Readers will remain on the edge of their seats to find out if the good in David can overcome unleashed evil. Almond's story contains chilling images of temptation, mind control and corruption. Stephen believes that with David's help, he can create a life-size being that will 'stand up and walk beside us and protect us.' Only after the two succeed in constructing a 'monster' out of clay does David discover that the act of creation can lead to destruction-and that Stephen is not what he appears to be. 1 2 The story, told in first-person, is about two boys, Davie and Stephen, who can make clay come to life. It was shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal and longlisted for the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize. that an artist is a kind of God?' he asks his art teacher). Clay is a children's/young adult novel by David Almond, published in 2005. The developing relationship between teenager Davie and a mysterious new boy in town morphs into something. David raises provocative issues as he grapples with the meaning of these events ('Do you think. Most amazing of all, he possesses the ability to bring his creations to life.

He also appears to be blessed with a remarkable talent for molding figures out of clay. Stephen claims to have communicated with an angel, yet questions the existence of God. It becomes immediately apparent to David, who narrates, that Stephen, who has left the school where he was studying to be a priest, is different from other boys. At his priest's request, altar boy David befriends a new member of the parish, Stephen, who has come to live with his 'crazy' Aunt Mary after his father dies suddenly and his mother becomes mentally ill.

) this eerie tale shows the disastrous effects of two boys attempting to play God. Perhaps the most unsettling of Almond's supernatural novels ( Skellig

Clay by David Almond