A Swift Pure Cry

A Swift Pure Cry by Siobhan Dowd is a beautiful, lyrical novel about teenager, Shell, whose life begins to fall apart when her mother dies. Tired of looking after her younger brother and sister and bored by the routines of school and church, Shell skips school and hangs around with her friends smoking and cracking jokes and looking for chances that will confirm their growing up.

But what follows is not a simple transition into adulthood but the tragedy of Shell’s hidden pregnancy and the stillbirth of her baby, amid the hypercritical and chaotic thinking of the small Irish community in which she is growing up. No wonder this was also the winner of a prestigious prize this year - the Branford Boase Award 2007.

Click here to download a free extract from the novel.