The fifth book from bestselling author and specialist foster carer Casey Watson. A recent census shows that there are at least 175,000 child carers in the UK, 13,000 of whom care for more than 50 hours a week. Many remain invisible to a system that would otherwise help them. Abigail is one of those children. This is her story.
Ten-year-old Abigail's mother Sarah has been rushed into hospital. Sarah has multiple sclerosis (MS) and has had a terrible fall. MS is a crippling disease, and progressively debilitating, and Sarah is now in a very bad way. Abigail has never known her father; she and her mother have coped alone since she was three. From being little more than a toddler Abigail has single-handedly cared for her, gradually learning to shop, cook and clean, and attend to her mother's personal care. Suddenly this has all come to the attention of social services and Abigail has nowhere to go.
The second book from Sunday Times bestselling author Linda Fairley. ‘No matter how many babies I deliver, each and every one is a miracle, connecting me to the world like nothing else, reminding me that we are all equal in the beginning, and in the end. It’s a great leveller, childbirth.’
Casey's Unit is, as ever, full of troubled, disaffected pupils, and new arrival Leo is something of a conundrum. Thirteen year old Leo isn't a bad lad - in fact, he's generally polite and helpful, but he's in danger of permanent exclusion for repeatedly absconding and unauthorised absences. Despite letters being sent home regularly, his mother never turns up for any appointments, and when the school calls home she always seems to have an excuse. Though Casey has her hands full, she offers to intervene for a while, to try get Leo engaged in learning again and remaining in school. The head's sceptical though and warns her that this is Leo's very last chance. But Casey's determined, because there's something about Leo that makes her want to fight his corner, and get to the bottom of whatever it is that compels this enigmatic boy to keep running away. With Leo so resolutely tight-lipped and secretive, Casey knows that if she's going to keep this child in education, she's going to have to get to the bottom of it herself...
‘I’m so sorry, Casey,’ my link worker John said, sounding weary. ‘I know this is probably the worst time I could ring you, but we desperately need someone to take a child tonight.’
When Imogen - a young girl with selective mutism - joins the school, her teacher Casey Watson is determined to discover the truth behind her silence, revealing a shocking and devastating past.
Cathy Glass, the no.1 bestselling author of Damaged, tells the story of the Alice, a young and vulnerable girl who is desperate to return home to her mother.
