Jake''s Tower

''It''s good that I''ve found this secret place . . . No one can get to to me up there. It''s totally safe.''

In real life, Jake is never safe. He lives in constant fear of his mother''s violent boyfriend. But in his imaginary tower he can dream up his own father - the stranger who gave him a cuddle and a fluffy duck the day he was born and went away for ever. Jake doesn''t believe dreams ever come true. But sometimes they do - in strange and surprising ways.

Shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal, Jake''s Tower by Elizabeth Laird is a powerful and moving novel that spotlights the issue of domestic abuse.