I really enjoyed this book. It follows Marshall and his friend, Rory, over the summer holidays. When they revisit an old abandoned cottage, they find that it has been demolished but that a trapdoor leads to an underground room which is still intact. The den becomes a really important place for the boys, but for different reasons. Marshall needs the den as somewhere to escape to from his difficult home life, but Rory isn't quite as keen to keep it a secret.

I thought this was a great, pacy book that will appeal to teenagers and should hopefully engage some of those less interested in reading.

Barrington Stoke really know what they're doing and I love the variety of books they provide.
While this book wasn't my personal favourite - not the most gripping I've read from BS - it was still a well crafted story and one I think will be good at getting reluctant readers to try.

'The Den' is another tautly constructed YA novella from Keith Gray and the brilliant accessible publishers Barrington Stoke about masculinity, friendship and growing up.

At the start of the summer holidays, teenagers Marshall and Rory discover an underground den after the derelict cottage at the edge of their village is demolished. While Marshall sees this as the perfect place to escape from his troubled home life, Rory wants to share it with other friends, leading to conflict between two of them.

In just over 100 pages, Gray explores a range of serious issues, including family breakdown, the consequences of addiction and the lure of violence for teenage boys. Ultimately, all the characters learn and grow over the course of the story in a way that feels convincing rather than overly sentimental.

This is a great book to share with all secondary-aged readers - it will particularly appeal to boys and is designed to be accessible to reluctant and struggling readers but engaging for all. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an ARC to review.

Marshall – like his sister, named after a rock guitar amp – and his best friend are enjoying a morning on their bikes to start the summer holiday, when they agree to go to the old, abandoned cottage they used to try and dare each other into when younger. Finding the thing entirely razed, they spot a trapdoor leading down from one of the rooms they'd never risked entering. They find a grubby, mostly empty room, with a gnarly old bed and armchair and little else – beyond the feeling from Marshall this could be a perfect hideaway, a bolt-hole when he needs it to escape the damaged wreck of a father he lives with. But just because nobody has been in there for years, doesn't mean it will stay a secret like Marshall wants…

Now, I don't normally appreciate "daddy issue" plots, but this has so much going for it I can only applaud the way it deals with everything. There's certainly a really strong evocation of tweenaged boys and their ins and outs, their being best friends one day and enemies the next. And I loved the way the local dog kennels was an old WW2 airstrip – just the seemingly needless touches like that smack of a lot of realism and truth in this author's hands. The best quality here, as I mentioned, is that it has so many aspects there could be copious readers and they'd all come up with their own elevator pitches for this – is it a kid getting overly angry with life because of his father, is it the way the world shows you a wondrous secret location and then proves the implausibility of keeping it for yourself? Is it about the dad who could have done with the place himself for a private den, by the sound of it?

There is more that has to be said, as well – this being a Barrington Stoke book means it comes with added elements. Very nicely judged as readable for eights and up – mentions of swear words being used (and invented) are just that – mentions of them being used, as opposed to the actual use of them – this is intended for those readers much closer to the heroes' thirteen years. Dyslexia is never the only reading issue that can be helped by the reading age being deliberately lower than the target readers' age, and BS – they of the most unfortunate initials – can cater for them all. They will be seen to be reading a real teen's book, but this is just a real book for all, when all is said and done – a classy look at the darkness behind the fantasy of teenaged escapism. It's a really likeable achievement – four and a half stars.

A strong book, story, about character, challenges, friendships and hope for a brighter way forward. Two boys on the first day of summer exploring and finding a secret place, the den of the title. For one this represents a feeling of freedom, and we learn of the difficulties at home, living alone with a father retreated from the world and becoming an estranged figure.

The story is about this life of frustration, anger and craving for solititude that comes to the boy, an isolation in spirit becoming a craving to hide from the world. An excellent book for those seeking to understand the problems people may have, and those who may have similar feelings themselves. Highly recommend.

I was so pleased to get this book by Keith Gray, ever since ostrich boys I have loved his work and this dyslexic friendly book about teenage life is still brilliant. One that is going in my school library

The Den by Keith Gray follows Marshall and his friends through the ups and downs of the start of the summer holiday. When they find a secret underground bunker they are flooded with many different things they could do to entertain themselves during the summer holiday. For Marshall, it is also an opportunity to get away from his challenging home life. When Marshall thought he had lost all his friends and is challenged to a fight over who gets the den, will he lose everything or will everything go back to normal?

I enjoyed reading this short book as it was a gripping storyline about two young teenagers with not much to do over the summer holiday and how they found things to entertain themselves. This book covers a range of topics including friendship and family life with the overwhelming message that things can get better.

The downside of this book is that the storyline could have been much more developed. I understand this book is for readers aged 11+ but the book could be made more exciting. The writer could have included a mystery and thriller element or even a horror element. For instance, the friends come across this bunker and spend the night sleeping over. Although the plot was mainly about the friendship between these two friends it would definitely have been much better if there was more about the den, maybe the boys saw a paranormal occurrence or maybe they found out what the den was and why it was there.

Altogether, I rate this book 3 stars because it is a good book with an enjoyable and exciting plot which makes the reader want to learn what happens next. I recommend this book for young people aged mainly between 10 and 14 years old as this is a nice short book which is easy to read. I look forward to reading any follow-up books which may follow this first book. I must thank both NetGalley and Barrington Stoke publishers for providing me with an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this book in return for an honest book review.

My students love a good quick read so I'll definitely be recommending this book to students (and the librarian). This story focuses on two boys who find a den which has been hidden under a (now demolished) house. They use this den as their own place of solitude away from the rest of the world and their problems. This book is great for teenage boys who struggle to communicate with friends and family - something that is all too prevalent in society today.

A short story about teenage boys and their friendship.

Marshall is delighted to find a den at the beginning of the summer holidays whilst out exploring with his friends Rory. Things are really difficult for Marshall at home so he’s delighted to have somewhere to go to escape the tension. However when Rory wants to invite their other mates to share it, things begin to unravel.

This story would not be out of place as an incident within a longer story as it felt quite short and straightforward. However as a short standalone read, it also works. I loved the way the author described the relationship between Marshall and his father and the complexity this created between Marshall and his friends - on the one hand disapproving of his own father but feeling the need to defend him to others.

I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Another great Barrington Stoke collaboration with Keith Gray. After the success of last year's The Climbers, Gray has again explored the relationship that boys have with their friends and their family. After finding a disused bunker in the woods, two friends make a pact to keep it secret as a way of spending their summer holidays away from their troubling family. But when loyalty is tested and the secret is broken the narrator must come to terms with being abandoned by his best friend as well as his dad who is clearly struggling with depression.
Gray builds the tension as an all-out war between friends is threatened but as always shows readers how tensions might be dissipated and alleviated.
An excellent quick read for KS3 boys enabling them to perhaps walk a mile in the shoes of troubled boys trying to find their way in a troubled world.

Keith Gray is one of a small number of contemporary writers who understand just perfectly how to represent the behaviour, thinking and speech of young teenage boys.

This is a prime example of what appears to be a simple plot, about events which are huge in the moment to those involved, but essentially unremarkable in the big scheme of things. Yet this very story reaches into the heart of real human issues on an individual, social and global scale. It is about family, about friendship, about loss and anger, about conflict, perhaps even war, but also about a potential for peace and a better life. And if this bigger picture thinking will seem to pass over many young readers, then you never know what is being subliminally internalised. Regardless, what Keith Gray’s new novella provides is a cracking good read.

It is good to have new strong, accessible books about boys, especially in view of the desperate need to encourage more boys into reading for pleasure. It is doubly welcome when a book about young teen boys is as good as this one, written with so much understanding, and so much unobtrusive skill.

You can read my full review on my book blog Magic Fiction Since Potter.

The Den by Keith Gray is a lovely book exploring teenage friendships and the difficulties of home life for young people.

Marshall and Rory are looking for adventure, and on the first day of summer, they find it in an underground bunker. This book is beautifully written, and I would recommend it to able readers aged 12 and up (due to a few words inappropriate for less mature readers.)

It's the first day of the school holidays and best mates Marshall and Rory are riding hard out on their bikes. Rory is just enjoying freedom from school but Marshall is enjoying the day's freedom from everything.

It's tough at home for Marshall. His dad, a could've-been-famous guitarist, swings from anger to melancholy and every emotion in between, now that his days of being a roadie for rock bands are over and he can hardly hold his own guitar any longer. His hands were badly injured and he's struggled to move on with his life.

Now for Marshall, with only his Dad in the house, life at home is something to escape.

When Rory finds something in the dirt in the scant remains of a bulldozed house, Marshall finally sees a real place he can run to when his father gets too much. It's a bunker, long forgotten and hiding in the dirt. He and Rory are excited at all the time they can spend in it, and future plans are made.

But when Rory suggests showing others, Marshall sees red. He'd fallen out with Rory's other friends and even the thought of sharing this place with anyone else is impossible. But soon Marshall falls out with Rory too, and then Rory does the unthinkable.

Marshall needs this place. This Den. He has to have it no matter what. Even if it comes down to fighting his best friend.

With a new ally at his side, Marshall knows what he must do.


Another gritty, authentic read from a master of teen male dynamics, The Den is full of pure, raw feelings, roaring under the surface of its main characters. A tough time at home makes a hidden bunker the perfect place to escape to. This sudden solution to a long-time problem is so good, that there is nothing more important than keeping it a secret, driving tensions high.

But exciting secrets are always broken eventually, and this betrayal comes swiftly, bringing anger, hurt and swinging fists. This whirl of emotions and confusion is clear on the page and there doesn't seem to be a way out of it. But an answer does come - brilliantly set up and believable, with hope for the future of all the characters.

A powerful tale of male relationships within both friends and family.

Author – Keith Gray

Dyslexic Title / Reading Age 8 – Interest Age Teen

Perfectly pitched for 11+ readers who enjoy short stories. This is a highly emotional tale about friendship, mental health, and families that avoids sentimentality and really captures teen experience.

At the beginning of their holiday, Marshall and Rory went to the site of Skelter Cottage, thinking that it had been bulldozed. They found out that it was completely gone and they found an old bunker there. Adventures began.

The writing is simple but very succinct. It brings back memories of being a teenager, wanting to hide from your family and then arguing with your friends.