The Savage (novel)
{{short description|2008 graphic novel by David Almond}}
{{distinguish|Savage (novel)|Savages (novel)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{no plot|date=December 2016}}
{{Infobox book
| name = The Savage
| image = The Savage (Almond book).jpg
| caption = First edition
| author = David Almond
| illustrator = David McKean
| country = England
| language = English
| genre =Young adult graphic novel, Fantasy
| published = 2008 (Walker Books)
| media_type = Print (hardback)
| pages = 78
| isbn = 9781406308150
| oclc = 799016444
}}
The Savage is a 2008 graphic novel by David Almond. It is about a boy called Blue who, to cope with his father's death starts drawing and writing a comic book story about a wild boy living in the woods. .
Reception
In a School Library Journal review of the day, Elizabeth Bird wrote "By all logic, the melding of Dave McKean to David Almond should be a bad idea. .. Yet my encounter with The Savage came as a bit of a surprise to me. As feared it definitely has a slightly older readership, but the darkness of the images and the text work together in ways that actually reduce the scary factor rather than increase it.", and described McKean’s illustrations as "It’s Where the Wild Things Are, shot through with teeth and flesh."{{cite web |date=6 December 2008 |title=Review of the Day: The Savage by David Almond |url=http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2008/12/06/review-of-the-day-the-savage-by-david-almond/ |website=blogs.slj.com |publisher=Media Source Inc. |accessdate=9 December 2016}}
Booktrust found that "Almond’s revelations about child grief, as ever, are unsettling, as are McKean’s tortured illustrations, but as the book progresses we witness Blue achieving a degree of acceptance, and an unworldly resolution."{{cite web |url=http://www.booktrust.org.uk/a/books/view/28826 |title=The Savage |website=booktrust.org.uk |accessdate=9 December 2016}} and Kirkus Reviews called it a "provocative outing."{{cite web |url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/david-almond/the-savage/|title=The Savage |date=15 September 2008 |website=Kirkus Reviews |publisher=Kirkus Media LLC |accessdate=9 December 2016}}
The Savage has also been reviewed by The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books,{{cite journal |date=7 March 2009 |title=Almond, David. The Savage. |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/260053 |journal=Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books |publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press |volume=62 |issue=7 |pages=275, 276 |accessdate=9 December 2016}} Booklist,{{cite journal |date=September 2008 |title=The Savage |url=http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/book-reviews/34476809/savage |journal=Booklist |publisher=American Library Association |volume=105 |issue=2 |page=49 |accessdate=9 December 2016}}{{dead link|date=November 2020|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} Horn Book Magazine,{{cite journal |date=September 2008 |title=The Savage |url=http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/book-reviews/33994206/savage |journal=Horn Book Magazine |publisher=Media Source |volume=84 |issue=5 |page=575 |accessdate=9 December 2016}}{{dead link|date=November 2020|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} Michigan Reading Journal,{{cite journal |title=The Savage |url=http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/book-reviews/36808259/savage |journal=Michigan Reading Journal |publisher=Michigan Reading Association |volume=41 |issue=1 |page=89 |accessdate=9 December 2016}}{{dead link|date=November 2020|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} School Librarian,{{cite journal |date=September 2008 |title=The Savage |url=http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/book-reviews/34486754/savage |journal=School Librarian |publisher=School Library Association |volume=56 |issue=3 |page=159 |accessdate=9 December 2016}}{{dead link|date=November 2020|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} Library Media Connection,{{cite journal |date=March 2009 |title=The Savage |url=http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/book-reviews/37588729/savage |journal=Library Media Connection |publisher=ABC-CLIO |volume=27 |issue=5 |page=79 |accessdate=9 December 2016}}{{dead link|date=November 2020|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} and Reading Time.{{cite journal |date=November 2008 |title=The Savage |url=http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/book-reviews/35273493/savage |journal=Reading Time |publisher=Children's Book Council of Australia |volume=52 |issue=4 |page=29 |accessdate=9 December 2016}}{{dead link|date=November 2020|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}
Awards and nominations
:*2008 Cybils Award Graphic Novels (Young Adult) - nominated{{cite web |url=http://www.cybils.com/2008/10/gnya.html |title=2008 Nominations Graphic Novels (Young Adult) |date=18 October 2008 |website=cybils |accessdate=9 December 2016}}
:*2009 Kate Greenaway Medal - shortlist{{cite web |url=http://www.literaryawards.com.au/british/kategreenaway.html |title=2009 Kate Greenaway Medal Winner & Shortlist |website=literaryawards.com.au |accessdate=9 December 2016}}
:*2009 American Library Association Best Books for Young Adults{{cite web |url=http://www.ala.org/yalsa/booklistsawards/booklists/bestbooksya/09bbya |title=2009 Best Books for Young Adults: Fiction |website=ala.org |date=21 January 2009 |publisher=Young Adult Library Services Association |accessdate=9 December 2016}}
Adaptations
Almond has written a stage adaption of The Savage. It has been performed by the Live Theatre Company and has received favourable reviews.{{cite journal |date=July 2016 |title=Theatre Review: The Savage |quote=It is both an incredible story and a fantastic piece of theatre.|url=http://www.livingnorth.com/northeast/arts-whats/theatre-review-savage |journal=Living North |accessdate=9 December 2016}}{{cite journal |url=http://review.cuckoowriters.com/theatre-review-the-savage-live-theatre/ |title=Theatre Review: The Savage @ Live Theatre |quote=The Savage is a ritualistic celebration of all that is creative, come together in one distinctly Northern piece of theatre. |author=Chloe Allan |date=13 July 2016 |journal=Cuckoo Review|publisher=New Writing North |accessdate=9 December 2016}}{{cite web |url=http://www.britishtheatreguide.info/reviews/the-savage-live-theatre-n-13024 |title=The Savage |quote=Almond has always celebrated the power of the imagination to flower in the least likely of places and this belief .. runs through The Savage. That and a fierce sense of where the author belongs. Not a bad coupling.|author=Peter Mortimer |website=britishtheatreguide.info |date=30 June 2016 |publisher=British Theatre Guide |accessdate=9 December 2016}}
In 2009 The Savage was adapted for the stage by Jenifer Toksvig with music by Nicholas Sutton for the youth theatre at the Arcola Theatre, directed by Thomas Hescott.
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{Portal|Children and Young Adult Literature}}
:[https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/799016444 Library holdings of The Savage]
:[http://narcmagazine.com/news-the-savage-live-theatre/ Interview with Almond about the play]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Savage, The}}
Category:British young adult novels
Category:British novels adapted into plays
Category:British graphic novels