Melvin Burgess, author of the  young adult novel Junk, explores breaches of trust and the fight for revenge in the sinister thriller Nicholas Dane. ‘We take care of boys that no one else will . .

.’When Nicholas’s mum overdoses on heroin, the fourteen-year-old is suddenly lost, grieving and alone. Sent away to a boys’ home, Nick finds order is kept by intimidation and violence. After countless fights and punishments, Nick thinks life can’t get any worse.

But the deputy head, Mr. Tony Creal, has other ideas. The shame Nick experiences at the hands of Mr.

Creal can never quite be forgotten and, when Nick discovers he wasn’t the only one to suffer, the old hatred later resurfaces. Can revenge lay Nick’s ghosts to rest – or will he never be free of them?