The Den

by Keith Gray

Overview

Marshall feels the need to escape because things are so tough at home. Rory is just happy it’s the first day of the summer holidays. While out on their bikes they stumble across a long-forgotten underground bunker at the edge of the woods.
 
This is the den, and going down inside will stretch their friendship to its limits. There will be rivalry and betrayal, but can wrecked relationships be saved before the summer has even begun?

Union Square & Co.’s EVERYONE CAN BE A READER books are expertly written, thoughtfully designed with dyslexia-friendly fonts and paper tones, and carefully formatted to meet readers where they are with engaging stories that encourage reading success across a wide range of age and interest levels.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781454958499
Publisher:	Union Square & Co.
Publication date:	01/14/2025
Series:	Everyone Can Be a Reader (Teen Contempor Series
Edition description:	High readability
Pages:	120
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.90(h) x 0.40(d)
Lexile:	640L (what's this?)
Age Range:	13 - 18 Years

About the Author

Keith Gray’s debut novel Creepers was published when he was only 24 and was shortlisted for the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize. His subsequent books include Ostrich Boys which was shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal as well as the Costa Children’s Book Award and has been adapted for the stage, The Last Soldier which was shortlisted for the Scottish Teen Book Awards, and The Runner which won the Smarties Silver Medal. Keith lives with his family in Vienna, Austria, where he co-founded the writer development community Kulturverein: Sunday Writers’ Club.

Editorial Reviews

"Designed to be dyslexia-friendly and appealing to reluctant readers, this short novel will appeal to those interested in the challenges and intricacies of teen friendships."
—Kirkus Review

“Emotionally rich in its sensitive exploration of friendship and filial love. A quick, satisfying read.”
—Booklist 

“Worthy additions to any collection.”
—School Library Journal—School Library Journal

From the Publisher

05/01/2025

Gr 8 Up—This batch is a diverse assortment: one slasher horror, two friendship dramas, and one public-domain work reprinted in an accessible format. The writing is strong across all of the modern stories. Each one follows a singular protagonist down a simple, linear plot, although The Den's first chapter is a bit jumbled. The Den and Unboxed are about untangling the twisted knots of friendship as young people age. In The Den, a bullied teen finds refuge in an abandoned house in his neighborhood. In Unboxed, a friend group split apart after one friend's death from cancer reunites to open letters to themselves they wrote many years before. Both novels have characters who liberally swear, and the books have happy endings. Camp Killer stands out as a Psycho meets Friday the 13th summer camp thriller. It begins with gentle chills and light scares before characters are stabbed with arrows, crushed, and otherwise wiped out one by one. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is an abridged update of the classic novel and includes a brief bio of Robert Louis Stevenson at the back of the book. All of these novels were first published in the UK—one as far back as 2016, which feels like ancient history in teen years, and one in 1886, which is ancient history in any human's years. VERDICT All the modern novels are worthy additions to any collection. The classic can be added where such accessible books are needed.

School Library Journal

2024-10-11
An exciting discovery exposes a friendship’s fault lines.

Since his mother left and his sister moved out, 13-year-old Marshall has lived with his emotionally volatile father, who has been addicted to painkillers ever since an injury when he worked as a roadie. To avoid him, Marshall spends as much time with his best friend, Rory, as possible. While out riding bikes on the first day of summer vacation, the boys find an underground bunker in the woods beyond their village, and Marshall decides to make it into a hideaway—his very own den where he can avoid his father. But when Rory wants to invite Sam and Trev, from whom Marshall has been estranged following a fight, Marshall turns on Rory, eventually enlisting another boy, Greg, to help him drive the other three away from the den. A fight ensues—Greg’s father owns a doggie day care, giving Greg access to large quantities of fresh dog poop to use as weapons—and the boys will have to decide whether to abandon their friendship or figure out how to reconcile. Designed to be dyslexia-friendly and appealing to reluctant readers, this short novel will appeal to those interested in the challenges and intricacies of teen friendships. Readers will likely understand Marshall’s anger and desire to act out, potentially developing empathy that will carry over to the real world. The main characters present white.

A compelling antihero for reluctant readers.(Fiction. 13-18)

Kirkus Reviews