{"title":"Books by Keith Gray","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"9780099456575","title":"Ostrich Boys","description":"\u003cp\u003e'It's not really kidnapping, is it? He'd have to be alive for it to be proper kidnapping.'\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eKenny, 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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDrawing 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 . . .\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43399696449714,"sku":"9780099456575","price":8.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780099456575.jpg?v=1786011069"},{"product_id":"9781800901919","title":"The Den","description":"The complicated nuances of teenage friendship are captured perfectly in this story of summer adventure and exploration by award-winning author Keith Gray.Marshall feels the need to escape because things are so tough at home. Rory is just happy it’s the first day of the summer holidays. While out on their bikes they stumble across a long-forgotten underground bunker at the edge of the woods. This is the den, and going down inside will stretch their friendship to its limits. There will be rivalry and betrayal, but can wrecked relationships be saved before the summer has even begun?Particularly suitable for readers aged 11+ with a reading age of 8.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43408876077234,"sku":"9781800901919","price":7.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781800901919.jpg?v=1786027521"},{"product_id":"9780007336425","title":"The Boswall Kidnapping","description":"\u003cp\u003eBuild your child’s reading confidence at home with books at the right levelWhen Alex's dad drags him to Boswall and Sons, the local department store, he never expects to find himself thrown into a world of kidnap and spies.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWritten by Carnegie-nominated author Keith Gray, this fast-paced, exciting book shows that things aren't always as they seem…\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDiamond\/Band 17 books offer more complex, underlying themes to give opportunities for children to understand causes and points of view.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA mystery storyA plan of the department store on pages 54 and 55 allows readers to recap the journey the boys make.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCurriculum Links: Citizenship: Choices.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis book has been quizzed for Accelerated Reader.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56220158099829,"sku":"9780007336425","price":8.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780007336425_c09332c3-1b8b-4a70-922c-7c207ce7346a.jpg?v=1785658958"},{"product_id":"9780099439448","title":"Malarkey","description":"\u003cp\u003eBrook High is a great grey concrete ants' nest of a school. John Malarkey is the new kid, thrown in at the deep end of Year 11. He's the wrong person in the wrong place at the wrong time. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThrough what at first appears to be a random meeting, he helps a girl called Mary Chase out of a tricky situation, but is subsequently accused of stealing report cards to sell to students so they can write their own bogus reports. He quickly realises it was all a set-up, and that he's been used to take the fall. The teacher who accuses him of the crime gives him one day to prove his innocence. Malarkey tries to track down Mary Chase, but it's difficult in such a huge place. He does, however, discover strange goings-on beneath the surface of the normal school day. The more questions he asks the deeper he becomes involved in the corrupt under-belly of the school. He's also noticed the peculiar fact that so many kids at Brook wear Adidas trainers - black with the three white stripes. He realises that these are the badge of membership worn by those involved in the school's 'mafia'. He discovers that the name of the organisation's leader is Freddie Cloth, and Mary Chase turns out to be Cloth's girlfriend. Malarkey is soon noticed for asking so many questions, and receives warnings and then threats to back down. But, with time quickly running out for him, he still has to prove his innocence. And the only way to do this is to get to Freddie Cloth.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56222888165749,"sku":"9780099439448","price":8.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780099439448_7901c26b-3a0a-4809-8aa2-8d7b6374051e.jpg?v=1786010964"},{"product_id":"9780099475644","title":"Creepers","description":"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.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56222915723637,"sku":"9780099475644","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780099475644_3f1639ff-5ad1-43a9-9f9d-e6bd325fa923.jpg?v=1786011249"},{"product_id":"9780440866565","title":"The Runner","description":"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.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56290398208373,"sku":"9780440866565","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780440866565_696ddb3d-c6c7-4ee1-833c-fab21fde659e.jpg?v=1786014039"},{"product_id":"9781408130827","title":"Ostrich Boys","description":"\u003cp\u003eShortlisted 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, \u003ci\u003eOstrich Boys\u003c\/i\u003e is ideal for KS3 and KS4 English and will appeal strongly to boys as well as girls.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis 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:\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cli\u003emeets the new requirements at KS3 and GCSE (2010) \u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003efeatures detailed, structured schemes of work utilising drama approaches to improve literary and language analysis \u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eplaces pupils' understanding of the learning process at the heart of the activities \u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ewill help pupils to boost English GCSE success and develop high-level skills at KS3 \u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ewill save teachers considerable time devising their own resources.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56298748608885,"sku":"9781408130827","price":13.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781408130827_836271f0-b616-492d-81e2-a9ae03b4c2f6.jpg?v=1786019245"},{"product_id":"9781800903203","title":"The List","description":"\u003cp\u003eCan friendships survive as Denny relives the good times and rewrites the bad?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA comic and compelling tale from award-winning author Keith Gray.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt’s the end of the summer and Denny is having to move away with his mum now that she’s found a good job, but he’s not planning on leaving quietly. He’s made a list of scores to settle and wrongs to right before he goes. He asks his best friend, Jake, to help. Jake is absolutely gutted that Denny is leaving and worries what life will be like without him. Of course he’ll do anything to help, no matter how weird or unrealistic the items on Denny’s list might be. But the list is more powerful than either of them realise – it can make and break friendships.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eParticularly suitable for readers aged 11+ with a reading age of 8.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56306940248437,"sku":"9781800903203","price":7.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781800903203_3a3349c3-e597-48fa-bf05-c3444330696f.jpg?v=1786026554"},{"product_id":"ben-s-gargoyle","title":"BENS GARGOYLE","description":"\u003cp\u003eCritically acclaimed author Keith Gray masterfully grapples with the difficult dynamics of a tumultuous family environment in this compelling and bittersweet tale.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhen Ben sees a monstrous gargoyle creeping across the midnight rooftops, he’s desperate to tell someone. But Ben feels alone in his new home and is finding it hard fitting in at his new school.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBen’s dad doesn’t believe him. He’s always angry. He says Ben needs to act his age, stand up to the school bullies and “be a man”. But can Ben find the courage to stand up to the biggest bully of all?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd every night the gargoyle creeps closer.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eParticularly suitable for readers aged 9+ with a reading age of 8.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57466744602997,"sku":"9780008774615","price":7.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780008774615.jpg?v=1785654806"},{"product_id":"the-climbers","title":"The Climbers","description":"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.Longlisted for the Carnegie MedalSully is the best climber in the village. He can scale the Twisted Sister’s tangled branches and clamber up Double Trunker with ease. But when new kid Nottingham shows up and astonishes everyone with his climbing skills, Sully’s status is under threat and there’s only one way to prove who’s best. Sully and Nottingham must race to climb the last unnamed tree. Whoever makes it to the top will become a legend. But something spiteful and ugly has reared its head in Sully … Is it worth losing everything just to reach the top?Particularly suitable for readers aged 11+ with a reading age of 8.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57487954116981,"sku":"9781781129999","price":7.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781781129999.jpg?v=1786355178"},{"product_id":"warehouse","title":"Warehouse","description":"\u003cp\u003e'I know a place you can go'. It's a secret place hidden among the run-down buildings of the derelict dockyards. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA 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.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57490179850613,"sku":"9781909531383","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781909531383.jpg?v=1786442065"}],"url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/collections\/author-keith-gray.oembed","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}