Fries by Ken Catran is a fast-paced action-packed mystery that will particularly appeal to students at the lower end of the middle years of schooling. The story is told in an unusual and creative way using a range of writing styles that makes for a challenging story and will keep readers engrossed until the very end when a further climax is reached.

Paul Knox tells the story with the input from friends to present the ‘facts’ until the whole story is told. The setting of a small country town whose main source of income is the Fries factory and the problems associated with its impending closure are the background for the unravelling of events.

All sorts of stories are told and secrets revealed in the course of the novel. Students will relish putting the pieces of information together like a jigsaw to solve the mysteries presented.

Ken Catran is a high-profile screenwriter and young-adult author in New Zealand, where he lives, and in Australia. He has written almost thirty highly successful television dramas and series and won two Best Drama Script awards. His 1986 TV series, Hanlon, was a finalist in the US Emmy Awards. He has published 18 Young Adult novels, has been a finalist four times in the NZ Best Teenage Fiction awards, and his books have been published in the US and the UK. He is a popular speaker and writer in residence in schools, tertiary colleges and literary festivals in New Zealand and Australia. His previous books include Golden Prince, (shortlisted for the 2000 NZ Post Awards and a CBCA Notable Book in 1999) and Talking to Blue (shortlisted for the 2001 New Zealand Post awards). His historical novel, Voyage with Jason, is the 2001 winner of the New Zealand Post and Best Teenage Fiction awards. His previous book Road Kill is featured in Reading Enriches Learning, Collection 1: Identity www.curriculum.edu.au/rel/sec_road.htm.

Find out more about Ken Catran on the web: www.vuw.ac.nz/nzbookcouncil/writers/catranken.htm