Creature of the Night (novel)

Creature of the Night
First edition
AuthorKate Thompson
LanguageEnglish
GenreYoung adult
PublisherBodley Head
Publication date
5 June 2008
Publication placeUnited Kingdom
Pages256
ISBN978-0-370-32929-1
OCLC213382225

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

Plot summary

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Bobby, the fourteen-year-old narrator, is a thief and a hooligan. When his mother moves him and his young brother to a cottage near Ennis in County Clare[4] 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 is warned by the farmer’s mother 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 dog flap into the kitchen. Dennis, Bobby's brother, sees and accepts her, but for Bobby it is a baffling and rather frightening mystery.

Reception

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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".[5] The Guardian comments that in the novel, "all events are true to the characters involved and help to reveal something about them".[4] Bookheads describe Thompson's storytelling as "poetically insightful".[6]

References

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  1. ^ "Creature of the Night". bodley Head. Archived from the original on 28 October 2008. Retrieved 23 April 2009.
  2. ^ Walsh, Caroline (14 March 2009). "Loose Leaves". Irish Times. Retrieved 23 April 2009.
  3. ^ "Teenage Prize". Booktrust Teenage Prize. Archived from the original on 7 March 2009. Retrieved 23 April 2009.
  4. ^ a b Ardagh, Philip (12 July 2008). "The changeling". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 April 2009.
  5. ^ MacMonagle, Niall (7 June 2008). "A boy between two worlds". Irish Times. Retrieved 23 April 2009.
  6. ^ "Review Creature of the Night". Bookheads. Retrieved 23 April 2009.[permanent dead link]
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