SuitabookAbuse, silence and responsibility
June is abused by her stepmother and sometimes her stepsister; her father does not recognise what is happening, and later sections involve conversations about forgiveness.
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Book details
Lisa Heathfield - Author
This is a powerful but deeply distressing story about a child enduring abuse and isolation, with friendship providing moments of refuge. Its suspense comes from the gradual disclosure of what happened after.
Book Brief
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Sign in for personalised guidanceThis is a powerful but deeply distressing story about a child enduring abuse and isolation, with friendship providing moments of refuge. Its suspense comes from the gradual disclosure of what happened after.
June is abused by her stepmother and sometimes her stepsister; her father does not recognise what is happening, and later sections involve conversations about forgiveness.
June is mixed race, with a white father and Black mother, and experiences racial denigration connected to abuse and feeling like an outsider.
June meets Blister, who supports her, and spends time with his family and in a woodland den where she feels safe and accepted.
Expect graphic and emotionally heavy material involving physical, emotional and verbal abuse, bullying, racial denigration, death and suicide; there is also a little gently handled sexual content.
This is a grounded book brief while Suitabook strengthens the analysis: some draft conclusions still depend on unresolved evidence.
Anything not established here remains open; it is not being treated as absent or safe.
These links show the original reading lists. Inclusion is not a guarantee of suitability for your child.