"Sharply realised slice of real life"
UKLA Longlist Book Awards - 2019 | Shortlisted for the CILIP Carnegie Medal 2018
Interest Age Teen Reading Age 8
This finely written story speaks directly to readers in language that is frill free but shines with original, precise imagery. It opens with a scene in which a young rook is attacked by a larger bird. Nicky and his younger brother Kenny save it. As the bird hovers between life and death, Nicky’s own future is in the balance: an incident with the school bully sees him facing expulsion, at the same time he’s tentatively trying to start a relationship with a girl he fancies. For all his nerve Nicky is vulnerable, and things could easily go wrong for him, instead they start to look up. He isn’t expelled, Sarah likes him too, and Rooky is taken in by the animal sanctuary despite being, in Nicky’s dad’s words, ‘too common and too scruffy and too much trouble. Bit like us, eh?’ There’s a lot of story effortlessly packed into this short novel and readers will be very happy for Nicky.
Readers shouldn’t miss the two previous books in this quartet, Brock and Pike.
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When Kenny and Nicky rescue a rook left for dead, Kenny is determined to keep it alive. Nicky doubts the scruffy bird will make it, but then Nicky has plenty else to worry about. This time, it’s not his dad or Kenny who need help – his dad’s sorting his life out and Kenny’s busy making plans with his new best mate. Now it’s Nicky’s turn to struggle – with a school bully, his first love, and the fact that everything is about to go very, very wrong.
Rook comes as a companion novella following brothers Nicky and Kenny who first appeared in Brock and Pike, both of which received an astonishing raft of great reviews and coverage including The Independent’s Ten Books for Summer 2015, The Times and The Literary Review, with Brock also longlisted for the 2014 Carnegie Medal.
The critically acclaimed The Truth of Things quartet is being repackaged into a stunning and cohesive set for 2025 to coincide with the eagerly anticipated new novella The Beck
Particularly suitable for struggling, reluctant and dyslexic readers aged 13+
The LoveReading4Kids Editorial Team have read and reviewed Rook and determined it is suitable for children aged 11-18 years old
Rook features in the following genres: Featured Books for 11+ readers, Featured Books for 13+ readers, Featured Books for Young Adults, Recommendations, Dyslexia Friendly Books for Interest age 11+
Rook is available in Paperback
Rook was written by Anthony McGowan and published by Barrington Stoke an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers
Rook has 122 pages
Yes it is part of The Truth of Things series
£7.19
