''Clay'' is a children's/young adult novel by David Almond, published in 2005. It was shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal and longlisted for the

Guardian Children's Fiction Prize The Guardian Children's Fiction Prize or Guardian Award was a literary award that annual recognised one fiction book written for children or young adults (at least age eight) and published in the United Kingdom. It was conferred upon the author ...

. The story, told in first-person, is about two boys, Davie and Stephen, who can make clay come to life. However, things quickly go downhill as the two become involved in a plot to rise a life-size sculpture they name "Clay". The story focuses on the nature of evil and creativity. It was adapted for television in 2008 by Andrew Gunn, first aired on

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on 30 March 2008, and later rebroadcast another 9 times on

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Plot

14 year old Davie and his friend, Geordie, are altar boys at their local Catholic church. They get into all kinds of mischief, such as stealing altar wine and fighting with a group from a rival school. One day, they spot a strange new boy named Stephen Rose, who has a passion for making sculptures, moving into his aunt "Crazy" Mary's house. Father O'Mahoney urges the two boys to befriend him, thinking they could be the friends Stephen needs to get over the trauma of losing both his parents. At first reluctant, believing Stephen to be doomed to insanity like the rest of his family, Davie grows closer to him and learns of a secret--Stephen can make his sculptures come to life. So can Davie, and Stephen wants his help to make a life-size man out of clay.

Awards

''Clay'' received recognition in 2007 as one of the

Best Books for Young Adults The American Library Association's Best Fiction for Young Adults, previously known as Best Books for Young Adults (1966–2010), is a recommendation list of books presented yearly by the YALSA division (Young Adult Library Services Association Th ...

References

External links

Clay
at the

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2005 British novels British children's novels British young adult novels 2005 children's books Hodder & Stoughton books {{2000s-child-novel-stub