Grass - Cathy MacPhail
Grass - Cathy MacPhail
Cathy MacPhail’s latest novel Grass may seem like a quick read for children, but the minute you open its pages you discover otherwise; this is a gripping, fast-paced novel for young adults, centred around issues of gang warfare, gun crime, and a young boy’s love for his family.
After witnessing murder, Leo is instantly plunged into an unwanted world of bribery, manipulation, and blackmail, all to ensure the safety of his nearest and dearest.
The teenage protagonist is an easy character to relate to, and being teens ourselves, we all know what it feels like to see something we shouldn’t, but you can’t help but admire his courage throughout the novel as he faces his fear, and sympathise as his relationships are pushed to their extent.
Armour, the gang leader, is a character who has a complex personality, one minute he was is good as can be and the next he is manipulating Leo.
Overall, I felt that this was an amazing book by an amazing writer, whose modern style made it impossible to put the book away.
Just remember…you don’t grass on your friends.
Ryan
I hadn’t read a lot of MacPhail before Grass and I doubt I’ll be rushing out to buy her next book. The storyline and morals were good, but I felt the execution left a lot to be desired.
Leo, the main character, is faced with some tricky decisions when he witnesses a murder – keep quiet and protect his friends and family or do the right thing and report it to the Police, risking his family’s life.
Grass revolves around Leo’s developing relationship with the murderer – one of the local crimelords – as he becomes increasingly involved with him, believing that he is good, deep down.
Thematically, the main aspect is moral decisions – questioning right and wrong, but also touches on peer pressure and other similar issues. Leo’ s moral battle of trying to balance protecting, and retaining, his family and friends; keep on the criminals’ good sides and convince himself that he is doing the right thing drive the plot on.
The book is a poor example of crime or thriller fiction and is written at a very basic level – I think it would be better suited to a slightly younger age group than that for which it was intended. The vocabulary never advances past a basic level and sentences are all short and undeveloped, making this a quick and easy read.
On the other hand, the characters are fairly well developed – given the short length of time available to develop them – and the setting is well created. The ending, though abrupt, is satisfying.
Stuart
