Grass [Paperback]

Catherine MacPhail (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 3, 2009

It would have been hard to have missed what was written on the wall. Painted in giant whitewashed letters: 'SHARKEY IS A GRASS'. I hadn't a clue who Sharkey was, but I knew one thing. 'Sharkey's a dead man,' I said. Leo knows the value of never grassing and that you never grass on your friends. Everybody, too, knows the gang leaders in town. And you don't grass on them. Not unless you don't value your life - like Sharkey. And then Leo is unlucky enough to witness the murder of one gang leader by another, a man called Armour. Leo is petrified as he realises what he is witnessing and even more petrified when he realises that Armour has seen him. Sure that he is drawing his own last breath, Leo silently says goodbye to his family and everybody he knows. But all Armour does is wink at Leo, very slowly, and leave the scene of the crime. Leo draws a long breath of relief. He has got away with it. But he hasn't - not really. Leo will live to regret that wink and realise that Armour has an insidious hold on him and his family, which will test his family relationships, and his very sense of what is right and wrong. It will take bravery, luck and sheer daring to extricate himself from Armour's deadly web. A riveting and hard-hitting new novel from Cathy MacPhail.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'Young adult fiction is going from strength to strength, led by authors like Cathy MacPhail' The Bookseller 'Cathy MacPhail's novels are tuned to how teenagers talk and behave' Times Educational Supplement 'Macphail handles her gritty material - particularly the machinations of gangland - with skill, her sense of setting is well sustained and she gives us a novel which satisfyingly blends crime and thriller genres' Books for Keeps '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' The Bookseller

About the Author

Cathy MacPhail 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, the Royal Mail Award and the Grampian Book Award for Grass. Cathy MacPhail's work is enormously popular with young teenagers, her trademarks being pacy and topical storylines. Cathy lives in Greenock, Scotland.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Childrens Books (August 3, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0747599114
• ISBN-13: 978-0747599111
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,504,719 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Book Review, May 10, 2011

By 

Elisabeth Wernig - See all my reviews

This review is from: Grass (Kindle Edition)

What is this book about?
Leo and his friend Sean do everything for each other and they have no secrets, but this situation changes,
when Leo witnesses the murder of one of the gang leaders in town. Leo can't talk to anybody, because if he does, Amour, the gang leader and murderer will kill him. At first, Leo is very afraid, but Armour helps Leo's father to get a job, scares off the Bissett Boys, who always beat up Leo, and makes Leo feel that at least Armour trusts him. Leo passes messages between Amour and Nelis, another gang leader, for a deal. Armour says, he wants peace in the town and with this deal, there will be some. But in fact, Armour wants to be the only gang leader in the town. Can Leo stop Armour's bad plan? And will he get Armour and Nelis into prison?

What do I think of it?
I think, the book is very gripping, because there are some things, which you don't expect. Cathy Macphail writes about Leo's inner struggles very well and she also describes the different situations in the book brilliantly.
I really like the book and when you are a fan of crimes and hard life, you should read this book.

written by Eva Benedikt