- Contemporary
- Chapter Books
- Ages 10–14
The shape of it
The shape of this universe.
Anthony McGowan's spare, unflinching quartet of novellas about two working-class Yorkshire brothers — Nicky and his older, learning-disabled brother Kenny — scraping by with a mum long gone and a dad barely holding on. Across Brock, Pike, Rook and the Carnegie Medal-winning Lark, McGowan writes in short, plain, deceptively simple sentences that carry real weight, finding tenderness and dry humour in a hard life. Each book is short, gripping and grown-up, built around the fierce, unspoken bond between the brothers as they rescue wild creatures, face bullies and hardship, and, finally, a life-or-death crisis on the moors. A modern high point of accessible fiction for older readers who want something honest, moving and true.
Anthony McGowan's spare, Carnegie-winning quartet about two Yorkshire brothers — short, honest, grown-up novellas of hardship, love and the bond between them.
Primary themes
Tone palette
- Bittersweet
- Thought provoking
- Dark
- Gentle
The series
One way in.
Cultural footprint
A shelf of evidence.
What The Truth of Things has done
- Major award winner
Cultural ubiquity
3/ 5Well-known to people who know the room.
Sensitivity
High, and collection-wide.
Content notes
- Absent parent
- Animal harm
- Bullying
- Death of character
- Grief
- Illness or disability
- Poverty or hardship
- Violence
Across the collection
All 4 books.
About the creator