Shadows at Hartswood

2003, East Midlands.

When Jaquetta Dean, a quiet 15-year-old girl with too many secrets, arrives at Hartswood Comprehensive, she wants nothing more than to disappear. After years trapped in a home where her brothers ruled with fear and her mother looked the other way, starting over seems impossible - even with her best friend Mia finally by her side.

Enter Clifford O'Donovan: loud, popular, star footballer, and the kind of boy Jaquetta has been taught not to trust. He's used to being admired, not avoided - and Jaquetta's silence catches his attention more than anyone else ever has.

As the school year unfolds, Clifford begins to see the cracks behind Jaquetta's careful smile. And Jaquetta discovers that not everyone wants to hurt her - some people fight for you. But when her past threatens to catch up, and the truth about the Dean household begins to slip into the open, both teens must decide how far they're willing to go to break free of the lives they were born into