Pike

Do not be fooled by the fact that this is a short book into thinking that it is easy, or without weight. All three of these books - Brock, Rook and Pike have great emotional depth whilst still being in the short Barrington Stoke format. That shows immense skill by the writer Anthony McGowan and the......more

I thought that I’d read Pike’s earlier ‘sibling’ novel Brock before I read this book. The two can easily be read as independent stories, but I’d urge you right now to pick up both if you can. They aren’t so close that they need to be read as Book 1/Book 2, but, like the main characters these titles......more

A beautifully written story that juxtaposes beautiful landscapes and wildlife with poverty, loss, violence and social deprivation. Second in the series about Kenny and Nicky. Simply written but so true and affecting, I love this series.......more

I didn't enjoy this quite as much as the first one. It's not as cohesive a narrative and is left pretty open ended in a muddled way at the end. Pike is still worth the read/listen for the characters alone but seems to be a vehicle to set up the next book in the series.......more

Another slice of social realism with two likeable young heroes. Part of a collection of novellas by Anthony McGowan (awarded the Carnegie for one of the titles), each brings a snippet of the lives of two teenager brothers and adds an animal character as a catalyst for a plot. Pike gives us the two, wi......more