Clay (novel)

Last updated

First edition (publ. Hodder) ClayNovel.jpg
First edition (publ. Hodder)

Clay is a 2005 children's/young adult novel by David Almond, published in 2005. It was shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal and longlisted for the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize. [1] [2] The story, told in first-person, is about two boys, Davie and Stephen, who can make clay come to life. However, things quickly go downhill as the two become involved in a plot to rise a life-size sculpture they name "Clay". The story focuses on the nature of evil and creativity.

Contents

It was adapted for television in 2008 by Andrew Gunn, first aired on BBC One on 30 March 2008, and later rebroadcast another 9 times on BBC HD. [3]

Plot

14 year old Davie and his friend, Geordie, are altar boys at their local Catholic church. They get into all kinds of mischief, such as stealing altar wine and fighting with a group from a rival school. One day, they spot a strange new boy named Stephen Rose, who has a passion for making sculptures, moving into his aunt "Crazy" Mary's house. Father O'Mahoney urges the two boys to befriend him, thinking they could be the friends Stephen needs to get over the trauma of losing both his parents. At first reluctant, believing Stephen to be doomed to insanity like the rest of his family, Davie grows closer to him and learns of a secret--Stephen can make his sculptures come to life. So can Davie, and Stephen wants his help to make a life-size man out of clay.

Awards

Clay received recognition in 2007 as one of the Best Books for Young Adults. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philip Pullman</span> English author

Sir Philip Nicholas Outram Pullman is an English writer. His books include the fantasy trilogy His Dark Materials and The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ, a fictionalised biography of Jesus. In 2008, The Times named Pullman one of the "50 greatest British writers since 1945". In a 2004 BBC poll, he was named the eleventh most influential person in British culture. He was knighted in the 2019 New Year Honours for services to literature.

Anne Fine OBE FRSL is an English writer. Although best known for children's books, she also writes for adults. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and she was appointed an OBE in 2003.

The Guardian Children's Fiction Prize or Guardian Award was a literary award that annual recognised one fiction book written for children or young adults and published in the United Kingdom. It was conferred upon the author of the book by The Guardian newspaper, which established it in 1965 and inaugurated it in 1967. It was a lifetime award in that previous winners were not eligible. At least from 2000 the prize was £1,500. The prize was apparently discontinued after 2016, though no formal announcement appears to have been made.

William James Carter Mayne was an English writer of children's fiction. The Oxford Companion to Children's Literature calls him one of the outstanding children's authors of the 20th century and The Times Literary Supplement reportedly called him "the most original good writer for young people in our time". In 2004, he was convicted of sexual abuse of young readers and received a jail sentence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colson Whitehead</span> American novelist (born 1969)

Arch Colson Chipp Whitehead is an American novelist. He is the author of eight novels, including his 1999 debut work The Intuitionist; The Underground Railroad (2016), for which he won the 2016 National Book Award for Fiction and the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction; he won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction again in 2020 for The Nickel Boys. He has also published two books of non-fiction. In 2002, he received a MacArthur Genius Grant.

Sonya Louise Hartnett is an Australian author of fiction for adults, young adults, and children. She has been called "the finest Australian writer of her generation". For her career contribution to "children's and young adult literature in the broadest sense" Hartnett won the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award from the Swedish Arts Council in 2008, the biggest prize in children's literature.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank Cottrell-Boyce</span> English screenwriter, novelist, and actor

Frank Cottrell-Boyce is an English screenwriter, novelist and occasional actor, known for his children's fiction and for his collaborations with film director Michael Winterbottom. He has achieved fame as the writer for the 2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony and for sequels to Chitty Chitty Bang Bang: The Magical Car, a children's classic by Ian Fleming.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Almond</span> British childrens writer (born 1951)

David Almond is a British author who has written many novels for children and young adults from 1998, each one receiving critical acclaim.

Melvin Burgess is a British writer of children's fiction. He became famous in 1996 with the publication of Junk, about heroin-addicted teenagers on the streets of Bristol. In Britain, Junk became one of the best-known young adult books of the decade. Burgess won the annual Carnegie Medal from the Library Association, recognising the year's best children's book by a British author. For the 10th anniversary in 2007 it was named one of the top ten Medal-winning works, selected by a panel to compose the ballot for a public election of the all-time favourite.

<i>Junk</i> (novel) 1996 novel by Melvin Burgess

Junk, known as Smack in the US, is a realistic novel for young adults, written by British author Melvin Burgess and published in 1996 by Andersen in the UK. Set on the streets of Bristol, England, it features two runaway teenagers who join a group of squatters, where they fall into heroin addiction and embrace anarchism. Both critically and commercially, it is the best received of Burgess' novels. Yet it was unusually controversial at first, criticised negatively for its 'how-to' aspect, or its dark realism, or its moral relativism.

Robert Atkinson Westall was an English author and teacher known for fiction aimed at children and young people. Some of the latter cover complex, dark, and adult themes. He has been called "the dean of British war novelists". His first book, The Machine Gunners, won the 1975 Carnegie Medal for the year's outstanding children's book by a British subject. It was named among the top ten Medal-winners at the 70th anniversary celebration in 2007. Westall also won a second Carnegie, a Smarties Prize, and the once-in-a-lifetime Guardian Prize.

Susan Price is an English author of children's and young adult novels. She has won both the Carnegie Medal and the Guardian Prize for British children's books.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siobhan Dowd</span> English writer and activist (1960–2007)

Siobhan Dowd was a British writer and activist. The last book she completed, Bog Child, posthumously won the 2009 Carnegie Medal from the professional librarians, recognising the year's best book for children or young adults published in the UK.

Malcolm Charles Peet was an English author and illustrator best known for young adult fiction. He has won several honours including the Brandford Boase, the Carnegie Medal and the Guardian Prize, British children's literature awards that recognise "year's best" books. Three of his novels feature football and the fictional South American sports journalist Paul Faustino. The Murdstone Trilogy (2014) and "Mr Godley's Phantom" were his first works aimed at adult readers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meg Rosoff</span> American novelist

Meg Rosoff is an American writer based in London, United Kingdom. She is best known for the novel How I Live Now, which won the Guardian Prize, Printz Award, and Branford Boase Award and made the Whitbread Awards shortlist. Her second novel, Just in Case, won the annual Carnegie Medal from the British librarians recognising the year's best children's book published in the UK.

Ally Kennen is a British author of adventure novels for children and teens. Some of her books have been marketed as thrillers and they may be classed as horror fiction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patrick Ness</span> American-British author, journalist, lecturer, and screenwriter

Patrick Ness is an American-British author, journalist, lecturer, and screenwriter. Born in the United States, Ness moved to London and holds dual citizenship. He is best known for his books for young adults, including the Chaos Walking trilogy and A Monster Calls.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anthony McGowan</span> English author

Anthony John McGowan is an English author of books for children, teenagers and adults. He is the winner of the 2020 CILIP Carnegie Medal for Lark.

Andy Mulligan is an English writer best known for young adult fiction. His work is strongly influenced by his experiences working as a volunteer in Calcutta, India, and as an English and drama teacher in Brazil, Vietnam, the Philippines, and the UK

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sarah Crossan</span> Irish writer

Sarah Crossan is an Irish author. She is best known for her books for young adults, including Apple and Rain and One, for which she has won several rewards.

References

  1. The CILIP Carnegie Medal & Kate Greenaway Children's Book Awards
  2. Guardian Children's Fiction Prize 2006
  3. "CBBC - Clay". BBC. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
  4. American Library Association (2007). "2007 Best Books for Young Adults". Archived from the original on 13 February 2011. Retrieved 3 February 2011.