him, but throughout the reader is firmly on Nicky's side.

Barrington Stoke books are designed to appeal to reluctant and dyslexic readers, with an off-white background and clear font, but above all they're interesting, compelling stories. The reading age for Rook is 8+ but the story is definitely one to appeal to teen readers.
Read the first chapter here 

Maryom's review - 5 stars
Publisher - Barrington Stoke
Genre - teenage/teenage reluctant readers 

Pike by Anthony McGowan

 review by Maryom


The Bacon Pond is known for the killer pike that lurk in the depths - they're even said to attack unwary swimmers! At least, these are the tales that Nicky tells to his big brother Kenny. What they're about to discover on a fishing trip there will put even the wildest tales of man-eating pike to shame - lurking just below the surface is the body of a local criminal Mick Bowen, and on his pale, stick-like hand, glitters the gold of a Rolex watch. Nicky thinks of the watch's value, of all he could do and buy with that kind of money, of how he feels Mick Bowen owes him and his family for causing trouble for his dad, and of how, if Mick Bowen's already dead, taking the watch can't be stealing.....can it?

The aim of publishers Barrington Stoke is to get children and teens reading by offering them stories that they can't put down, in a format to entice the reluctant, struggling or dyslexic reader - and Pike certainly lives up to that aim. First and foremost, it does what all books should - engage and entertain the reader.
Readers of McGowan's Carnegie longlisted Brock with be familiar with brothers Kenny and Nicky, and here they are back in a hunt for sunken treasure - well, at least, fishing a dead man's watch out of the pond. Their dad has banned them from swimming in the pond, which saves them from having to face the killer pike, but without swimming or use of a boat how can they reach the watch? Sometimes you'll laugh, sometimes you'll be on the edge of your seat, as Nicky finds himself enticed into doing things that he knows are a little bit stupid; normally Nicky has to look after Kenny, but this time it's Kenny who comes to his aid.

Would I call it a thriller? Maybe - it's certainly got the tense 'what will happen next - will he make it or will he get caught?' feel of one, with some nice twists and turns at the end. Add to that a couple of moral dilemmas for Nicky to work through (and a swipe at the 'close the libraries' attitude of so many councils) and there's plenty to engage the reader and leave them with food for thought.

A brilliant read for any teenager..

..... and in case I haven't convinced you, you can read the first chapter here on the Barrington Stoke website

Maryom's review - 5 stars
Publisher - Barrington Stoke
Genre - teenage/teenage reluctant readers