Keith Gray

'It's not really kidnapping, is it? He'd have to be alive for it to be proper kidnapping.' Kenny, Sim and Blake are about to embark on a remarkable journey of friendship. Stealing the urn containing the ashes of their best friend Ross, they set out from Cleethorpes on the east coast to travel the 261 miles to the tiny hamlet of Ross in Dumfries and Galloway. After a depressing and dispiriting funeral they feel taking Ross to Ross will be a fitting memorial for a 15 year-old boy who changed all their lives through his friendship. Little do they realise just how much Ross can still affect life for them even though he's now dead. Drawing on personal experience Keith Gray has written an extraordinary novel about friendship, loss and suicide, and about the good things that may be waiting just out of sight around the corner . . .

Ostrich Boys

Quel che resta di te

The Milmullen family has always been responsible for protecting their town from a monster in Lake Mou, but the youngest Milmullen, Tim, isn't sure whether there really is a monster.

The Fearful

Toby is a murderer. That's what the ghost at the end of his bed tells him. Toby is taken back in time to see the repercussions of his actions and unravel the series of events that led to the man's death.

You Killed Me!

In 1699 William Milmullen took his six pupils to the lakeside but only he returned after a creature rose up from the water and devoured the six boys right before his eyes. The whole town was shocked and terrified by the tragedy. Many were now too frightened to go out on the lake to fish, and the town's economy was under threat. William Milmullen recovered from the shock of what he'd seen. He named the creature 'The Mourn', and declared himself 'Mourner'. He took upon himself the responsibility to appease the creature by feeding livestock into the lake and vowed his family would forever be responsible for the safety of the town, and that every Milmullen son would take the mantle of Mourner at the age of 16. This novel is set in the present day, and nobody believes in monsters anymore. These days the town is somewhat embarrassed about its monster stories and to many the Milmullen family is a bit of a joke. The family, however, have held onto their duty, believing that if they forsake the creature it will rise from the lake again. Tim Milmullen turns 16 in a week's time. On his birthday he will become the 13th Mourner. But Tim doesn't know if he wants the role. For one thing all the kids at school tease him, calling his father crazy, saying Old William back in 1699 killed the schoolboys himself and made up the story. And Tim's biggest problem is that he doesn't know if he believes in the legend or not. How can he dedicate his whole life to something he has never seen?

'I know a place you can go'. It's a secret place hidden among the run-down buildings of the derelict dockyards. A community of young people have gathered in an old warehouse to get away from a world they don't fit in to. Through separate but interweaving narratives Warehouse tells the stories of three of the community's members. There's Robbie who is running away from his violent older brother, Frank, and needs some space to realise that the beatings are not his fault. Amy, who's supposed to be travelling in Europe but has had her rucksack stolen and is too proud to ask her smothering family for help. And then there's Lem, an ex-drug-addict and founder of the Warehouse community, whose perceived role as leader by the other young people is too much for him to cope with.

Warehouse

Nat's sister Sandy speaks to the dead. It's a gift, and a good way to make a living. Only thing is, it isn't true. So imagine Nat and Sandy's surprise when the dead start to speak back. But it seems the dead are the least of their problems.

Ghosting

Subtle and poetic drama set in 1920s Dustbowl America. Nothing much happens in Joe and Wade's dusty town - just grinding poverty and the occasional run-in with the neighbours. The only highlight is the arrival of the carnival, with its mermaid, wolfman and baby dragon. This year, there's a new attraction - the Last Soldier of World War One. What message does he have for the boys.? Particularly suitable for struggling, reluctant and dyslexic readers aged 12+

The Last Soldier

Derwent Drive was known as the Speed Creep. A continual chain of Dashes into Blind. We'd all heard the story about the Creeper who dropped Blind into a garden, only to discover he was standing in a dog pound. It was also the longest creep; twenty-five houses all in a row, no bends, no kinks. And no Creeper had ever done the lot. But Jamie and I reckoned we could do it. Jamie was the best Creeper around. He was the best Buddie you could have. And he was mine. Ever heard about 'creeping' before? Probably not. Nobody really talks about it. That doesn't mean it doesn't happen. It does. Creeping over back fences all the way down a street without getting caught; without being hurt. It happens more than you might think. It's probably happening somewhere tonight.

Creepers

Derwent Drive was known as the longest creep; twenty-five houses all in a row, no bends, no kinks. And no Creeper had ever done the lot. But Jamie and I reckoned we could do it. Jamie was the best Creeper around. And he was the best buddie you could have. Ever heard about "creeping" before? Probably not. Nobody really talks about it. That doesn't mean it doesn't happen. It does. Creeping over back fences all the way down a street without getting caught, without being hurt. It happens more than you might think. It's probably happening somewhere tonight.

The year is 1885 and Erik Weisz, a penniless immigrant, has found himself in trouble again. His uncanny talent for picking locks and his gleeful showboating to match it, have earned him very few friends and a bad reputation. But this is just the beginning of his story and Erik is destined for a far more magical future. Watch as he transforms before your very eyes into the greatest showman the world has ever seen... An unexpected and timely story of rags to riches.

Houdini and the Five Cent Circus

"When Andy sets off on a camping trip with three friends, he has only one thing in mind. He wants to spend some quality time with his girlfriend Lucy, with no parents around. But things do not go according to plan. It's wet and cold. They're soaked and lost... and then Lucy wanders off on her own. She's found alive several hours later, but with strange marks on her neck. Could she have been bitten by a vampire? Their trip is fast turning into a nightmare and things are going from bad to worse..." - back cover.

Before Night Falls

The lives of four teenagers are changed by a book that accidentally passes between them.

The Chain

After years of scamming people into thinking they can speak to the dead, Nat and his sister begin to hear the dead and discover that they are the least of their worries.

Jason has had enough of his parents' arguments. He's running away to stay with his brother in Liverpool. On the train journey he meets a 'runner' called Jam, who lives on the monster Intercity trains and stations. His carefree and adventurous life sounds so exciting that Jason begins to think he might join Jam. Then Jason discovers Jam's secret.

The Runner

Heralding his outstanding return to young adult fiction, Keith Gray captures the subtle agonies of teen life in this compelling, bittersweet tale of rivalry and friendship.When Sully's status is challenged by new kid Nottingham, the only way to prove who's best is a race to climb the unnamed tree ... In this compelling story of teenage rivalry and friendship, award-winner Keith Gray captures the subtle agonies and reality of life growing up in a small town.

The Climbers

Carl Miller

Shortlisted for the CILIP Carnegie Medal 2010, Keith Gray's hit novel features a group of three friends who embark on a remarkable journey from Cleethorpes to Scotland with a stolen urn containing the ashes of their best friend... Now adapted for the stage by Birmingham Rep for a production by their Youth Theatre in 2011, Ostrich Boys is ideal for KS3 and KS4 English and will appeal strongly to boys as well as girls. This educational edition in Methuen Drama's Critical Scripts series has been prepared by national Drama in Secondary English experts Ruth Moore and Paul Bunyan. Building on a decade of highly effective work and publications endorsed by national organisations and supported by teachers and consultants across Britain, each book in the series: meets the new requirements at KS3 and GCSE (2010) features detailed, structured schemes of work utilising drama approaches to improve literary and language analysis places pupils' understanding of the learning process at the heart of the activities will help pupils to boost English GCSE success and develop high-level skills at KS3 will save teachers considerable time devising their own resources.

Improving Standards in English through Drama at Key Stage 3 and GCSE

Patrick Ness

Bali Rai

Sophie McKenzie

Anne Fine

Melvin Burgess

Jenny Valentine

Mary Hoper

Virgindade: tem gente que se apega a ela, e tem gente que não vê a hora de perdê-la. A primeira experiência sexual é única e tão variada quanto se pode imaginar. Nestes oito contos, tudo gira em torno da primeira vez. Com ajuda da ficção, Melvin Burgess, Anne Fine, Mary Hooper, Sophie McKenzie, Patrick Ness, Bali Rai, Jenny Valentine e Keith Gray – oito dos mais célebres autores juvenis da atualidade – contam histórias de adolescentes que estão encarando este momento inesquecível. Tem ansiedade? Tem. Falta de jeito? Também. Timidez, vergonha, medo? Claro que sim. Prazer, alívio, decepção: como não? Sem papo furado, sem lições de moral, sem pretensões: A primeira vez é um livro para curtir, sem culpa, a aventura que é perder a virgindade.

Keith Gray

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