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The Climbers

By: Keith Gray, Tom Clohosy Cole
Narrated by: Sam Newton
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Publisher's Summary

Heralding his outstanding return to young adult fiction, Keith Gray captures the subtle agonies of teen life in this compelling, bittersweet tale of rivalry and friendship.

In this compelling story of teenage rivalry and friendship, award-winning author Keith Gray captures the subtle agonies and reality of life growing up in a small town.


Sully is the best climber in the village. He can scale the Twisted Sister’s tangled branches and clamber up Double Trunker with ease. But when new kid Nottingham shows up and astonishes everyone with his climbing skills, Sully’s status is under threat and there’s only one way to prove who’s best. Sully and Nottingham must race to climb the last unnamed tree. Whoever makes it to the top will become a legend. But something spiteful and ugly has reared its head in Sully … Is it worth losing everything just to reach the top?

©2021 Keith Gray (P)2021 Barrington Stoke Ltd
  • Unabridged Audiobook

Critic Reviews

"Keith Gray is a fine author for young adults, with an understanding of teenagers that rings true. This dyslexia-friendly novella, for any audience, demonstrates that a book that is brief and written in simple language can still be profound...a neatly constructed page-turner." (The Sunday Times Children's Book of the Week)

"Spare, brief, limpidly clear, this novella from a multi-award-winning author distils the thin-skinned, painful sensitivity of teenage boys, desperate both to stand out and fit in." (Imogen Russell Williams, The Guardian)

"Keith Gray is the real deal, a writer of intelligence, toughness, and heart. The Climbers is a moving, surprising story of competition, self-awareness, friendship, and the more you look, the deeper the damn thing gets." (Patrick Ness)

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