Kevin Brooks

The Road of the Dead

Kevin Brooks

• 2007 Carnegie shortlist
• 2007 Edgar-Young Adult nominee
• 2009 YRCA-Senior nominee
• Score: 16.57

On a storm-ravaged night, a 19-year-old girl is kidnapped, raped, and killed. Three days later, her two younger brothers set out in search of her murderer. Cole, 17, is a dark-eyed devil who doesn’t care if he lives or dies, while Ruben, 14, is a strange child who sometimes, inexplicably, experiences sensations above and beyond his own. This is the story of the boys' journey from their half-gypsy home on a London junk lot to the ghostly moors of Devon, where they hope and fear to find the truth about their sister’s death. It’s a long road, cold and hard and violent. It’s The Road of the Dead.

Lucas

Kevin Brooks

• 2003 Guardian Award shortlist
• Score: 6.53

Caitlin is spending the summer on the windswept island that is her home. She is caught between girlhood and maturity, and feels utterly isolated from the rest of the world. Then she meets Lucas, who is the embodiment of freedom and honesty. She is instantly drawn to him. But Caitlin must also grapple with the darker forces that seem to be confronting her family. Lucas himself further complicates matters when he is hunted for an awful crime that Caitlin herself becomes involved in.

Martyn Pig

Kevin Brooks

• 2002 Carnegie shortlist
• Score: 6.52

Faced with the possibility of living with a dreadful aunt, fifteen-year-old Martyn Pig decides not to tell authorities when his alcoholic father dies accidentally, instead asking a friend for her help in disposing of the body.

Candy

Kevin Brooks

• 2005 Guardian Award longlist
• Score: 4.55

Joe is hooked from the moment he sees Candy. What is it that catches his eye? Is it her hair, her smile, or just the way she's standing? When they chat over coffee there's an instant attraction, but can love ever be this sweet? As the bitter truth about Candy's dangerous world emerges, Joe must decide if love and hope are worth fighting for.

Kissing the Rain

Kevin Brooks

• 2004 Guardian Award longlist
• Score: 4.54

Moo Nelson walks through life alone with his eyes down, avoiding the rain - being pushed and laughed at by others - and wishing things were different. Until the night he sees a car chase - and a murder... Or does he? What is the truth and who wants to know? It seems a lot of people do - the police, the lawyers, the bullies at school, and one very bad guy indeed. Moo must decide between truth and lies and he must do it soon, before someone else gets hurt...