"One boy battles to beat the developers and the bullies to save The Beck."
March 2025 Book of the Month
It is becoming difficult to find fresh superlatives to describe Anthony McGowan’s writing, but The Beck, his latest accessible novel for Barrington Stoke, is an absolutely pitch perfect delight. Suitable for an audience that will range from mature Year 6’s who love to read about those just a bit older, right through to secondary readers of any age or indeed adult readers, who will get just as much pleasure from it.
Set in a very specific and real location, as the author explains in the foreword, the Leeds of his youth is the inspiration for the story of Kyle a thirteen-year-old who finds himself uncomfortably forced to spend time with his grandad when his parents have to attend mysterious ‘appointments’. But he gets a surprise when he discovers grandad is now the owner of a spectacularly ugly three- legged rescue dog called "Rude Word" and then is taken on a walk to the 'Beck' - an ancient local stream and is introduced to the amazing wildlife there.
The beck is only just recovering from years of neglect and pollution but the wildlife which has returned is now threatened by development. Grandad also introduces his new neighbour Karthi who tentatively becomes a friend and shares their outrage even if she is dubious about the legality of Grandad’s plans to save the beck. Encounters with security guards and school bullies, along with a race against time when grandad falls ill, really challenge Kyle to step up to the mark and we see what a difference has been made to him by these events.
These are all characters that leap off the page and straight into your heart. There is an authentic gritty reality underlying the humour, but ultimately this is a celebration of both intergenerational familial love and of the nature in our own backyard. Simply wonderful!
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