- Chapter Books
- Ages 10–14
- Contemporary
Pike
Book 2 of 4 in The Truth of ThingsView the full series
The second novella in The Truth of Things quartet turns a fishing trip into a tense near-tragedy. Nicky and his brother Kenny go after the monster pike of Bacon Pond, but what they glimpse in the water pulls them into a dangerous local secret.
- Best for10–14
- FormatChapter
The vibe
What it’s like.
Style
- Literary
- Conversational
Tone
- Dark
- Suspenseful
- Bittersweet
- Thought provoking
Themes
Experience meters
What’s it about?
The story.
The Bacon Pond is famous for one thing: a huge, ancient pike lurking in its depths. Kenny is set on catching it, and as ever his younger brother Nicky is dragged along for the ride. But when the boys spot what might be a body in the water, the missing body of a local criminal, their day out tips over into real danger, and the pond's secrets threaten to drag the whole family down. Anthony McGowan returns to the brothers of Brock with the same spare, plain-spoken prose, dry humour and unflinching honesty about a hard life on the edge. Pike is tenser and more thriller-shaped than the first book, with a genuine sense of menace, yet it keeps its warm, unbreakable heart in the bond between Nicky and Kenny. Short, gripping and grown-up, it is ideal for readers who want something fast and real. The second book of the quartet that concludes with the Carnegie Medal-winning Lark.
Fit check
Right for your child?
Where it lands by age
Best for ages 10-14 reading independently. Very accessible prose and a fast, gripping plot make it easy to read, but menace, a possible corpse and a hard-scrabble home life pitch it at confident older children and reluctant teens rather than younger readers.
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- Best fit · 10–14
- Read aloud · 10–13
- Independent · 10–14
Prose load
Light
Visual support
None
Reluctant-reader friendly
Very
Read-aloud quality
Workable
Works well for
- Reluctant readers
Preview before sharing if a child is sensitive to: violence, poverty or hardship, illness or disability, absent parent, death of character.
Bedtime suitability
1 / 5 · Wide awake
Sensitive-child
2 / 5 · Use judgement
Graphic intensity
3 / 5 · Some
Best for
- Reluctant readers
- Gritty realism
- Sibling stories
- Short and powerful
Avoid if
- Wants gentle bedtime
- Wants a happy ending
- Sensitive to peril
Particularly good for children who are…
- Reluctant reader
- Neurodiversity or learning differences
Why it lands
Why they love it.
Why kids love it
The hunt for the giant pike is a proper adventure, and the danger feels real when the boys realise what is under the water. Nicky and Kenny stick together against a menacing enemy, and the short, punchy chapters keep the tension high right to the end.
- Surviving danger
- Adventure and freedom
- Family belonging
Why parents love it
McGowan tightens the screws here without losing the humanity of the brothers' bond. It reads like a thriller in miniature but carries real feeling about family, disability and getting by, and it hooks reluctant readers who then keep going through the quartet.
- Great writing
- Conversation starter
- Quick to read
In the series
The Truth of Things.
4 books · open the series →
About the author
Anthony McGowan.
If you liked this
Three ways out of this book.
If you liked this, try…
Lateral matches. Same shelf, different texture.
Come into this from…
Easier or preparing reads — perfect lead-ins.
Where to go next…
Escalation reads — a step up in scale, silliness, or stakes.
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