'Micka turns ten at the start of the grim, gripping debut novel, but it is a far from happy birthday.It is difficult to recommend enthusiastically such a distressing book, but readers who are willing to engage with such brutal material will discover a writer of real talent.' --The Times 'This novel contains some of the funniest observations of of adult nonsense and one of the most graphic and distrubing scenes you are ever likely to read, imparted through the deadpan narration of children.We watch with a growing sense of dread as the story accelerates unstoppably towards what we knew from the start would not be a happy ending. Stunning.' --WBQ 'a brutal and brilliant debut.Micka is unsentimentally grimy in its depiction of the inner life of your average juvenile delinquent and packs a terrific wallop.' --Hot Press 'Playwright Frances Kay's first novel comes deservedly adorned with praise by Anne Enright and Carol Gebler .

despite of the grim subject matter, Mickas is never hard to read, largely because of the distinctive voices Kay finds for her two protagonists, and the skill which she folds a supernatural element into her otherwise naturalistic tale.' --Financial Times 'This pulverising account of two boys and the dire consequences of casual neglect seems familiar, but is superbly articulated . The book's brutality is sickening in places, yet each voice is distinct and matter-of fact, the imagery lucid, spare and uncompromising.' -- Guardian 'Dark, shocking and beautifully written, this is a story that will imprint itself on your memory.' -- Take a Break Fiction Feast 'Frances Kay's first novel is a searing, uncompromising story about the deprived, neglected child, 10 year-old Micka. It left me enraged and tearful, the first time I've cried on finishing a book since Black Beauty.' -- Irish Examiner.