Lark - Anthony McGowan

A lean novella (120 pages) that juxaposes the brutal depiction of nature (the Yorkshire moors during a blizzard) with the warm humour of two teenage brothers. A simple adventure story that is enhanced by McGowan's prose and the relationship between Nicky and little brother Kenny. They are a lovely counterpoint to toxic representations of masculinity as cold and unfeeling. Teaching warning: f-word in Ch 19 and fairly frequent cursing (a**e and b***y) before that. Superb. Although it can be read alone (as I did), it's the fourth and final installment of Nicky and Kenny's lives. The other novels are Brock, Pike and Rook.