Clay- David Almond.

“strange, miraculous, beautiful” The Times.

There’s a stranger in town – Stephen Rose. He’s got waxy skin, haunting eyes, a sickly smell. No parents. No friends. He’s come to live with Crazy Mary. There are many tales and rumours about him. One thing’s certain: there’s magic in the weird creatures he makes with clay.
Should Davie and Geordie keep away? Or should they get close? Could Stephen be an ally in their bitter struggle against monstrous Mouldy and his gang?

David Almond, author of Skellig and winner of Whitbread, Smarties and Carnegie Awards, has created a dark, thickly plotted story of a modern day Frankenstein. He cleverly interweaves questions of faith, of good and evil, with the trails and tribulations of adolescence.
The hero, Davie is a sympathetic character, and Stephen is chilling and dark.
I loved the way that the characters whom Davie is afraid of, Mouldy, Crazy Mary and Stephen have their own tales of hardship explaining the way they are. The book provokes thought, if we can believe in the existence of God and goodness, is it not necessary to consider evil also? And if God exists, why not monsters and so many other unbelievable, unexplainable things?
This novel is children’s fiction, but could easily appeal to adults and was longlisted for the Carnegie Medal.

"A haunting and compelling novel" The Guardian.