A review by chantelleatkinswriter
Clay by David Almond

5.0

Another unsettling and thought-provoking book by David Almond. Myself and my son are working our way through his books and although Kit's Wilderness is still my favourite, this one must come pretty close. Davie and Geordie are two young teens whose main problems involve the local bully 'Mouldy'. When a strange new boy called Stephen Rose moves in with his Aunt, a lady known around town as 'Crazy Mary', the two boys are urged to befriend him and help him get over his traumatic past. As altar boys, Geordie and Davie are looked upon as 'good boys'. Geordie is unnerved by Stephen, who takes an instant like to Davie, and there is soon a rift between the two old friends. Stephen has a way of making Davie do what he wants him to do, and has a unique way of solving the Mouldy problem. Stephen is able to bring clay to life with his hands, and Davie, though frightened of the new boy, is also entranced and under his spell, and joins him in making a monster of a man they call Clay. Like many of Almond's books, the novel covers so many universal themes, that you cannot help but relate to it. The characters are superb and just march right off the page and into your mind. This particular novel examines themes such as the meaning of life, death, God and religion in such a simple, childlike way, that you almost miss it. With echoes of Frankenstein, this is an eerie and unsettling read which I will think about for some time!