Creature of the Night (novel)

Creature of the Night (novel)
For book by Sal Piro, see Creatures of the Night (non-fiction book). For other, see Creature of the night.
Creature of the Night  
Creature of the Night.JPG
First USA edition volume of Creature of the Night as published by Roaring Brook Press
Author(s) Kate Thompson
Country United Kingdom
Language English
Genre(s) Young adult
Publisher Bodley Head
Publication date June 5, 2008
Pages 256
ISBN 978-0370329291
OCLC Number 213382225

Creature of the Night is a young adult novel by Kate Thompson. It was first published by Bodley Head on June 5, 2008.[1] It was shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal [2] and the 2008 Booktrust Teenage Prize.[3]

Contents

Plot summary

Bobby, the fourteen-year-old narrator, is a thief and a hooligan. When his mother moves him and his young brother to a cottage in rural Ireland his only thought is how to get back to a life of crime in Dublin. Eventually he steals a Skoda car and goes back, only to find things have changed and he has no place there. He reluctantly returns to the cottage and is given work by a local farmer.

The cottage they are living in is on a path between two fairy forts. The family are warned by the farmer’s wife to put out a bowl of milk every night, but they consider this a mere superstition. Being deprived of the milk, a little old fairy woman comes through the cat flap into the kitchen. Dennis, Bobby's brother, sees and accepts her, but for Bobby it is a baffling and rather frightening mystery.

Reception

The Irish Times comments that Kate Thompson "conveys extraordinarily well not only Dublin's mean streets but country rhythms, and how city trends are infecting every town in Ireland".[4] The Guardian comments that in the novel, "all events are true to the characters involved and help to reveal something about them".[5] Bookheads describe Thompson's storytelling as "poetically insightful".[6]

References

  1. ^ "Creature of the Night". bodley Head. http://www.rbooks.co.uk/product.aspx?id=0370329295. Retrieved 2009-04-23. 
  2. ^ Walsh, Caroline (March 14, 2009). "Loose Leaves". Irish Times. http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/weekend/2009/0314/1224242841866.html. Retrieved 2009-04-23. 
  3. ^ "Teenage Prize". Booktrust Teenage Prize. http://www.bookheads.org.uk/Teenage-Prize. Retrieved 2009-04-23. 
  4. ^ MacMonagle, Niall (June 7, 2008). "A boy between two worlds". Irish Times. http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/weekend/2008/0607/1212762226279.html. Retrieved 2009-04-23. 
  5. ^ Ardagh, Philip (July 12, 2008). "The changeling". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2008/jul/12/saturdayreviewsfeatres.guardianreview22. Retrieved 2009-04-23. 
  6. ^ "Review Creature of the Night". Bookheads. http://www.bookheads.org.uk/show/review/search/Creature-of-the-Night. Retrieved 2009-04-23. 

External links


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