Winner of the Scottish Book Awards 2015 12-16 age category Patrick is happy living with his mum. She lets him do what he wants, pretty much, and it's only when his granny comes to stay that he has to get down to his homework and go to bed early. Then Patrick meets Mosi, a quiet, polite boy who, along with his parents, is waiting for his asylum application to be processed. He discovers Mosi is terrified of someone. But who is it? Patrick and Mosi strike up an unlikely friendship. In trying to help each other, they will face situations that are both terrifying and dangerous. And Patrick will find out that there is much, much more to Mosi than at first appears..
Young adult fiction is going from strength to strength, led by authors like Cathy MacPhail Bookseller
Anything by Cathy MacPhail is unputdownable -- Julia Donaldson Guardian
Cathy MacPhail's novels are tuned to how teenagers talk and behave Times Educational Supplement
Praise for Grass:
Gritty and convincing throughout, Grass conveys with chilling accuracy the power of gang leaders over local communities ... This is a book with real bite and an uplifting ending Bookseller
Author
About Cathy MacPhail
Scottish author Cathy McPhail (January 1946 - September 2021) won the Kathleen Fidler Award with her novel Run Zan Run, the Scottish Arts Council Award with her second novel, Fighting Back, a Royal Mail award and the 2010 Explore Award for Roxy's Baby and the 2010 Stockport Award and Royal Mail Award for Grass. Cathy's work was enormously popular with young teenagers, her trademarks being pacy and topical storylines. Cathy lived in Greenock, Scotland.
Cathy wrote Run Zan Run after her daughter Katie was bullied at school. Asked what she'd do if she wasn't a writer, she said: "If I wasn't paid to write, I'd still write books. What do I do in my spare time? I write. What is my hobby? Writing. I just love it. So, what would I be if I wasn't a writer? Bored stiff."
