SynopsisAndy and his friends are lost on the moor and his girlfriend Lucy is found in the morning unconscious and with strange wounds on her neck. They make a nightmarish journey to get her to safety, and their solidarity breaks down as they argue over what might have happened to her.

Review: The publishers Barrington Stoke are justly renowned not only for their recognition of the need for quality fiction for teenagers who are reluctant or disadvantaged readers, but also for the authors who write for them. Keith Gray, shortlisted for the 2003 Guardian Fiction Prize with Malarkey, has written a short, scary and atmospheric horror story, firmly rooted in twenty-first century teenage reality, in which he makes no concessions to his remit, and which provides a thoroughly involving and satisfying novel for any reader.

Gray's male characters, Andy and Glen, think that a weekend camping in Yorkshire will provide an excellent opportunity to get to know Megan and Lucy really well...and with that typically adolescent mixture of hope and fearful excitement, they prepare for a couple of nights of promising romantic opportunity. However Lucy's disappearance, followed by their discovery of her unconscious and disturbingly wounded body, tests relationships far more deeply than they had ever anticipated.

Despite its small size, Gray's novel examines in depth the intricate, sometimes confusing, contradictory implications of friendship and loyalty under stress, and provides readers in Key Stage 3 and above with much to reflect upon, both in style and content.

2006-11-13