Friday Brown, by Vikki Wakefield.

Short-listed for the 2013 Children’s Book Council Awards, Friday Brown is a great book. Friday is a strong, feisty 16 year old who has just buried her mother. After a nomadic life, where moving on was the norm, she is struggling to cope with life in her grandfather’s sprawling home, where her mother died. She sneaks away in the middle of the night and ends up in the city on a railway station, at exactly the right moment to save a baby from disaster and meet Silence, a boy who can’t talk.

Strangely drawn to him she ends up in a squat where she meets Arden, the leader of the squat. Arden is charismatic and strong, but there is also something threatening and dangerous about her. This novel is about family, belonging, friendship, grief and hope. The characters will stay with you long after you finish the book. Definitely a worthy contender for the Children’s Book Council awards.