posted on 07 Aug 2025

The Fall by Anthony McGowan

A new book from the excellent Anthony McGowan is always welcomed here at Letterpress because you know that you’ll get a rich and thoughtful read all wrapped around his superb instinct for a gripping storyline.

In The Fall, McGowan takes us to one of those periods in our teens when the world seems to pivot, when we discover things about ourselves and others that prefigure the endless complexities of adulthood. When the now-grown-up Mog (the name he was always known by at school) gets a phone call from an old school friend telling him his once best friend, Chris Rush had died, Mog is catapulted back to the school-grounds of his teenage years.

This was a tough school and Mog was not one of the coolest kids but, at least he didn’t have the taint of victimhood on him like Duffy – a natural target for bullies. Mog and a group of other ‘nerds and misfits’ had found a place – a stream by Gypsy Field – where they could go after school and hang out. Unexpectedly, Mog finds himself making friends with Chris Rush who was most definitely much cooler than the rest of them.

But Chris also seems to have more of a heart than Mog and his friends and he opens the group to Duffy – much to Mog’s chagrin (who is jealous and unwilling to share his friend with another, especially one so socially gauche as Duffy). When Mog decides he’s going to humiliate Duffy in front of Chris he unwittingly triggers a train of events that will completely change the relationship between the boys. And for Mog, he’s about to learn something important about what it means to lose a friend and his self-respect.

I’ve deliberately kept a really important reason why the friendship between Chris and Mog is finally ruptured for good – and I’ve done this because you’ll want to explore the story for yourself and I can guarantee you’ll be gripped and emotionally challenged.

The book contains black and white illustrations by Chris King and I’d very much like to say a word of congratulations for the really outstanding front cover (pictured above) – it’s a knockout. 

Published by Barrington Stoke, who specialise in publishing books for reluctant readers of all kinds, you will be able to get a copy from your local independent bookshop – who will be happy to order it for you if they don’t have it on their shelves.

Terry Potter

August 2025