Books with author Cathy McPhail

Col McCann is used to being in trouble. It is always the McCann family, in particular Mungo, Col's brother, who the police think of first. But Col has recently acquired a new fan - Dominic. Col saves Dominic from drowning in the local loch and discovers what it is like to be a local hero.But Col sees something in the loch, something that leads him to a devastating truth about his brother . . . and brings his loyalty to his family and his need to do what is right into direct conflict.

It was as I was walking into the drama class that I remembered the girl I had bumped into and the green sweater just like mine. That was what had got Mrs Watt mixed up. She had seen the girl in the green sweater and thought it was me. That was the simple explanation. Wasn't it? Fay can't help thinking it odd that people start remarking on conversations she knows she hasn't had, or saying they have seen her when she knows she was somewhere else. But then she starts hearing muffled footsteps behind her, the flash of fair hair just like hers around the corner. Is she imagining things? A gripping, spooky thriller from the acclaimed story-teller Cathy MacPhail.

'Roxy was shaking with fear. She drew in a deep breath. She would not let her fear take over. She couldn't. She had too much to lose. She had to be strong, to be brave. For once in her life she had to think of someone other than herself.'Roxy is wild, uncontrollable. She hates her parents - and her goody-two-shoes sister. Her only solace is her equally wild friends, Pat, Tracey and Jacqueline. Then there is the night of the party, where she lets that boy kiss her, and more ... and Roxy is pregnant. Wilfully, she won't tell her mother, her family. She decides to run away to London.And in London Roxy is found by Mr and Mrs Dyce. They are understanding, sympathetic, and promise her a way out of her troubles. They will take her to a comfortable place, along with other girls in the same position and look after her and her baby - which is exactly what happens. Roxy cannot believe her luck.But Roxy eventually works out the dark truth of the outwardly genial Dyces. They are 'farming' the babies in a truly horrible way, and selling the baby organs. There is only one dramatic way out for Roxy - and it's dangerous. But she is dealing with dangerous people and she has to take it. And now she has her baby to look after. A gripping and completely compelling story of a girl forced to grow up and think of others other than herself in the most nightmare of circumstances. These circumstances would seem too horrible to be true - were they not based on fact. A network doing exactly this was discovered to be operating in Italy in 2003, causing outcry, and has formed the basis for this story.

Maxine's parents have had to do perhaps the worst possible thing: confirm the identity of her brother Derek's body by the clothes he was wearing when he disappeared. So the brother who was missing is now officially dead. But then the worst possible thing really happens: Maxine receives a telephone call from somebody saying he is her brother. She can hardly believe her ears. Has Derek come back from the dead? In this pacy thriller the author manages to confront many issues including: how different people deal with grief/the very under-rated effect of severe bullying at school/sibling rivalry - all in a fast-paced compelling narrative voice.

Lissa's world has just turned upside down. Her father has been in jail and is coming home for Christmas. She can't bear the way her mother and sister are so happy and making welcome plans. After all, he was the one who let them all down and spoilt her life, wasn't he? Before he went to jail, they had a nice house, she had trendy clothes and pretty much anything that she wanted, but now she is taunted by her classmates. Life only gets better when new girl Diane arrives at school. Diane sympathises with Lissa and doesn't make fun of her dad. But Lissa doesn't realise that Diane is manipulative. And she doesn't realise either how much her dad loves her. It is only when a combination of events come together that she has to face facts about who and what are really important to her.

'I saw my teacher in the queue at the supermarket last Christmas. Miss Baxter. I was surprised to see her. She'd been dead for six months'In Out of The Depths, Cathy MacPhail introduces her latest character, Tyler Lawless, who has an unusual and sometimes scary gift. She is able to see dead people. And sometimes they speak to her, asking for her help.When Tyler moves to a new school she is hoping to make a fresh start. But it is very difficult to make a fresh start when a boy who is supposed to be dead appears in your classroom, and statues in the school seem to come alive and point towards the place where the dead boy, Ben Kincaid, was murdered. Will Tyler be able to assist Ben with his pleas for help, or will she be dismissed as an attention-seeking teller of tall tales?A thrilling and spooky tale from the acclaimed Cathy MacPhail.

Ivy turned on her. 'I told you I'd get you, didn't I? Well,' her next words sent shivers through Katie. 'Tonight's the night.'Katie is being bullied at school - and cannot get anyone to believe her. She feels frightened and alone . . . until one day when she is cornered by Ivy and her fellow bullies on the town dump. Katie is terrified, there is nowhere left to run. But suddenly, as if by magic, a girl called Zan rises from the rubbish in the dump and leaps to Katie's defence. But Zan is not willing to talk to Katie - all she wishes to do is keep her identity a secret. Slowly Katies learns the truth about Zan, and when she does, she realises Zan has much more to lose than the safety of her cardboard box. A gripping story that really brings the issue of bullying to a head. This is Cathy MacPhail's first novel for children, which she wrote as a result of her own daughter being bullied at school.

Maxine's older brother Derek has disappeared and is believed to be dead. The family is overwhelmed with grief. Maxine suffers in school, loses friends and is losing the interest of her parents. Then the phone calls begin--a boy claiming to be Derek. Is it truly her brother or could it be one of the bullies who relentlessly tormented him when he was alive?Missing might seem a simple lost and found story, but at its heart lies a compelling examination of what it means to feel powerless and alone. The unexpected ending is written responsibly and with no easy answers. MacPhail writes with page-turning style, making this book eminently readable and thoroughly absorbing.

"Young adult fiction is going from strength to strength, led by authors like Catherine MacPhail" --Bookseller It was as I was walking into the drama class that I remembered the girl I had bumped into and the green sweater just like mine. That was what had got Mrs Watt mixed up. She had seen the girl in the green sweater and thought it was me. That was the simple explanation. Wasn't it? Fay can't help thinking it odd that people start remarking on conversations she knows she hasn't had, or saying they have seen her when she knows she was somewhere else. But then she starts hearing muffled footsteps behind her, the flash of fair hair just like hers around the corner. Is she imagining things?A gripping, spooky thriller from the acclaimed story-teller Catherine MacPhail.

It would have been hard to have missed what was written on the wall. Painted in giant whitewashed letters: 'SHARKEY IS A GRASS'.I hadn't a clue who Sharkey was, but I knew one thing. 'Sharkey's a dead man,' I said.Leo knows the value of never grassing and that you never grass on your friends. Everybody, too, knows the gang leaders in town. And you don't grass on them. Not unless you don't value your life - like Sharkey. And then Leo is unlucky enough to witness the murder of one gang leader by another, a man called Armour. Leo is petrified as he realises what he is witnessing and even more petrified when he realises that Armour has seen him. Sure that he is drawing his own last breath, Leo silently says goodbye to his family and everybody he knows. But all Armour does is wink at Leo, very slowly, and leave the scene of the crime. Leo draws a long breath of relief. He has got away with it. But he hasn't - not really. Leo will live to regret that wink and realise that Armour has an insidious hold on him and his family,which will test his family relationships, and his very sense of what is right and wrong. It will take bravery, luck and sheer daring to extricate himself from Armour's deadly web.A riveting and hard-hitting new novel from Cathy MacPhail.

Kerry and her mum have recently moved into new council accommodation in a tower block. Kerry's dad has recently left them, and Kerry and her mum are forging a new life together. But Kerry's mum is not the calmest or the most patient of people, particularly when it comes to getting on with the new neighbours. And when Kerry's mum refuses to be intimidated by Ma Lafferty, the local money lender, Kerry finds out that Ma Lafferty's daughter more than takes after her mother...A brilliantly topical story tackling the dangers of being in debt.

Patrick is happy living with his mum. She lets him do what he wants, pretty much, and it's only when his granny comes to stay that he has to get down to his homework and go to bed early. Then Patrick meets Mosi, a quiet, polite boy who, along with his parents, is waiting for his asylum application to be processed. He discovers Mosi is terrified of someone. But who is it? Patrick and Mosi strike up an unlikely friendship. In trying to help each other, they will face situations that are both terrifying and dangerous. And Patrick will find out that there is much, much more to Mosi than at first appears . . . A taut, brilliantly written novel that has both pace and topicality that will give much opportunity for discussion and debate.