The Beck

by Anthony McGowan, Joe Pitts (Narrator)

From Carnegie Medal winning author Anthony McGowan comes an environmental tale packed full of his signature grit, heart and humour, as Kyle and his grandad execute a plan to save the local beck.

Kyle is less than happy about getting dumped at his eccentric old grandad’s on a Saturday afternoon. Embarrassed by his grandad’s ratty old Elvis wig and his weird three-legged dog, Kyle thinks the day is going to be a nightmare until his grandad introduces him to the marvels in the beck at the bottom of his garden.

Once filthy and full of rubbish, the stream has been cleaned up and is now home to some amazing creatures. But this magical world is under threat from a new development.

Kyle’s grandad is determined to stop the builders and has an audacious plan to save the beck, but when he falls ill, will Kyle find the courage to carry it out by himself?

Particularly suitable for readers aged 11+ with a reading age of 9.

Genres: Audiobook, Family, Young Adult

Audible Audio

Published March 13, 2025

About the author

Anthony John McGowan is an English author of books for children, teenagers and adults. He is the winner of the 2020 CILIP Carnegie Medal for Lark. In addition to his 2020 win, he has been twice longlisted (for The Knife That Killed Me in 2008 and Brock in 2014) and once shortlisted (for Rook in 2018) for the CILIP Carnegie Medal, and is the winner of the 2006 Booktrust Teenage Prize for Henry Tumour.

Reviews

[Stephen the Bookworm · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anthony McGowan is a superb writer and The Beck is another winning story.

This is the story of Kyle; a thirteen year old who finds himself spending time with his grandad after his parents have to attend hospital appointments .

Kyle perceives his grandad as a fusty old man but upon discovering he is now the owner of a rescue dog called "Rude Word" and then is taken on walk to the 'Beck' - a ancient local stream, he begins to see his grandad in a different light.

Beck is introduced to the delights of the Beck- crayfish, slowworms, water voles and bullhead fish- and also makes friends with his grandad's new neighbour Karthi; but after years of no life in the Beck and now signs of recovery the trio are shocked to find that a potential development could once again pollute the Beck. And so begins the challenge to save the Beck.

Encounters with security guards( Bumface and Dried Bogey) and school bullies Dredge, Bullet and Whetstone along with a race against time when grandad falls ill lead to a great paced adventure and push Kyle out of his comfort zone to assert himself

The magic of this book is twofold; the bringing together of young and old - cross generations - especially in a world where there seems a division between them and also the discovery of the natural environment by Kyle and all its beauty and diversity. The humour/ teasing between Kyle and his grandad is brillian t( an Elvis wig, a dog's bone ..)

Anthony McGowan's prose is pitch perfect for 11-14 year olds - humour, adventure, comradeship and family love are central to the plot.

A fantastic read which would be good for year 6-9s - an absolute delight from start to finish and dyslexia friendly too.

[Katy Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully crafted short story, lovely relationship build in a tale of environmental activism.

I loved McGowan's other tales set within this world - Brock, Rook, and already loved the author's longer works. He's a name I see and barely question - I'll read him.

This could have been a full-length novel, but stripped down to this short page count still works perfectly as a short story.

Young teen is shipped off to his grandfather's house reluctantly while his parents head off to an appointment. Kyle is embarrassed by his relative's Elvis wig, and now even his new dog is weird - who calls their dog Rude Word for heaven's sake (readers of the author may recognise this character from other stories). Oh and he has three legs too.

But Granddad takes Kyle off outside to stop him from getting bored, and Kyle almost immediately feels wonder and a protective sense of the beck, the stream nearby, and all its animal life, when he is shown what's under the surface.

Discovering that the land is likely to be developed, the beck and its wildlife destroyed sends Kyle down a path he would never have expected, wanting to help his granddad fight back.

The author manages to give us both backstory to Kyle and a growing respect and love between the two main characters in just a few pages, and add a second storyline within the family that Kyle is trying to ignore. There's even a friendship/budding crush story with granddad's new young neighbour.

Full of love for the natural world, a brief but full tale of family, standing up for yourself and your passions, and some lovely characters created so sparingly but well.

For ages 11-14.

With thanks to Netgalley for providing a sample reading copy.

[Megan Hughes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Small things , big rewards. What a gem.

[Debra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ecology meets family in this tale of what happens when a young teenager has to spend time with his Grandad. As a Northener I love how McGowan uses dialect that is in danger of becoming extinct with the rise of AI. I grew uo saying beck and not stream and even if you didn’t, you’ll get the sense of the water thanks to his great writing. Well rounded characters, mostly plausible plot and a happy ending. It’s not as good as Lark, too much telling and not enough showing, but still a great book.

[Ian Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely book with a timely environmental theme. It shouldn't be as gripping as it is, which is a testament to the skill of the writer. The characters are well drawn and there is a lot of humour. Nicely observed emotions too.

[Bambi Brett · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Really cute story and had its little twists and turns. I have to say - Kyle's parents are such arse holes "hes at peace now " wtf.

[dennis Waters · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice little book with a strong story of family and nature it was well written and you felt you were in the moment.

[Rebecca R · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kyle is not thrilled to get dumped at his eccentric Grandad's house while his parents have a hospital appointment. But when Grandad takes him on an adventure to explore the Beck, a small stream running through the countryside, Kyle is fascinated by the wildlife, despite himself. And the next time they explore the Beck, Grandad's neighbour, Karthi, who is the same age as Kyle, joins them. But the Beck is under threat from local building development, Grandad has a plan but when he is unable to complete the plan, Kyle must take over.

This is a short but emotive and engaging story about celebrating and protecting the natural world, without being preachy. I really enjoyed it.

[Hannah Watson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this so so much. I adored Lark when I read it with my year 8 classes last year, and I loved this more. McGowan has a real knack for tapping into the mundanity and simplicity of childhood and his narration is always spot on. He cleverly grapples some really major topics in this but all through the charming guise of an adventure story - it’s really witty. This is funny at times, warming, upsetting, life-affirming and a beautiful little snapshot of childhood innocence, or perhaps obliviousness (something I’m sure we wish we could hold on to a little more as adults).

[Kirsty · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this was so well done

[Foghorn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little gem.

[Deborah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another riveting story from McGowan. An easy read, entertaining, touching and lots of adventure.

[Anthony Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent children’s story in which a young lad, Kyle, discovers a) his
grandfather isn’t such a queer old stick as he thought, b) that a beck can
be more interesting than the internet, and c) that the way people appear does not necessarily mean they aren’t something rather different.

It’s ideal for a young, relatively inexperienced or less confident reader as the chapters are very short and McGowan writes in an accessible way, celebrating the way an older generation of Leeds speaks as well as the style of the 13 year old Kyle. An adult, such as myself, might find Kyle’s voice a tad inauthentic, but a younger reader will be happy to buy into it because it’s both informally colloquial (without being grammatically slipshod or chatty), but also both clear and uncluttered so the narrative moves along swiftly.

The story opens with Kyle’s parents leaving him with his grandfather for a couple of hours. Kyle’s not keen as his grandfather’s gone a bit careless after losing his wife and he has also acquired an ugly, three-legged, smelly, semi-continent dog called Rude Word. Moreover Grandad wears an Elvis wig. Nevertheless, they go down to the beck. (Beck, although he’s from Leeds himself, is a word Kyle’s never heard before: this allows McGowan to make sure non-Yorkshire/Northern readers get an explanation – from Grandad - without losing the authenticity of Kyle’s narrative voice.) The beck is clean, thanks to the efforts of local groups and the council, and is now supporting more stream life, including freshwater crayfish, a rare and protected species. But there is a threat to the beck’s unpolluted, freshly restored state further downstream, and the rest of the story explores this direction of travel.

There’s plenty here which has contemporary relevance to interest a reader. Grandad’s neighbour is a Sri Lankan refugee, and her daughter, Karthi, becomes friendly with Kyle and uses her interest in being a lawyer to good effect at one point. Kyle has to deal with a school bully and learns what humiliation both feels like and can achieve. Kyle’s also aware of his parents’ quiet distress connected with visits to the hospital, and this is all owing to his mother’s IVF treatment. Deliberate corporate environmental carelessness, a sensitivity to wild life – there’s a lovely little section on slow worms – are both highlighted. And there’s a challenging section in which Kyle has to deal with discovering Grandad on the floor after suffering a stroke and coping with the reality of the uncertainties connected with his being hospitalised.

For me, the most memorable aspect of the book is the way Karthi and her mother are presented as socially engaged in the country which has given them sanctuary and who simply happen to have a different skin colour. People are, basically, the same all over the world. McGowan encourages us to celebrate the richness of diversity.

[OniReadsBooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Beck is a young adult novel about 13 year old Kyle, who forms an interest in nature after his grandfather shows him a stream at the bottom of his garden.

To be honest, I really liked the themes of this book. One of my favourite types of story is about people, especially young people working together to protect nature. Also I really enjoyed the theme of friendship and standing up to bullies. Also I really liked the character Karthi, for being kind, brave and a good friend.

There were also a few things I didn't like. The main part that I disliked was an unchallenged comment which calls a female character a "bird" (in the phrase "is this your bird" on page 101). Unchallenged sexist language shouldn't belong in a book for young people, especially one published in 2025.

It was also annoying how people kept assuming that the female character and male character were in a relationship just because they were friends, which unfortunately happens in a lot of YA books where a girl and boy are friendly with each other.

Also I found the plot a little underwhelming. I was expecting the story to be a whole community who comes together to fight against the destruction of a local habitat for wildlife, like in The Summer We Turned Green, but it turned out to be just to be the main character, his friend Karthi and his grandfather, who opposed the planned development on the wood.

I recommend you read this book but to take notice of the points stated above before reading.

[Snarhooked · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC.

Another Anthony McGowan book that I will definitely be buying for my school library. The Beck is rather more light-hearted than some of his previous works but still touches on very real issues. Stressed parents with appointments that aren't discussed, an elderly relative finding life difficult after the death of his spouse, bullying and a family fleeing persecution.

But gritty reality takes a back seat here to the joy of a boy discovering the natural world and beginning an adventure which helps him find a way to bond with his usually surly grandad. Grandad introduces Kyle to the beck which runs near the former's house in Leeds and shows him the wonderful wildlife which lives there. The beck is only just recovering from years of neglect and pollution but the wildlife which has returned is now threatened by development.

The characters work together, along with a unexpected ally, to protect the beck. The happy ending might be what you expect but there are still surprising events along the way. Anthony McGowan is fantastic at writing short books, especially ones which will appeal to reluctant readers. This book (which is also dyslexic-friendly) is only 130 pages but it manages to fit a lot in. Alongside an appealing plot and developed characters there is also plenty of humour and I like that it is a book set in Yorkshire, both of which will appeal to my students.

[Theediscerning · Rating 4 out of 5]

Decently charming, this light-hearted drama has a lad bond with his Leeds-as-Leeds-come grandad, who at first he's reluctant to spend even a couple of hours with. But when the old fella shows Kyle the beck that flows past the bottom of the garden, he's hooked – fascinated by the odd little fish, the crayfish and anything else that is only now calling the water home after decades of pollution and crud. There's also a nice girl next door, too. But just because the crud has finally been cleared away from the stream, doesn't mean the place is free of threat…

This is a fine love letter to the actual waterway, in Leeds, that the author clearly knows well. It's an eco-lesson, it's an urge to get out and explore – with all due respect – the local wildlife, it's a thumbs-up for bonding across the generations, and it's a demonstration of how the ugliest three-legged mongrel can end up a beloved pet. Almost. The darker themes – and there's also bullies, medical issues and more – are worn lightly, and the whole makes for a satisfying, rounded drama. It's not perhaps this author's best (Lark was close to outstanding) or richest read, but for an engaging slice of story, peppered with many different narrative elements and delivered in charming manner, this is still to be recommended. A strong four stars.

[Olga · Rating 4 out of 5]

There’s something about Anthony McGowan’s writing that feels like slipping back into the sort of storytelling we don’t get much anymore - simple, warm, full of heart and mud and rain and real life. The Beck has that in spades.

It’s a short book for younger teens (definitely reads closer to Year 6–7 than 9), but it’s got that unmistakable McGowan touch - nature seen with reverence, animals described with love, humour that actually lands. The three-legged dog called Rude Word? Iconic.

The bond between Kyle and his grandad unfolds with charm and quiet tenderness. I loved how McGowan weaves in environmental themes without being heavy-handed - the beck itself becomes almost a living character. The slow worms, crayfish, water voles - it’s all described so vividly you can practically feel the mud squelch between your shoes.

Where it lost me a little was the pacing. The emotional moments - Kyle’s family tension, his connection with Karthi, the activism thread - could have done with more room to breathe. It felt rushed in places, like a story that wanted to grow into a full novel but ran out of page count.

Still, it’s a lovely little book: nostalgic, quietly funny, full of life and hope. 4 out of 5. For anyone who loves nature writing wrapped in Yorkshire wit and the kind of intergenerational story that makes you smile even when it stings a bit.

[Alexandra Beech · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marked as YA but there is no reason younger pupils could not read this.

I enjoy reading Barrington Stoke books because they are a quick read not only because they are short but because the story is always so readable and so interesting that you want to read it.

This book is no exception.

13-year-old Kyle is not sure about staying at Grandad's while his parents have an appointment but Grandad, together with his three-legged dog, introduce Kyle to the Beck and Kyle is captivated.

However, the Beck is threatened by developers, Kyle has a run in with bullies and what exactly is going on with his parents?

Really enjoyable book.

[Andrew Johnston · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another excellent Barrington Stoke from McGowan. Again set in Yorkshire but without an air of the 1970s present in some of his previous work. It's an interesting story about a cantankerous granddad and his grandson who conspire to save a stream that runs near his house from dastardly property developers. There are lots of twists and turns on the way to the obvious conclusion but the story is so strong that it has the power to unexpectedly surprise you tight at the end. Bullies, wildlife, the magic of grandparents all feature in this and its well worth a read. Netgalley ARC

[Joanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author's writing style has always been very down-to-earth and that makes the characters seem so real. I love the chemistry between Kyle and his grandad who is an absolutely endearing character. Odd enough, he reminds me of Victor Meldrew, but a tad less grumpy. Grandad has a wig and Victor has a strange looking doll for his ventriloquy show...

It is a book that is both heartwarming and humorous.

[Aruna Kumar Gadepalli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Saving a local beck by a child and his grandfather. A wll written story.