Nicholas Dane

Melvin Burgess, author of the award-winning young adult novel Junk, explores breaches of trust and the fight for revenge in the sinister thriller Nicholas Dane.

'We take care of boys that no one else will . . .'

When Nicholas's mum overdoses on heroin, the fourteen-year-old is suddenly lost, grieving and alone. Sent away to a boys' home, Nick finds order is kept by intimidation and violence.

After countless fights and punishments, Nick thinks life can't get any worse. But the deputy head, Mr. Tony Creal, has other ideas.

The shame Nick experiences at the hands of Mr. Creal can never quite be forgotten and, when Nick discovers he wasn't the only one to suffer, the old hatred later resurfaces. Can revenge lay Nick's ghosts to rest - or will he never be free of them?

'A fine novel' - Independent

'A brave exploration of how the brutalization of children reverberates long after it has passed' - Daily Mail

Award-winning children's author Melvin Burgess is one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary young adult fiction. His most well-known book Junk won the Carnegie Medal, the Guardian Children's Fiction prize and was shortlisted for the Whitbread Children's Book of the Year. Other titles by Melvin Burgess available from Penguin include: Sara's Face, Doing IT (winner of the LA Times Young People's Book of the Year) and Kill All Enemies. If you enjoyed Nicholas Dane and want to get inside more of your favourite books, then check out spinebreakers.co.uk for exclusive author interviews, competitions, and much more.