Andrew Pack | IN SECURE
UNBOUND | YA / Fantasy
I loved this one and really felt for the protagonists! This tackles a lot of big issues lightly and with huge empathy – the author works in family law.
Pretty Jen and silent Casey. Violent Sharp and self-harming Selfie. Lauren, who won’t eat and Boo who eats things she shouldn’t. Brick, the brilliant hacker full of rage. Robin, the charmer, escape artist and master thief. Hasan, who did something so bad even the adult carers working in their secure unit for troubled adolescents can’t hide their dislike of him. Al, the accidental magician with a book of spells that are beginning to cost more than he’s willing to pay.
Ten troubled teenagers locked in with their worst fears. And something is stirring inside the magic book. Something watchful. Something hungry… Something about to find out what makes these children tick, and whether ten out-of-kilter clocks can manage to synchronise when it really matters.
(Imagine “Five Children and It”, if the five children were juvenile delinquents, and the ‘It’ was a lot more like Stephen King’s version…)
